12 EXPEBTMENT STATION RECORD. 



Underground waters of coastal plain of Texas, T. U. Taylor iU. 8. Geol. 

 f<iirv(iJ. Wdtcr-,'^!!/)/)]!/ and Irrig. Pupcr yn. J9(J, pp. 13, pis. 3). — The region 

 covered \)y this repurt, which is based ui)oii data collected l)y personal visits and 

 correspondence, include" the greater part of the coastal plain of Texas, com- 

 prising an area about 150 miles wide bordering the coast and extending aci'oss 

 the entire State. Ground water is usually abundant throughout the district, 

 and within recent years artesian wells have been obtained in various parts of 

 the region, some of them furnishing sufficient flow for considerable irrigation. 

 The depth at which artesian water can be obtained varies from a few feet to 

 over 2.000 ft., averaging about GOO ft. The amount of How varies from 20 to 

 1.(500 gal. per minute. 



The geology and water resources of the western portion of the Panhandle 

 of Texas, ('. X. Gould ( C. >s'. Geol. Hurveij, Water-i^KppJy aiid Irr'uj. Paper Xo. 

 191. pp. ID. Ills. 7. fif/s. 3). — This report summarizes the I'esults of a geologic and 

 hydrographic reconnaissance made during 1903 and 1905 over a region of approxi- 

 mately 9.360 sq. miles in the western part of the Panhandle of Texas, including 

 Sherman. Moore, Potter. liandall, Dallam, Hartley, Oldham, and Deaf Smith 

 counties. Most of the underground water of this region is derived from the 

 Tertiary deposits. It is almost uniforndy soft and relatively pure and suitable 

 for all domestic uses. The local precipitation is apparently the only source of 

 the underground water. It is estimated that only about one-third of the rain 

 sinks into the soil, adding al)out 18 in. to the ground water each year. 



The Potomac River basin, H. N. Parker et al. ( F. 8. Geol. Survey, Water- 

 Hupphi and lir'uj. Paper Xo. 192, pp. Vl-\-3(l'i. pis. 10). — This report describes all 

 the conditions that affect the economic utilization of the water resources of this 

 basin, dealing with the geographic hisfory, rainfall and stream flow, pollution, 

 occurrence of typhoid fever, character of the water, relation of soils and forest 

 cover to the quality and quantity of the surface water, and the effect of indus- 

 trial wastes on fishes. 



The real cause of the drying up of springs in the basin of the Somme, 

 HouiLLiER {Anit. Dir. Hydraul. et Amelior. Agr.. Aliii. Agr. [France], 1906, No. 

 31, pp. 238-2Ji3). — The various causes which have been observed to contribute 

 to the drying up of springs are briefl.v discussed, but it is maintained that in the 

 particular case hei'e reported it is not due jirimarily to diminution of rainfall, 

 destruction of forests, or internal erosion of the soil, but to more complete utiliza- 

 tion of the soil for agricultural ]iurposes, resulting in greatly increased evapora- 

 tion and transiiiraticin through plants. 



On the sinking of subterranean waters and the disappearance of springs, 

 E. A. Martel (Ann. Dir. Hydraul. et Amelior. Agr., Min. Agr. [France], 1906, 

 Xo. 31, pp. 2'i'i-246). — Brief notes are given on the causes of these phenomena. 



The pollution and self-purification of ice (llo. Bill. X. Y. Dept. Health, 23 

 (1907), Xo. 2, pp. 2-6; abs. in Engin. Xeics, ,57 {1901), Xo. 11, pp. .',o.',-Jf.56) . — 

 This article reviews the various causes of pollution and discusses the agencies 

 of self-purification — subsidence and oxidation (destroying 50 to 75 per cent of 

 the bacteria) ; i-enioval of suspended and dissolved matter by freezing (10 to 

 40 per cent) ; freezing (destroying 5 per cent of the bacteria in 1 hour, 90 in 24 

 hours, and practically all in 2 to 3 weeks) ; destruction of pathogenic germs 

 when distributed through a large body of water (90 per cent in 30 to 60 days). 



" It is thus evident why . . . ice pollution has been robbed of its apparent 

 dangers and why the records show so few, if any, cases of epidemics of typhoid 

 fever due to this mode of transmission. These facts, while emphasizing the 

 great immunity bestowed by nature, point, however, to the i*eal dangers of ice 



