32(1 Afjncidtural Gazette of N.SJF. [April 2, 19U8. 



Analyses of Soils from Papua. 



V. V,. CLJTHIUK AM. 11. S. SYMMONDS. 



Till'; t'dllow iiiL;' iHitcs (111 s;iin|il<'s of sdil sul)iiiilt('(l 1)\- tlic I )iicct(ii' of .\uri- 

 culture, Pa]Hi;i, nml forwarded tliroiiL;li tlic (A)minoin\call li I )i']iartinriit of 

 External AH'airs, iiiav 1m' of intcri'st to (riizette readers wlio dcsiro infoniiat ion 

 as to the nature of tlie soils and their aijji'icull iiral vahie in this jioi-tion of 

 the Connnonw caUli, and t(j eonijjare tliein with Ivpical soils of the mainland, 

 already ])ul)lislied in the Gnzpttc 



The soils examined are t\|iical of the soils met with in New Guinea, and 

 were eollecte(| midei- the direction of .Mi-. Stanifoi'th iSmith, Director of Asri- 

 culture, I'apua. Mr. Staniforth Smitli reports as follows : — 



Tlie twelve .sanipk's of soil that have heeii forwarded to the Director of Agriculture, 

 Sydney, have been cl)taiiie(l from all aceessihle portions of the Territory. U ith the 

 exce])tion of the Sogeri soil tlu; elevation has been near the sea level and generally taken 

 from places only a few miles inland from the coast. 



In every case a piece of land has been selected which was a fair average of the agri- 

 cultural land of that district, and in no case has soil been selected that is situated less 

 than i?(l chains from a river bank. 



A hole, with perpendicular sides, has been sunk to a de])th of IS inches or 2 feet and 

 the soil for analysis taken in slices of even width from the surface to the bottom ; any 

 stones found in this have bi^en included. With the two following exceptions none of the 

 soils taken ^\ere more than 100 feet above seadevei : — 



Sogeri, 1,700 feet. Kemp Welch, about 300 feet. 



8j)eakint|; generally, these are rich fertile soils of a loamy nature, friable, 

 and fairly easy to work. They are <,'ood nitrifying soils, and should be 

 capable, under cultivation, of giving good results with any kind of crop 

 .suited to the climate. With the exception of the soils from Woodlark Island 

 and Cheshunt J^ay, they may he elassed as rather light loams. These two are 

 rather ]iea\v clay loams, hut the clav appeal's to l)e of a friable iiatur(>, and 

 if the drainage is eHicieiit they should pre.sent no dithculties to cultivation. 

 The relation of the .soils to w;iter an- good, the capacit}' foi' retaining moisture 

 heing in all cases high, and the humus content satisfactory. With one 

 exception, that of the Woodlark Islaiul soil, the capillary power is good, and 

 the soils are in good mechanical condiiion. 



In only one instanee, that of the iSogeri soil, is the land sour, and in this 

 case the application of lime apjieai's desirable, as the soil is deficient in this 

 ingi-edi(>nt, and its addition would help materially in sweetening the land. 

 Iti .id other cases the soil is abundantly sujijilied with lime. They are, on 

 the whole, fairly rich in )ilant food, nitrog(Mi and phos))hates being from 

 satisfactory to good, but are iinariahly low in potash, and this ingrediiMit 

 Would have to l)e .supplied in the case of such crops as tobacco, coco-nut, 

 banana, and fruit-trees generally. 



With this exception, it is doubtful whether manuring will be required, at 

 least, fo]' the first few seasons. I am not in a position to spsak authori- 

 tatiyely as to theii- suitaliility for tropical crops, but they are fertile soils and 

 should give good results with any of the crops cultivated on the mainland. 'i"he 

 lighter .soils sliould be capable of producing the finer \arieties of tobacco leaf. 



