224 Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 



in sheltered bays, but also around any projecting body in the water 

 a stake, or a patch of bulrushes or pondweeds. Usually the for- 

 mation of ice proceeds from day to day in a more or less orderly 

 manner from these nuclei to the middle of th'e lake until the whole 

 is frozen, but in the above-mentioned winter, the ice sheets formed 

 in sheltered places during moments of calm. 



Our first regular observation of the ice phenomena at Lake 

 Maxinkuckee began in the fall of 1899. Previous to that time, 

 however, occasional observations, made and recorded by Mr. S. S. 

 Chadwick and by Mr. Samuel B. Medbourn of the Medbourn Ice 

 Company, have been kindly communicated to us by those gentle- 

 men. 



The remarkable clearness and purity of the water of Lake Max- 

 inkuckee and the thickness to which the ice freezes, give a very 

 high quality to the ice made from it, and Lake Maxinkuckee ice 

 has always had an enviable reputation for purity and enduring 

 qualities. 



The operations required in taking out the vast quantities of ice 

 each winter keep a changing portion of the lake on the west side 

 more or less open for brief intervals in different places, and this 

 has its effect on the plant and animal life of the lake. 



Our original plans contemplated a careful study of the ice in all 

 its* more important relations to the various species of animals and 

 plants inhabiting the lake, but lack of time prevented such study 

 of many of the phenomena as the importance of the subject justi- 

 fied. 



The grounds of the Culver Military Academy skirt the northern shore of Lake Maxinkuckee, covering 

 a tract of 500 acres. 



