220 Thi> Gpoloijij of the Gold Fields of British Guiana. 



cultivated to the extent theii" mei'its would warrant, as thev are subject 

 to flooding, and thus at times to the danger of loss of the crops grown 

 on them. As a general rule they are ocher3^-yellow, somewhat stiff, 

 soils. They ai-e, as a rule, far more fertile than are the soils which 

 have been produced by the decomposition of the country rocks in situ. 

 Some of them, especially those situated near Harimaraka in the 

 Mazaruni River, are of marked potential fertility, and are rich in 

 their contents of nitrogen, potash, lime and phosphoric acid. 



The ieolian soils are fine, sandy soils utterly unfit for cultivation- 

 purposes. They ai-e deficient in all the elements of plant-food, and 

 where they occur on the upper slopes of the sand dunes support merely 

 a sparse vegetation of stunted bush ; whilst on the lower slopes, below 

 the level of the water-table, they are covered with layers from two to 

 four inches in depth of matted vegetable debris and tangled roots, and 

 in many places carry very heavy growths of mora-forest. 



In low-lying places in the colony, over very large areas, the land is 

 covered with soils which vary from peat, with nearly 90 per cent, of 

 organic matters, to peaty soils, with from 35 to 45 per cent, of them. 

 The organic matters of these soils are formed by the accumulation and 

 partial decomposition of ferns, sedges, and other plants which flourish 

 on the low-lying swampy lands of Guiana. In their natural state their 

 fertility is very low, as they are loose in texture, so that in wet seasons 

 they become sodden with stagnant water, and in dry seasons form dry 

 spongy layers which have comparatively little retentive power for 

 hygroscopic water. The deep fleposits of pegass are practically useless 

 for economic cultivation, but the shallower ones, by deej) cultivation, 

 so as to bring up some of the underlying subsoil, usually a greyish to 

 white pipe-clay, are rendered heavier, and if then properh^ drained, 

 become in a few seasons very fertile, but even after this, crops on 

 them ai'e very liable to fail in periods of either excessive rain or of 

 drought, especiall}^ of the latter. 



It is evident from the compositions and the physical characters of 

 the soils of the interior of the colony that few of them are of well- 

 marked fertility. But in the neighbourhood of all the placei's I have 

 visited there are soils which will repay cultivation if they are utilised 

 for the production of the commoner tropical food-products. Cassava, 

 sweet potatoes, eddoes, yams, sugar-cane, bananas, limes, capsicums, 

 and pineapples are among the products which can be successfull}' 

 cultivated on many of the lighter soils, whilst plantains, bananas, 

 sugar-cane, maize, sorghum and rice are crops suitable for cultivation 

 on the heavier ones. 



Swine and various kinds of ])oultry do well in man}' [)arts of the 

 bush ; and where locations over considerable areas are made, it will be 

 in the interest, not alone of the owners, but more especially of their 

 labourers, if considerable areas of land are placed under cultivation, so 

 as to obtain vegetables for the stafl^ and the labourers, and food for 

 live stock. 



