10 



this clayish sort of earth consists of very finely divided 

 sand and insoluble silicates, the clayish nature existing 

 on account of this fine division, and not by reason of 

 the presence of kaolin, which only appears in small 

 quantities. When this ground is wet, it looks like heavy 

 greasy clay; in its dry state it forms a loose bottom 

 through which the plant-roots can penetrate easily. 

 Organic matter is generally obtained from it in rather 

 large quantities (8 35 per cent) ; the nitrogen contents are 

 high (0.4 -0.9 per cent), on account of the soil, which 

 is dry from want of air. Other substances required for 

 plant-food are present in such large quantities, potash 

 particularly so. The growth of Hevea on these soils 

 prove that they are extremely suitable for this culture. 



In the hills, a red clayey ground also very rich 

 in nitrogen is found ; under this, which is very suitable 

 for planting, there are frequent layers of laterite, 

 sometimes at a lower depth than that to which the 

 plant-roots penetrate, and sometimes quite near the 

 surface. These laterite layers consist of a red, hard, 

 granular iron-ore, through which the roots cannot grow. 

 The upper layers must therefore be broken open when 

 holing for planting. On estates where this is the case, 

 the laterite shows like a heap of reddish-brown grains, 

 which lie about near the hole and disappear slowly 

 (see fig. 2). On soils which consist of pure laterite, the 

 growth of rubber is but very slow. 



The marshy, low lying lands near the sea coast 

 give rise to other difficulties when they come to be 

 cleared. The ground here is often hard, on account of 

 the height of the subsoil water; when bringing a litmus 

 paper in contact with this subsoil water, the colour 



