STUDIES ON THE PALAEOZOIC SOILS OF 

 NORTH WALES. 



By GILBERT WOODING ROBINSON. 



Adviser in Agricultural Chemistry, University College of 

 North Wales, Bangor. 



Introductory . 



The soils of North Wales have been studied by the writer during the 

 past four and a half years in field and laboratory. A number of types 

 have been recognised and studied. Further work is necessary to eluci- 

 date the properties of the types already identified and to establish fresh 

 types. The purpose of the present paper is to give an account of the 

 soils most typical of the area, namely the soils derived from material 

 of the Pre-Cambrian, Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian formations in 

 the counties of Anglesey, Carnarvon and Denbigh^. In this group are 

 included soils derived from the weathering of local glacial drift, and the 

 associated sandy, alluvial and peaty soils. The soils formed of newer 

 materials, including later Palaeozoic soils and Glacial drift of external 

 origin may form the subject of a separate paper. 



A number of soils of the Geological period in question have already 

 been described by the writer elsewhere'-. Otherwise, little or no work 

 has been done on the Palaeozoic soils. The bulk of the experimental 

 work on soils in England has been on soils of Jurassic and later ages. 



Physical Features and Climate of North Wales. 



North Wales is a country of mountains, hills and valleys. The 

 character of its surface and the proximity of the sea give character to 

 its climate, soil and agriculture. The accompanying orographical map 

 will give an idea of the structure of the area. It will be seen that the 



1 A complete survey of Flintshire soils has been made by Mr C. F. Hill, B.Sc., 

 formerly research student of this college. The Flintshire soils are mainly of later age 

 than those discussed in the present paper. 



2 A Survey of the soils and Agriculture of Shropshire, Shrewsbury, 1912. 



