Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 November 1874 — Temporary Dam for Ice Ponds. [ARTICLE]

Temporary Dam for Ice Ponds.

A correspondent wishes to make a temporary pond from which he may cut ice in the winter, and afterward draw off the water, leaving the stream and its banks in their usual condition. This may be done by erecting a temporary dam in the following manner: Select a part of the stream where the largest space may be flooded with the shortest dam. A place where the banks slope rapidly and above which they recede from the stream should be chosen. In a direct line across this place set some strong fence posts not more than eight feet apart; They should set at least four feet deep, and bedded with lime mortar and stone or cement concrete to make them perfectly solid. If the dam is not more than four feet high these precautions are not necessary, but if of a greater height they will be needed to resist the pressure of the water and that of the ice when its surface is acted upon by the wind. The posts should be strongly braced—the braces being set in the same manner as the posts. These posts may remain always in their position ready for use, and will occupy very little room or occasion very little inconvenience at any time. If they can be set up in a fence row so much the better. All that is needed then is to provide sotiie hemlock planks of equal width and sixteen feet long, jointed and tongued and grooved upon their edges. These are fastened to the posts by carriage bolts, the nuts of which are exposed on the outer side of the dam. The middle panel of the dam is made of planks eight feet long, so that when it is desired the bolts may be taken out and the planks removed one by one, and, the pond drained off. gradually. The other planks are made to break joints, the cndsbeing bolted to alternate posts, which will help to strengthen the dam. The lower planks must be made to fit the surface of the ground, and should be sunk three or four inches in it, and the ground well rammed around them. If any leaks occur as the w ater is raised, w hich should be done gradually by putting in one plank of the center panel at a time, they should be stopped bv throwing in sawdust, tan-bark or

leaves, or swamp muck. When the whole i? up, the upper plank of the middle panel should-be hollowed out sufficiently to allow’ the waste water to escape. * If there is any danger of the falling water washing the soil away, a sloping apron of boards should be made to receive it. A pond with a surface of half an acre frozen six inches thick will furnish 300 tons of ice. Where the ground is favorable, a pond of this size may easily be made at an expense of twenty-five dollars, and the fixtures will not need renewing for twenty years. The main point is to be sure that the posts and braces are properly set, and that the planks fit tightly; then there will be no danger of the dam breaking or the water leaking away. If the w ater flows back - into other fields there is no need to remove the fences, even if they are of rails, if they are Well staked and such riders as are likely to be covered with water are wired down to the top rails. — American Agriculturist.