SOIL SCIENCE 129 



Dr. St. C. O. Sinclair, appears to be well staffed and equipped for 

 soil investigation. In its soils section there are, besides several 

 analytical and other assistants, twelve qualified officers, of whom 

 eight devote their time mainly to soil survey and four to funda- 

 mental research on the structure, composition, and classification of 

 soils. In the section of agricultural chemistry work is undertaken 

 by some eight qualified officers and their assistants on fertilizer 

 requirements, brak reclamations, and soil biology. The Division 

 of Veterinary Services at the Onderstepoort Laboratory, under 

 Dr. P. J. du Toit, studies soils in connection with mineral and 

 other deficiencies in animal diet; and the Division of Plant Indus- 

 try, under Dr. I. B. Pole Evans, undertakes soil research on pasture 

 lands, particularly in relation to the effect of humus on fertility. 



The two agricultural faculties at Stellenbosch and Pretoria and 

 the four schools of agriculture are also studying soils, with special 

 reference to problems of composition, alkalinity, manuring, and 

 biology. At Pretoria University, work carried out by the agricul- 

 tural department clearly indicates the great importance of the 

 relationship between soil moisture and plant nutrients. The results 

 already obtained throw new light on this relationship in semi-arid 

 and irrigated soils. A committee on soil erosion, consisting of 

 officials of various departments of state as well as representatives 

 of farmers' and other organizations, has been in existence for 

 several years. 



A soil map of the Union, based on a survey by the division of 

 chemistry, was published in 1929.^ Every class of soil from gravels 

 to heavy clays is represented in several varieties, but, in compari- 

 son with European standards, practically every soil in the Union 

 was found to be seriously deficient in phosphorus, humus, and 

 nitrogen. These deficiencies aflfect the nutritive value of the grass 

 and so may influence the incidence of stock diseases. 



Systematic classification of soils in the Union is more recent 

 than this publication. Valuable data from portions of the summer 

 rainfall area have, however, been collected, much of which was 

 presented to the recent international soil congress at Oxford by 

 C. R. van der Merwe (1935). The remaining portion of the Union 



^ The title of 'Official Soil Map' is somewhat misleading, because it was compiled 

 not from a scientific point of view, but purely for utilitarian purposes, for farmers 

 aijd other?. 



