VOL. xvii.(3)) MAP OF CHELTENHAM 301 



The following analysis of a piece of hard blue clay from 

 the Valdani-Beds has been kindly made for me by Mr George 

 Embrey, F.I.C., F.C.S., County Analyst :— 



CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF LOWER LIAS CLAY 



{Valdani-Beds) from Battledown Brick Works. 



per cent. 



Water (free) 678 



Loss on Ignition (on dry portion) . . . . 6-62 



Nitrogen . . . . • • • • • • • ■ '28 



Carbonates (reckoned as Carbonate of Lime. CaCOs 9"37 



Potash (K,0) -193 



Phosphoric Acid (PjOJ 1-92 



Phosphoric Acid rendered available by i % solution 



of Citric Acid i 02 



The tracts where the Lower Lias clay occurs, which are 

 not covered with houses and their gardens, are, for the most 

 part, laid down to pasture. The ground is heavy, in winter 

 waterlogged and cold, but in summer shrinks badly, origina- 

 ting cracks. So much does it contract in periods of drought 

 that houses built upon it frequently have their walls cracked 

 and their drain-pipes shifted. 



Before anything can be done with the land it must be drain- 

 ed and, if intended for garden purposes, it is desirable to make 

 the soil more open and porous. This process is best accom- 

 plished by autumn cultivation and the working in of gritty mat- 

 ter, such as road-scrapings, garden-refuse, wood ashes or charred 

 clay. Farmyard manure is also good for improving this class 

 of soil. The apphcation of hme is desirable as it assists in 

 improving the texture of the clay and renders active the dor- 

 mant nitrogen and potash in the clay. In the way of concen- 

 trated fertiUsers phosphatic manures hke basic slag and bone 

 manures produce good results on the Lower Lias clay. Basic 

 slag should be occasionally apphed to pastures, as it encourages 

 the growth of clovers and fine herbage ; while periodical 

 dressings of lime are also good. . 



Elm-trees grow well upon the clay as may be seen from 

 the fine specimens in the vale and the area of land devoted 

 to orcharding proves that apple-trees also do well, provided 

 the land is adequately drained.' 



I 1 am indebted to Mr G. H. HolUngs worth, Instructor in Horticulture for the Gloucestershire 

 Education Committee, for assistance in preparing these paragraphs. 



