As winter approaches, rig a trough from the pump to the pond-to-be or have the hose where it can be attached to the spigot at a moment's notice. Wait for a hard freeze. When it comes, and the ground is like rock, give the word "all hands to the pumps." Let on enough water to cover the surface, then let it freeze. If you get a smooth surface the first go you are luckier than most boys. Cover the first coat with a second and that with a third layer until you have smooth ice.
Then skate. On cold nights spray the worn places if you use a hose, or run on another half-inch of water.
A good skating pond can be made by boys with a little ingenuity, which in this case means engineering ability, by damming a brook until it floods a naturally flat area above its own level. Or by damming the outlet of a pond before dry weather comes on and holding the water at a higher level than it would naturally have. It is perfectly astonishing what a small dam will do, if cleverly placed. Study the work of beavers if you know of any. You can get pointers from mill-dams built by your great-grandsires, if there are any in your vicinity. In one of the books for boys, mentioned in the book list, are practical suggestions about building dams.
Sometimes boys think nature has not done as much for them as for boys who have a natural swimming pool, a skating pond, or a trout brook. Maybe if you helped her out a little, nature would do her part in your case, too.
THE STORY OF RECLAIMING A SPRING
When I was fourteen years old my father bought his property in Ithaca, N. Y., on which we live. That part of it on which there is now a fine spring was considered worthless. Through this property ran a well-wooded glen, the upper end of which was very wet and swampy. This condition was due to several small springs emerging from the ground at the head of the glen. All of these springs joined and flowed down through the glen, forming a fairly large stream. This stream flowed continually throughout summer and winter, without change of volume.
The first step in the reclaiming of this spring was to collect all the water through tile drains into a large, concrete reservoir. This reservoir, which was four feet wide, four feet high, and twelve feet long, was constructed about two feet under ground. An open spring basin was connected with this reservoir by a two and one-half inch iron pipe. This basin was made of rough stones laid in cement, and the back side of it arched over a foot or more, forming a partial roof. On the open side is a concrete seat where one can conveniently sit and get a drink. My father and I did all the work except part of the ditch digging. From this basin was laid a one and a quarter-inch iron pipe which carried the water down the glen a distance of about sixty feet to a hydraulic ram. This ram is always running, and is made to go by the constant pressure of the water from the spring basin. The water is forced through a half-inch iron pipe to a large tank in the attic of the house situated on the hill above. The tank, which holds about five hundred gallons, supplies the house with pure, cold water for all purposes. As the water is always flowing into the tank it is provided with an inch and a half overflow pipe, which carries the surplus water back into the glen. Thus, through a series of pipes and a ram, the water is conveyed from the reservoir throughout the house. By building a small dam farther down, we made a fair-sized pond on which to domesticate some wild fowl.
The ground drained by concentrating the springs was well adapted because of its fertility for the growing of shrubbery and flowers of many sorts. In the wetter places, ferns and pink and yellow lady slippers were planted, and in the dryer area shrubbery, such as the red bud and azalea. Thus, what was once a mud hole was transformed into a useful piece of ground.
John Needham