6;o 



Journal of Agriculture , Victoria. 



[lo Oct., 1912. 



The most striking difference between tlie soils of the greater part of 

 Victoria and those of France, Spain, &c., is the low lime content of tbt^ 

 former, and the very consideral)le quantity of it present in the latter. 

 In European vine\ards, except in a few isolated districts, it is rare to 

 find a soil containing less than 5 per cent, of lime. In Victoria, if we 

 except the Wimmera, the Mai lee, Geelong, and a few parts where vines 

 are not extensively grown, it is unusual to find' a soil containing i |-er 

 cent, of lime, whilst the great majority contain less than .1 per cent. 



Many of our vineyards are in auriferous country, and belong, geo- 

 logically, to the Silurian backbone of the State. Such hilly formations, 

 as well as the sedimentary valley soils resulting from their decomposi- 

 tion, are alike poor in lime. So poor are they in this element that it 

 is reasonable to question whether, in manv Victorian vineyards, lime may 

 not possess a real manurial value whirli it is not recognised as having 

 under European conditions. 



Lime Contents of Victorian Vineyard Soils. 



Thanks to the co-operation of the Chemist for Agriculture, a good 

 many analyses of typical vineyard soils have been made during the past 

 three years. On examining these it is possible to divide that portion of 

 the State comprised between the main Dividing Range and the Murray 

 River, which contains fully 95 per cent, of the vineyards of Victoria, into 

 two distinct regions; in one of. these the soil is remarkably poor in lime, 

 whilst in the other this element is very plentiful. 



The low lime region is of very considerable extent, and, if Mildura 

 (in the high lime region) be excluded, it contains 92 per cent, of the remain- 

 ing vineyards of the State. It is separated from the high lime region by 

 a somewhat irregular line from the junction of the Murray and Goulburn 

 Rivers, n^ar Echuca, to the Grampian Mountains. As might be ex- 

 pected, the line of demarcation is not well defined, and in its vicinity 

 soils of high, medium, and low lime contents are somewhat mixed up. 



The following table contains analyses of typical vineyard soils through- 

 out this extensive area ; the North-East. Goulburn Valley, and Great 

 Western being represented, as well as Whitfield, which is typical of the 

 lower levels of the main Dividing Range: — - 



Table A. — Low Lim^. Reghn. 



