40 THE FARilERS HANDBOOK. 



Speaking generally, they are typically fertile soils, in good mechanical 

 condition, and should provide good pasture, for which purpose they are 

 eminently suitable. There should be no difficulty in raising good crops of 

 every kind suited to the district. 



SOILS OF THE BLACK SOIL PLAINS, 



An extensive and typical area of black-soil plain country is that occurring 

 in. the north-western portion of the State, in the country watered by the 

 Barwon and its tributaries, the Gwydir, Namoi, and Castlereagh, and lying 

 roughly within a circle bounded by Coonamble, Inverell, Moree, Collaren- 

 dabri, and Walgett. 



These soils are probably of alluvial origin and include some of the richest 

 grazing land in the State. A glance at the tabulated analyses will show 

 that they possess certain well-defined characteristics in common which 

 distinguish them from the soils met with in any other part of New South 

 Wales. 



None of them differ in any important particular from the average soil 

 obtained by calculation. Those examined are all either virgin or grazing 

 country. 



They are stiff clayey soils, of low capillary power, and highly retentive of 

 water, becoming very sticky when wet, and very hard and cracked when dry. 

 They are not, as a rule, rich in vegetable matter, though their black colour is 

 an indication of the presence of humus. Whether this black colour is due to 

 a peculiar condition of the humus present or to the condition of the iron-salts 

 is a matter for further examination. The nitrogen content is invariably low, 

 but they are very rich in mineral plant-food, particularly lime and potash, 

 and are extremely fertile soils. Even a superficial observation of the nature 

 of the native timbers and the luxuriance of the herbage after rain affords 

 sufficiently convincing proof of their fertility. 



They are also deep soils, often of considerable depth, so that they are not 

 likely to be readily exhausted. 



From their mechanical constitution they are to be classed as wheat lands. 

 From an agricultural point of view, their principal drawback is the initial 

 difficulty of getting them into good tilth, as, owing to their extreme stickiness 

 when wet, and to their caking hard when dry, tillage operations are always 

 difficult, and, except at the most favourable time — when they are in the right 

 condition as to moisture — ploughing is practically impossible. Once broken 

 up, the surface becomes friable on exposure to air, and their future cultiva- 

 tion presents no difficulties. They are very commonly slightly alkaline in 

 nature, but. not sufficiently so to cause any trouble. They are not alkaline 

 soils in the sense of the alkali plains of the Western States of America, 

 which have presented so serious an obstacle to cultivation. 



In discussing the qiiestion of the use of bore water on these soils, however, 

 rhis fact must not be lost sight of, as the use of this water for any length of 

 ime will, undoubtedly, tend to exaggerate the defects already noticed, 

 namely, their alkalinity, their deficiency in humus, and the sticky nature of 

 the soil when wet, and its tendency to harden and crack when dry. Indeed, 

 the peculiarities are just what one would expect if the soil had been subjected 

 for a length of time to the action of alkaline bore-water. 



