xu. a. s Wright and Heise: Philippine Waters 159 



terminations made and the frequent difficulty of determining the 

 actual water-bearing stratum, since this is frequently not the 

 same as the geological formation exposed at the place where 

 the water emerges, make generalizations at this time inadvisable. 



In some cases, at least, the radioactive material from which the 

 water derived its activity must have been confined to a rather 

 limited area. Thus it was pointed out ' ' that Olla Springs 

 (No. 13) were in reality only seepage water derived from a 

 river about a hundred meters distant. 1 '' The "spring" water 

 must, therefore, have acquired its activity in the course of a 

 short journey underground. 



So far as the available analytical data at hand are concerned, 

 there is no apparent general relation between the chemical quality 

 of the water and its radioactivity. According to Schlundt in 

 there is, in general, no detectible difference in activity between 

 acid and alkaline waters. Practically all of the waters tested 

 at the source in the course of this work were acid to phenolph- 

 thalein and alkaline to methyl orange. We have been equally 

 unable to make generalizations concerning other factors. This 

 is not surprising, since the emanation content appears to be 

 due not to dissolved radium but to contact with radioactive 

 materials, sometimes within a very restricted area. For the 

 sake of completeness, the available analyses of the waters under 

 investigation, as compiled from the data in the Bureau of 

 Science, are included in Table II. 



There was no sharply defined rainy season 1T during 1916 

 in the places visited. With the exception of the determinations 

 made in April and December, the tests for radioactivity were 

 conducted during months of considerable rain. 



Though no systematic study of the relation between the radio- 

 activity and the variation of flowing wells and springs has been 

 made, 18 it may be of interest to point out that Sibul Springs 

 (Nos. 4 and 5) was tested on two different occasions — once in 

 the middle of the dry season, that is, after two or three prac- 



" By V. E. Lednicky, chief, division of mines, Bureau of Science. 



15 A bacteriological test made in the course of a field survey of water 

 supplies confirmed this view. 



"Schlundt, H., Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv. (1909), No. 395, 30. 



17 For the distribution of rainfall in the Philippines according to locality 

 and season, see Cox, A. J., This Journal, Sec. A (1911), 6, 287-296. 



1S Many spring's and deep wells whose flow varies greatly with the tide 

 show no appreciable variation in chemical quality. See Heise, G. W., Note 

 on the tidal variation of .springs and deep wells in the Philippine Islands, 

 This Journal, Sec. A (1916), 11, 125-127. 



