14 DEVILS LAKE, NORTH DAKOTA. 



Ice commences to form about the middle of November and remains 

 until the middle of April. Mr. E. J. Glass, the observer of the 

 Weather Bureau at Devils Lake, states that the main body of Devils 

 Lake will not freeze solid, 4 feet being considered a good estimate of 

 the thickness of ice formed, which is more or less porous, with big 

 cracks, often 3 feet wide. During the warmer days the ice in expand- 

 ing closes the cracks and, bending downward, forms V-shaped grooves, 

 or upward, solid walls. The intense dry cold, according to the same 

 observer, will often cause the ice to evaporate without liquifying, and 

 ice walls thus formed have been observed gradually to disappear. 



QUALITY OF WATER. 



In June, 1906, with a view to ascertaining whether the water of 

 Devils Lake was injurious to fish life, and, if so, to what extent, 

 Messrs. C. M. Fisher and Charles E. Taylor, residents of the com- 

 munity, forwarded to the Bureau of Fisheries for analysis 2 gallons 

 of water from Creel Bay." This specimen was submitted to the 

 Bureau of Chemistry, which furnished the following report : 



Analysis 3064 Misc. 



Parts per 

 million. 



Calcium 29. 66 



Magnesium 452. 48 



Sodium 2, 118. 50 



Chlorine 821. 84 



Sulphuric acid ion 4,345.84 



Carbonic acid ion 119.16 



Bicarbonic acid ion 629.82 



Total 8, 517. 3 



Hypothetical Combination. 



Parts per 

 million. 



Calcium bicarbonate 119. 8 



Magnesium bicarbonate 647.6 



Magnesium carbonate 167. 



Magnesium sulphate 1,470.0 



Sodium ^ sulphate 4, 758. 9 



Sodium chloride 1. 354. 



Total 8, 517. 3 



The water of Devils Lake possesses many qualities that render it 

 unsuitable for drinking and for engine boilers, etc. It is reported 

 that in former years, before the level of the lake dropped to its pres- 

 ent plane, it was quite generally used for drinking, but at present 

 this is not the case, though cattle are said to drink freely of it. The 



" The analysis given above may be compared with that of 1907, station No. 4, 

 on page 14. 



