9-— THE MANURIAL NEEDS AND RESOURCES OF THE 



TRANSVAAL. 



By Herbert Ingle, B.Sc, F.C.S., F.I.C. 

 Chief Chemist, Transvaal Department of Agriculture. 



Though at present the economic importance of the Transvaal 

 depends mainly upon its mineral resources, there can be no doubt 

 of the vital interest attached to the agricultural possibilities of the 

 country if it is to become the permanent home of the colonist. 



A factor of the utmost importance in determining these possibili- 

 ties is the character and composition of the soil, for though climate, 

 rainfall, water supply, possibility of finding a market for produce, 

 and other circumstances, to a great extent determine the progress of 

 agriculture as a business, these become merely insignificant considera- 

 tions if the soil be not productive. 



The chemical composition of the soil, though by no means the 

 only item of importance in assessing its productiveness, is certainly 

 a great factor in gauging its potential fertility. Unless the 

 constituents of plant food are present in the soil in sufficient quantity, 

 no combination of favourable circumstances as to temperature, water 

 supply, and other features, will yield good crops. 



Until recently, but few analyses of Transvaal soils had been 

 made. The few that were available indicated that, compared with 

 European soils, those of the Transvaal were poor in most of the 

 important constituents of plant food, and that, judged by the 

 experience of ordinary temperate climates, they were in urgent need 

 of manures. 



During the past three years, analyses of about i6o samples of 

 soil from various parts of the Colony have been made in the Chemical 

 Laboratories of the Transvaal Department of Agriculture, so that we 

 are now in a position to speak with some degree of confidence as to 

 the general character of our Transvaal soils, so far, at least, as their 

 chemical composition is concerned. 



"In a tract of country so extensive as the Transvaal, we find, as is 

 to be expected, considerable differences in composition among the 

 samples, but, though here and there are to be found patches of soil 

 rich in most manurial ingredients, the greater number of samples 

 indicate that the soil, in general, is poor in organic nitrogenous 

 matter, phosphates, and lime. Potash compounds, with some few 

 exceptions, are generally sufficiently abundant. Again, speaking from 

 the experience of European countries, most of our Transvaal soils 

 would appear to need additions of combined nitrogen, phosphates 

 and lime, in order to possess average fertility. 



But to judge soils in tropical countries from the standpoint of 

 the experience obtained in temperate and less sunny climates is not 

 fair. It is found in actual practice that a soil of extreme poverty, 

 compared with average English soil, will often, in this country, yield 

 quite respectable crops. 



This is the experience in other parts of the world, e.g., Assam, 

 where the tea soils of great apparent poverty, nevertheless yield good 

 crops. Several factors, no doubt, are influential in bringing this 



