108 FROGHOPPER BI.ICHT OF SL'C^AR-CANK. 



The chief types of soils are as follows : — 



(1) The soils of tlie Northern Bange Moivntaiiis. derived from the 

 decomposition of the old rocks below, which are chiefly micaceous shales 

 with occasional patches of crystalline limestone. These are mostly 

 hilly lands under forest or cacao and there are no sugar estates in this 

 area. They are marked on the map as ' micaceous shales.' 



(2* The alluvial soils on tJie northern side of the Caronl Eiver 

 between it and the foothills of the Northern Eange, and in the valleys of 

 the Northern Range, derived from the detritus (washings) from the 

 Northern Range. They are lighter than most of the Trinidad soils, often 

 with a cheesy consistency, but are usually deficient in lime. 



The estates in this formation are Golden Grove, Valsayn and St. 

 Augustine (Government Experimental Station) and parts of Caroni. 

 They are marked on the map as " stratified detritus." 



(3) The argillaceous (claij) lands of the Caroni. These are heavy 

 alluvial lands on the Southern banks of the ('aroni River. They are 

 difficult to work, are low-lying and tend to be moist and swampy. 



This formation includes the greater part of Caroni Estate. It is 

 marked on the map as " alluvial and swamp." 



(4) The soils classified by Wall and Sawkins as the Caroni or 

 Carbonaceous series stretch from Woodford Lodge along the coast to 

 Esperanza and inland from this line across the island. 



They are usually poor soils, except where good agriculture has given 

 them a high humus content, and, except near the coast, are rather 

 sandy. This formation is however very variable from an agricultural 

 point of view, and some of the lands in the valleys of the low hills 

 behind Couva give excellent crops. 



The estates on this formation are Woodford Lodge, Waterloo, 

 Exchange and Camden, the Brechin Castle Group, Esperanza, and 

 pai-ts of Forres Park. Some parts of the latter estate are almost 

 pure sand. 



(5) Tlic calcareous clays and sands of tlie Tamann series, are chieflj' 

 along the northern slope of the Central Range. These soils include 

 some of the best cacao lands, and part of the black soils on Forres Park 

 and the back lands of Esperanza may belong here. They are marked 

 on the map as " Central Range limestone."' 



(6) Older Parian sands and shales along the Southern -^ide of tlie 

 Central Bange running running inland from Pointe-a-Pierre. 



Portions of Plein Palais, Reform and Williamsville estates may 

 belong to this formation. The soils are lighter than the Naparima clays 

 that border them on the south, but they are not rich and are according 

 to Seheult deficient in lime. 



(7) The Nariva Series, or Bed Soils of tlie Naparimas. These 

 rather heavy soils make up the bulk of the undulating lands of the 

 Southern Sugar district, where they are intermingled with the black lands 

 of the next group. Nearly every estate in the Naparimas has fields of 

 this t^-pe, easily distinguishable by their red colour. Harmony Hall, 

 Reform and Williamsville are almost entirely made up of this soil and on 

 others it is predominant. It is deficient in lime, difficult to work in wet 

 weather, and dries hard and cracks in the dry season. In dry years, it 

 produces very good crops. 



