T. RiGCx 403 



Composition. The glacial soils are loams containing 8-5-9 per cent, 

 stones and fine gravel, 40-50 per cent, sand fractions, 15-19 per cent, 

 clay fraction. They are well supplied with calcium carbonate and 

 potash. The phosphoric acid in sample 53, from one of the small 

 areas, is very high -47 per cent., while the available phosphate is out- 

 standingly so for a soil which is not very heavily manured. The sample 

 is somewhat low in available potash and probably would benefit by 

 dressings of potash manures, particularly for market-garden crops. 

 Sample 51 from the Blunham district contains available plant food to 

 an extent only slightly above normal. 



5. Brick Earths. 



The material of this formation, laid down by rivers of an early 

 period, is extremely uniform throughout the district, and therefore 

 constitutes only one soil formation. The topsoil is a brown heavy 

 loam, resembling the glacial soil formation very closely in texture, but 

 containing fewer stones and gravel. The subsoil to a depth of several 

 feet is characterized by a large percentage of roimded pieces of chalk, 

 together with some fine gravel. The soil is used extensively for such 

 crops as late potatoes, brussels sprouts, onions, parsnips, mangels and 

 to some extent cereals. Only one crop a year is taken off this soil 

 formation and consequently the land is not very heavily manured : 

 25-30 tons of dung once in three years seems to be the usual dressing. 



Brussels sprouts or late potatoes usually receive the manure, while 

 the following crops, onions and parsnips, are often dressed with soot. 

 Malt dust is frequently used for onions on this formation, and is held 

 in high esteem. There is no definite system of rotation of crops on this 

 soil formation, but care is taken not to put the same crop on the land 

 too frequently. 



Composition. The brick earth soil formation is probably derived 

 from material re-sorted from boulder clay. This being so, one would 

 naturally expect a rather high content of calcium carbonate and potash 

 and a somewhat low percentage of phosphoric acid. Chemical analysis 

 reveals this in a marked manner, the only exception being the low 

 percentage of calcium carbonate in the topsoil, sample 23. All other 

 figures in the chemical analyses are strikingly uniform in both samples. 

 The available plant food is about normal for the soils on this forma- 

 tion. Sample 29 which has till recently been in woodland contains 

 rather a specially liigh percentage of nitrogen and available phosphoric 

 acid. 



27—2 



