SNOWBOUND

Provided he were known to possess a certain touch of whimsy, anyone would be forgiven for supposing that a special battalion of devils has been appointed for the express purpose of making and keeping Cambridge streets impassable in the winter. Their work begins with a heavy snow; they see to it that ploughs are kept away from the narrower streets, and especially those which cross the house area, for many hours after the snow has stopped. When ice and ruts have formed, they twist the ruts into fantastic lines and cunning grooves (for they are master engineers), so that the progress of any car going up Plympton Street at more than four miles an hour is a series of swoops and slithers, terminated by high snow banks and parked cars.

The college is perfectly aware of the large number of cars owned by its members; in the past it has shown cooperation in the matter of parking. Still further zeal would be appreciated in having the streets cleared quickly; once cleared, the snow should be taken away in trucks, at least from one side of narrow streets like Holyoke and Linden, so that parking a car would not mean charging as far as possible into a snow bank, leaving the rear end protruding into the street-and walking hurriedly away to avoid seeing the crash when the next car comes along.

When the ruts have been well-formed, a thaw is provided sufficient to coat them and the surface with glare ice. Sand is a useful article whose virtues seem to have been ignored in this crisis; the qualities of sand are admirable, not only on icy streets but on icy sidewalks; not all the sidewalks have been sanded, and thrills await the traveller on the more remote byways. Quick snow removal, and a liberal application of sand, would make progress afoot and awheel less picturesque, but more efficient.