t
slope for rapid drainage, the snow on the roof melts, drips to the
eaves-trough, and freezes before it can flow away. Eventually some of
this moisture creeps beneath the shingles and makes ugly damp patches
on the plaster beneath. Immediate relief can be had by mounting a
ladder, clearing the trough of the ice, and thawing the frozen
down-spout with salt and kettles of hot water. Later, the permanent
remedy is to have a practical roofer rehang and adjust the
eaves-troughs.

Because of the very nature of winter weather, there are other
distressing things that may happen to make life in the country just a
little bit less enjoyable. The first of these is the possibility of an
old-fashioned blizzard that may block roads and cut off the country
dweller from the usual source of supplies. Before the days of the
automobile, one could travel roads several feet deep in snow with
horse and sleigh. An automobile has its limits and is more or less
impotent in more than two feet of snow on a road unbroken by a
powerful plow. So, if the oldest inhabitants can remember the winter
of 18-- "when we had snow to the top of the fence posts," it is a wise
precaution to have an emergency supply of canned foods on hand. In
February, 1934, we were snowbound for three days but lived in comfort,
thanks to a minimum reserve supply and, by a happy coincidence,
liberal marketing done the morning the storm began. Several neighbors
took to snowshoes and skis and so made their way to the nearest store
to replenish essentials like milk, meat, eggs and the like. Winter
sports are a great institution, but trudging two miles for a quart of
milk across a countryside waist deep in newly fallen snow is too great
a mixture of business and pleasure.

Similarly, a medicine cabinet stocked with the primary remedies, and a
physician whom you know sufficiently so that you consult him by
telephone, are wise precautions against sudden crises of weather or
health. Of course, if a member of your family is seriously ill, your
doctor will come with all haste when summoned. But he is a busy man
who often works from before breakfast until nearly midnight covering
unbelievable distances in his automobile. So, if you can report
illness clearly, give exact symptoms, and have a stock of the simple
medicines that you can administer as he directs, both the sick person
and the physician gain. Present-day country doctors show their
appreciation for such cooperation by the spe