Erosion in the Basi?i of the Arkansas River 



333 



hard rocks within the drainage basin of the Arkansas River 

 some conception can be had of the importance of this method 

 of land degradation.^^ 



The relation existing between the matter in solution and 

 that in suspension is what one would naturally expect, viz. : 

 when the river is high there is least dissolved and most sus- 

 pended matter to the gallon of water, and vice versa. This, 

 however, must be regarded as a verj^ general rule to which 

 there are many and important exceptions. The results for 

 the month of April, 1888, will serve as an example of these 

 relations. 



During that month eight sets of observations were made 

 with the following results : 



table; showing the fluctuating relations of suspended to 

 dissolved matter. 



* But little attention has been given to the determination of mineral 

 matter removed in solution from the land. The observations of hy- 

 draulic engineers to whom we are indebted for the determination of me- 

 chanical sediments, have not included the discharge of matter in solu- 

 tion, for the reason, no doubt, that they have had to deal practically 

 with the mechanical sediments only. 



