SNOW PLOUGH. A contrivance for clearing rail tracks of snow. The oldest and most common form is the wedge plough, with a sharp prow. The rotary plough is the most powerful machine. It burrows into the drifts after the manner of an auger, and whirls the snow clear of the track. The rotary element con sists of a large fan-like wheel driven by an engine on a truck. As a rule the truck is non-propelling, being pushed by a loco motive. The scoop is about I 1 ft. in diameter, and the blades or knives are made of cast-steel; a large wheel may weigh 12 tons.
a form of footgear devised for travelling over snow. Nearly every American Indian tribe has its own par ticular shape of shoe, the simplest and most primitive being those of the far north. The Eskimos possess two styles, one being tri angular in shape and about i8in. in length, and the other almost circular. Southward the shoe becomes gradually narrower and longer, the largest being the hunting snow-shoe of the Crees, which is nearly 6ft. long and turned up at the toe. Of snow shoes worn by people of European race that used by lumbermen is about 31ft. long and broad in proportion, while the tracker's shoe is over 5ft. long and very narrow. This form has been copied by the Canadian snow-shoe clubs, who wear a shoe about 32ft. long and 15 to i8in. broad, slightly turned up at the toe and termi nating in a kind of tail behind.
Snow-shoes are made of a single strip of some tough wood, usually hickory, curved round and fastened together at the ends and supported in the middle by a light cross-bar, the space within the frame thus made being filled with a close webbing of dressed caribou or neat's-hide strips, leaving a small opening just behind the cross-bar for the toe of the moccasined foot. They are fastened to the moccasin by leather thongs, sometimes by buckles. The method of walking is to lift the shoes slightly and slide the overlapping inner edges over each other, thus avoiding the unnatural and fatiguing "straddle-gait" that would otherwise be necessary. Immoderate snow-shoeing leads to serious lameness of the feet and ankles which the Canadian voyageurs call vial de raquette. Snow-shoe racing is very common in the Canadian snow shoe clubs, and one of the events is a hurdle-race over hurdles 3ft. 6in. high. Owing to the thick forests of America the snow
shoe has been found more suitable for use than the Norwegian ski (q.v.) which is much used in less-wooded districts. (X.) The United States.—While enjoying practically the same snow conditions as Canada, the United States snow belt has never taken up the organization of its interest in snow-shoeing in a great number of specialized snow-shoe clubs. Compared with the snow-shoe clubs of Canada, with their well-known snow-shoe competitions, the United States interest in snow-shoeing is more casual.
Still the snow-shoeing interest in the United States is consid erable; it usually ties itself to a general out-of-door winter pro gramme. The men's and women's colleges in the snow belt conduct snow-shoe cross-country races, obstacle races and snow-shoe hikes. Dartmouth college has an annual inter-collegiate snow-shoe con test in which Canadian colleges figure. Lake Placid, N.Y., con ducts club and inter-collegiate snow-shoe contests. Practically every winter carnival held in the United States includes snow shoe obstacle races and cross-country races.
The Appalachian club of the United States promotes mountain climbing on snow-shoes. The Dartmouth Outing club members each year make an ascent of Mt. Washington on snow-shoes. The Intercollegiate Winter Sports Union includes snow-shoe dashes and similar races in its programmes.
See Lake Placid Club Winter Sports; Appalachia, organ of the Appalachian Club. (F. K. B.) SNUFF, the name of a powdered preparation of tobacco used i for inhalation (see ToBAcco). The practice of inhaling snuff became common in England in the 17th century, and through out the 18th century it was universal. At first each quantity was fresh grated (Fr. raper), whence the coarser kinds were later known as "rappee." This entailed the snuff-taker carrying with him a grater ; early 18th-century graters made of ivory and other material are in existence. The art and craft of the miniature painter, the enameller, jeweller and gold- and silver-smith was bestowed upon the box. The humbler snuff-takers were content with boxes of silver, brass or other metal, horn, tortoise-shell or wood. The mull, a silver-mounted ram's head, is a large table snuff-box.