104 Procekdings of Nioth Annual Meeting 



1. The new tidegates at Eckle's Creek. — These gates were 

 originally planned in 191 7, but were postponed because of the 

 war, until the present season. Eckle's Creek, at the point where 

 the new gates were constructed, is 55' wide and a bulkhead no' 

 in length was constructed to support the three sluice boxes. 3" 

 plank 20' long were driven as a front line bulkhead and a 2" 

 plank in the rear. The boxes were 3' x 6' and were built sepa- 

 rately, floated into place, and bolted. The soil in the creek bed 

 is a heavy clay and driving by hand was impractical if not im- 

 possible. A pile driver consisting of an unright frame, a 300 

 pound block, an "Ideal" hoist and a 3^ horse-power engine fur- 

 nished the necessary power to drive the piles firmly and securely 

 into place. The heavy clay which made driving so hard made 

 first class fill, and, when packed in, presented a strong bulwark 

 against the heavy pressure of the tide. In general, the Eckle's 

 Creek gate is very much like other closed-type tidegates in com- 

 mon use, but it has this to distinguish it from the others : 



a. It is the largest yet built in the state for mosquito con- 



trol purposes. 



b. It is the first gate to be built for mosquito control in 



the construction of which a power-driven pile driver 

 was used. 



c. It has a single beam front stringer 8" x 12." , 60' long. 



d. It has a special system of cross-bracing giving it in- 



creased resistance and strength. 



2. The other undertaking completed in Bergen County last year, 

 which is perhaps w^orthy of mention, is the Carlstadt dike. This 

 was also a salt marsh enterprise and was supplemental to the tide- 

 gates previously described. This dike, which extends from the 

 brickyards in Little Ferry to Leive's W oods in Carlstadt, is 8,000^ 

 long. The dike was built with a 6' base, averaged about 32" in 

 height, and was built 30" wide at the top. The dike was built 

 without a core and leakage in spite of this has been slight. Near 

 the gates the ditch is G wide and 5' deep and is graded for its 

 entire length. The cost of the dike and ditch was less than 35 

 cents a running foot. The entire system, gates, dike and ditch 

 keeps absolutely dry about 1,000 acres of marshland which for- 

 merly was among the most vicious and continuous mosquito 

 breeding areas in Bergen County. It also helps to drain and 

 affords outlet for an additional thousand acres of low-lying 

 upland, which has constantly given us trouble and is the first step 

 in a comprehensive plan for drainage of this section of the 

 county. 



This summarizes the most important endeavors in which we 

 engaged last season. There are several others which might be 



