KUNGL, SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAR. BAND 48, w:o 5, 13 
otherwise dry riverbeds as at Njoro and Thera, As mentioned above the water at 
the former place is salt. It appeared to me to be of interest even from a biological 
point of view to know the chemical composition of this salt water of which so many 
animals drink. Therefore I brought along with me a carefully corked bottle containing 
a sample of this salt water from Njoro, and when I had come home my friend Count 
K. A. H. Mérner, Professor of Chemistry, kindly undertook the work of analysing 
this water, and he has prepared the following report for which I wish to express 
my gratitude. 
Analysis of water from Njoro in the Rendile country, British 
East Africa. 
By 
K. A. H. MORNER. 
When Professor Ernar LONNBERG returned from his zoological expedition to British 
East Africa in May this year (1911) he brought with him a sample of water which 
he had taken from a place called Njoro in the dry thornbush-country north of Guaso 
Nyiri which is inhabited by the nomadic Rendile tribes. Professor LONNBERG in- 
forms me that the water originates from one of a series of holes dug by the Rendiles 
in a dry river-bed. Almost all of these holes contained water but that water was 
not of the same quality in all, it was more salt in some than in others. It was 
used by the Rendiles as well for themselves as for their animals. Almost every day 
many hundreds of sheep and goats were driven down to the river and quenched 
their thirst with that water which was scooped up and offered to them in dug out 
logs. About every third day several hundreds of camels were in a similar way watered 
there. In consequence of the manner in which the watering took place it lasted 
several hours during which the animals stood densely crowded in the river-bed. The 
water-holes were also visited during night time by wild animals even elephants and 
rhinoceroses. Some of the wild beasts preferred, however, a small natural pool at 
the base of a rock further down the river bed. 
Considering the great number of animals which visit these water-holes and the 
long time some of them remain in the river-bed Professor LONNBERG suspected that 
the water might be polluted by the droppings and the urine of the animals which 
might be expected to penetrate the loose layers of sand and reach the aquiferous 
layers. The analysis does not, however, bear out that this suspicion is founded. 
As will be set forth below there are no nitrates no nitrites of any kind nor ammonia 
to be found. It appears also, to judge from the analysis, as if the water originated 
from a natural mineral spring and was not fully stagnant. 
The present author received the sample of water the 31st of May 1911, and 
set to work at once. The quantity of water’ was only 750 cm’* and the investigation 
' As everything must be carried from Njoro by native porters and the other collections were large as 
well as heavy it was connected with difficulty to take more. 
