Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/487

* ICE. 425 ICE. flat-topped or even-formed bergs it can readily be inferrtd from the specific gravity of ice that they at times descend fully 1200 to 1500 feet, or more, into the abyss of the ocean; and it is a common condition to find the larger bergs 'stranded' or anchored at this depth to the floor of the sea. The pinnacled or fancy-shaped bergs are usually those which have undergone considerable weathering or beating up by the sea, and are thus necessarily of smaller size than those of even contour. It is a common statement that the Antarctic bergs dilTcr from those of the Arctic by their larjter and more generally tabular form; but these differences are not fundamental, and are hardly more than comparative. But it may be questioned whether all the larger detached mas.5cs of ice in the Antarctic Ocean are, indeed, true glacial bergs; many of them might well be only accumulated sea-ice, formed by aecretional giowth, independent of any assisting land-mass. The source of practically all the icebergs of Arctic and sub-Arctic waters is Greenland, from whose ice-cap and neve radiate off hundreds of glaciers, the vast majority of which — at least those of larger size — reach the sea, either di- rectly or through the long fjords which extend 20 to 70 miles into the land. One or more of the glaciers of Melville Bay present ocean fronts of 25 or 30 miles, and there are a number of nearly equal size in Western, Southwestern, and Eastern Greenland. Owing to the northward set of the West Green- land current, the bergs of this side are carried first to the north, and it is only at about the 74th or 75th parallel that they begin to make their way westward to come down on the 'Ameri- can side.', ilany of the East Greenland bergs follow in the trail of these, rounding the south- ern apex of the great insular land-mass. The lowest point reached by the bergs in North-At- lantic waters is about 40°. in the western half of the basin ; eastward, the zone of distribution, fol- lowing largely in the course of Gulf-Stream drift, rises sharply northward, and entirely clears the coast of Scandinavia. Icebergs are apt to carry much debrital ma- terial with them, the remains or parts of the glacial moraines which were formed on land. These, on the melting of the ice, naturally find their way to the bottom of the sea, whether deep or shallow, and these help to build up a 'bowlder- clay deposit,' somewhat similar to the basal till of glaciers. The stranding of bergs on rock- masses also tends to bring about grooving and polishing, again similar to what is produced by moving land-ice (glaciers). Consult Tyndall. Tftc Forms of Water in Clouds and Rirers. Tec. and Claeiers (New York, 1872). See Waxes; Melt- ixG-PoiNT; Freezing-Point; Glacieb; Eefkigeb- ATIOX. ICE, Law of. After ice has been harvested it is personalty, and is subject to the rules of law governing that form of property. Before it is harvested it is deemed realty for most purposes, although some courts have held that a contract for the sale of all the ice on a certain pond is to be treated as a contract for the sale of a chattel, and not of an interest in real estate. If the land beneath .1 particular body of water is subject to private ownership, the ice that forms on the water belongs <o the o«-ner of such land, and he has exclusive authority to gather or dispose of it. Hence a lease of the land or a con- veyance of the fee carries to the tenant or to the grantee the ownership of the ice which forms during the term of the lease, or which e.ists at the date of the conveyance. It is in the nature of an accession to the land, being an increment arising from a formation over it, and is a part of the real estate under the rule that the owner- ship thereof extends indefinitely upward from the soil. The landowner may grant to another the right to take ice from private waters, as a profit d prendre ; that is, as a right to take the products or proceeds of land. Accordingh', the grant of a half-acre of land adjoining a mill-pond with the exclusive right to take the ice from the pond attaches this right as a profit a prendre to the half-acre, and it will pass to a second grantee of the half-acre as an appurtenance thereto. On the other hand, the landowner does not part with his right to ice which forms upon a mill-pond by granting to the mill-owner the privilege of flood- ing the land in question and maintaining a pond thereon. The ice attends the ownership of the soil, not the easement of covering it with water; and if the mill owner needlessly draws off the water for the sole purpose of destroying the ice or preventing its formation, he is liable in dam- ages to the landowner. Again, the owner of land under a private stream is entitled to dam the stream and take ice therefrom, provided such use does not unreasonably interfere with the rights of riparian owners below him to the use of the water. A riparian owner's right to ice on navigable rivers depends upon his ownership of the land under them. In States where the fee of such rivers is vested in the public the adjoining land- owner has no title to the ice, and it belongs to the first appropriator. In other States, where ripa- rian owners are accorded title to the land under navigable waters, thej' can maintain trespass against any one taking the ice without their consent. At times ice-covered streams or lakes are used as highways of travel, and the question has arisen whether the harvesting of ice upon such a thoroughfare amounts to a nuisance, as an unlawful obstruction to travel. The -courts have given this answer: In the absence of legis- lation on the subject, the right of travel and the right of har"esting ice on navigable waters are public and are to be exercised reasonably. A"hat is a reasonable use of either right depends upon the relative benefits to the community from its exercise. If the privilege of hanesting ice is of greater importance than that of traveling upon it. the latter cannot be set up to prevent or abridge the exercise of the former. The right to harvest ice forming upon public waters is not private, but public or common. Any citizen may enter such ice fields and take what he pleases, so long as he does not unlaw- fully interfere with the like right of others. What acts amount to an appropriation of ice on public waters is a question upon which the courts are not agreed. One view is that an ap- propriation is made by marking and staking off a plot of ice. and preparing the surface for cut- ting. The other view is that a person does not gain any property rights in such a plot of ice until he has actually reduced it to possession. The subject is regulated in some States by .statute. Consult: Gould. The Lnir of Waters, Including Riparian Rights (Chicago, 1900) ;