Journal of Agriculture. [lo May, 1910. 



The most striking difference between the soils of Herault, and those of 

 the vine-growing districts of Victoria, consists in the prevalence of lime 

 in the former case. This is in marked contrast to its scarcity with us. 

 The rocky hills to be seen everywhere are of limestone, chiefly of secondarv 

 geological age, and they forcibly strike a Victorian by their marked 

 differences from our primarv schists so abundantly in evidence in Vic- 

 toria. 



Vast accumulations of limestone rock are almost e\erywhere in evidence, 

 and it is the prevalence of this element which constitutes the most vital 

 difference between our own and southern French soils, a difference which 

 has an important bearing on the question of reconstitution, and which needs 

 to be thoroughly realized when it is being considered. 



The soils of the second category are often termed locally Tcrres dc 

 Souhergue. They are intermediate between the other two and, so far as 

 the heavy bearing vineyards are concerned, they play the most important 

 part in the viticulture of the department. 



Geologically considered, one finds considerable variety in the Herault 

 soils ; the most important formations, in order of area thev occupy in the 

 vine-growing region, are the following : — 



Tertiary formations occupy a most important place, especially among 

 the soils of the second group. The soils resulting from their decomposi- 

 tion are amongst those most frequently to be met with in the \ineyard 

 lands. They comprise blue and' yellow marls and what is known as 

 Montpellier sands. The latter type, of Pliocene age, covers a large area 

 of country. The soils resulting from the decomposition of this soft sand- 

 stone are very rich in lime and have given much trouble in connexion with 

 reconstitution. In them, the majority of stocks suffer severely from 

 chlorosis. The frequency with which one meets with this word, unknown, 

 fortunately, in Australia, is well known to any one conversant with French 

 viticultural literature. 



An analysis of a sample of typical soil of this character appears on 

 the next page. This and those following were made bv Mr. P. R. 

 vScott, Acting iChemist for Agriculture. 



Secondary formations are also largely represented, but chiefly in the 

 higher levels. The hillside soils, knoAvn as Garrigues, belong to this 

 epoch. They are chiefly of Jurassic age and consist of hard, but fissured 

 rock. Ne\ertheless, formations of this description are to be met with here 

 and there in the lower lands of the department, mainly as out-crops, for the 

 majority of them are, more or less, covered by extensive tertiary deposits. 

 The soils resulting from the decomposition of these hard limestone rocks are 

 much freer from excess of lime than those of Tertiary age. Chlorosis 

 is seldom troublesome, so much so that the chestnut is often found grow- 

 ing in these soils, a tree which is as susceptible to excess of lime as an\ 

 American vine. This seeming anomaly is explained by Professor H. 

 Lagatu in the following words : — 



The upper Jurassic is constituted by hard magnesian Hmestones .... 

 (lithographic limestones). Though these can be broken into fairly large angular 

 fragments, natural agencies fail to reduce them to a state of powder. Hence it 

 is that the soil results solely from chemical attack; progressive removal of the 

 calcareous portion, by water saturated with carbonic acid, leaves a clayey and 

 ferruginous residue, very plastic and containing at most a few hundredths of lime 

 (carbonate) often i to 2 per cent 



Taken as a whole, secondary formations play a lesser part than 

 Tertiary in the vineyard soils of Herault. Among these, Jurassic pla\ s 



