22 PROCEEDINGS OP THE ALBANY MEETING 



"Alma, Michigan, January 28, 1901. 

 ''Today I have made the first really satisfactory progress I have made in 

 getting out the acid of the calcium organate, and the indications are so marked 

 that I am going to follow them up to the limit. The acid in question is suc- 

 cinic acid and, as far as I was able to carry out the qualitative tests, the 

 water extract of Ohara gives marked and satisfactory reactions for every one 

 of them sharply and promptly. It doesn't seem probable that this acid really 

 is the one present; but if investigation shows that it really is, I do not see 

 but what the probabilities will have to stand aside for actualities. I made up 

 my mind, after trying other ways of working, that I would test for any or- 

 ganic acid I could find tests for that formed water soluble Ca salts, and, so far 

 as I have tried these, succinic is the only one that gives good sharp tests and 

 promptly reacts as soon as the reagent is iipplied ; but I think it queer, never- 

 theless, that this should be the one. Please don't give this out until I have a 

 chance to get more evidence to back me up ; but so far as it goes the present 

 evidence is good enough." 



"Alma, Michigan, August 12, 1901. 



"In his summary he says: (3) 'The deposition of the marl is caused by loss 

 of CO2 from subaqueous spring waters which bear the marl material into the 

 lakes.' (4) 'That this loss of CO2 is for the most part caused in three ways, 

 viz: {a) By the increase in temperature of the incoming spring water. (Z>) 

 By the decrease in pressure as the spring water rises to the surface, (c) By 

 the action of different plants in abstracting CO2 for food.' 



"(a) seems probably fallacious, in that ground water is usually about 50° + 

 and would vary only slightly from that at the depth of the bottoms of the 

 lakes mentioned, while the temperature of the bottoms of most of our lakes, 

 and from the bottom up to somewhat near the surface, is below that figure — 

 down to 39°, if I remember correctly. This, of course, if the spring were of 

 large size, would cause a rapid rise of the spring water up to the surface — a 

 spreading out and rapid precipitation of CaCOg if saturation were approached. 

 The weak point in my knowledge seems to be exact and exhaustive knowledge 

 of the composition of the waters of our morainal and clay springs and of the 

 marl lakes. If saturation is not approached, the spring water is soon cooled 

 off to a temperature lower than that which it has on coming from the ground 

 and sinks, not rises, and becomes capable of taking more CO, ; hence no precipi- 

 tation will occur. (I want material to back up this set of assertions. The 

 Water Supply papers give me some help, but I would like enough material to 

 make a good argument if I am going to work on this phase of the question at 

 all.) I have rarely seen large springs from moraines', and if small springs run 

 out on the sides of moraines, we only occasionally find tufa deposits about 

 them and, I think I am safe in asserting, only when certain plants are present 

 in the water; very frequently in Michigan it is certain species of moss. In 

 case the CaCOg is precipitated by warming the water, every surface spring 

 from clay moraines should be a mound spring, which is not true, as we know. 

 In case a lake is fed by small springs, subaqueous, the water from these would 

 be cooled before it had proceeded to the surface and no precipitation would be 

 possible. 



