IV.— CHEMISTEY, 



Art. XXVII. — The Composition of the Soil of the Taupe 

 Plains, and its Suitability for the Groivth of Grasses. 



By J. A. Pond, F.G.S., and J. S. Maclaurin, D.Sc, F.C.S. 



[Read before the Auckland Institute, 6th November, 1899,] 



The immense area of comparatively level land lying to the 

 north and east of Lake Taupo, and including the Kaingaroa 

 and Patatere Plains, is the subject of our paper, and we shall 

 refer to it collectively as the Taupo Plains. This country is 

 frequently and correctly referred to by writers as the pumice 

 plains of Taupo, which truly designates the class of material 

 most frequently met with in travelling through any portion of 

 it. The area of these plains may be roughly estimated at 

 over 1,000,000 acres, of which a large portion is in possession 

 of the Government, the remainder being in private ownership, 

 or owned by the Maoris. 



Viewed from the extinct volcanic mountain of Tauhara, at 

 the north end of Lake Taupo the plain appears to be almost 

 level, stretching for miles in an easterly direction, whilst to 

 the north-east it assumes a more hilly appearance, inter- 

 spersed with terraces which in places have been intersected 

 by streams flowing transversely through them. 



The Kaingaroa Plain, the portion of this large district to 

 which we shall now give our closest attention, has an area of 

 about 200,000 acres, of which about half is owned by the 

 colony. This plain lies between the Waikato and its tribu- 

 tary the Waiotapu and the Eangitaiki Elvers, and has an 

 altitude of from 1,200 ft. to 2,000 ft. above sea-level. The 

 surface configuration is generally low-formed terraces and 

 depressions, with occasionally small swamps or soakages, 

 broken in places with deep gullies, the results of denudation. 

 During the hot summer months the ground becomes dry, 

 and the soil being but sparsely covered is speedily affected 

 by strong winds, which give rise to miniature sand-storms, 

 materially adding to the discomfort of travellers, and increas- 

 ing the baneful effects of drought in uncovering the roots of 



