The reflective quality of a surface is known as

Albedo, the proportion of the incident light or radiation that is reflected by a surface, typically that of a planet or moon.

length of the cultivating season was not a problem of new england agriculture

its main object was the establishment of "settlement houses" in poor urban areas, in which volunteer middle-class "settlement workers" would live, hoping to share knowledge and culture with, and alleviate the poverty of, their low-income neighbors.