The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1878-08-31

DREDGING LAKE R0LAND.-In the spring OF
1876 Messrs. Thomas p. Morgan & Co., contract
| ors, bargained with the city to dredge Lake RO-
land to the extent of 100000 square yards of sed
iment of soil. The dredging cannot be completed
| before the end of 1879.
For some reason another, great deal of time
seems to have been lost in 1876 From the spring
of that year until the autumn only sixteen thous-
and yards were taken out. The amount so far
dredged in 1878 has been about seventy-four
thousand yards, which leaves two hundred thous-
and yards still to be worked out. OF this it is
timated that one hundred thousand yards will be
excavated before the close of the season and the
balance next year.
The greater part of the work has been done at
the upper end of the lake. in Jones' Falls and Ro-
land Run, and at their juncture grapple ma
chine or dredger, with clam-shall bucket, is used.
The scows, each laden with twenty five mud boxes
received the dredgings and carried them to shore,
upon which they were dumped by huge derricks.
Three derricks, each worked by an engine of ten
horse power, were and are in use. At times cars
are used in the place of the ordinary mud boxes,
the scows being laid with rails, and at points
along tie shore tracks have been constructed.
About thirty-seven men employed, most of
whom come from the eighborhood. They receive
generally S1.25 per diem, about dozen of the
best being paid Sl.5O.
The first work done was up in Jones Falls. 1t
ment, not only to the surface, but even above the
water, and in many places the surface of The bars
had become so perfectly hardened and sod covered
that it was necessary to first cut away the upper
crust with spades before the dredging machine
could work. By hard work, though, the stream
was dredged, and a clear channel cut up to and
under the railroad bridge, when finally depth of
nine feet was obtained The Northern Central
Railway Company, however, found that this was
Of fha hri1 nd n
that halt be called in the work. The machine
was then transferred to Roland Run, and since
then at the railroad bridge instead of nine feet of
water the contractors state that there is now only
two.
From Roland Run about eighteen thousand
yards have been taken out, and about three weeks
work remains to be done. great deal of deep
enng has been effected and between the two up
per bridges there is now about five feet of water,
the machine having worked down to the hard and
solid bottom. When work is finished at Roland
Run it will be transferred to the mouth of Jones
Falls and the lake worked out from here towards
Green Spring Junction The worst point in this
part of the lake is the bar opposite to what is
known as the TOwsOntown culvert After every
rain an immense mass of sand is forced through
this cuvert into the lake. Already three attacks
have been made upon the bar, six thousand yards
at one time eleven thousand at another, and at
another four thousand yards of almost pure sand
having been excavated, but it is again necessary
to dredge at this point.
In spite of the stirring up of the bottom and
the piling up of the saturated bottom soil upon the
surface of the banks, the health of the neighbor
hood is most excellent One old gentleman, res
ident for twenty years, testified to perfect health
in his family and "no chills," and another, who
had lived upon the borders of the lake for twenty
nine years, corroborated this statement.-Bdti-
more American.