662 



land, and is generally found on the slopes of the undulating 

 country which constitutes its home. On the flats the 

 soil is often of a lighter character, there the wattle or jam bush 

 predominates. A lighter loam still is found on the river banks, and 

 is generally overgrown with the above named trees, in company 

 with the banksia and at times with the sheoak. The chocolate 

 loam, or wattle and jam, or York gum land, is considered one of the 

 best balanced in the elements of plant food in the south-west 

 district of this colony. Fields not long cleared and well cultivated, 

 yield in average seasons from 1 6 to 26 bushels of wheat to the acre, 

 and from one and a half to two tons of hay. Rich patches of land 

 occur in this country, and are found where the manna gum tree 

 grows." 



LIGHT COLORED LOAM AND DECOMPOSED GRANITE. 

 Vast areas of land extend beyond the jam country from the 

 Midland railway line in an eastward direction towards Meckering, 

 covered mostly with salmon bark gum tree, with which is associated 

 the gimlet wood or fluted gum tree. By ringbarking, the soil is 

 easily brought under cultivation. The soil consists of a dun colored 

 loam, rich in potash. A corn growing area. 



SANDY SOILS. 



This country supports shrubs of different growth, such 

 banksia and, in places where it is not deep, either white or red gui 

 with, at times, blackboys, and near the coast the willow myrtle or 

 peppermint tree, and on the limestone coast ranges east of the 

 Darling ranges, the tooart. Where limestone or a loam sub-soil 

 underlays the sand at a shallow depth, there vines and stone fruit 

 trees grow with great luxuriance. 



While these conclusions are correct in the main part, they are 

 not to be taken in any way as po-itive. In fact, so far as the white 

 gums are concerned, the analyses of soils I have made lately where 

 the white gum tree was the only or principal timber, are the richest 

 in potash, with the exception of X<>. cS (sec analyses, page o()S). 

 They are not only to be found on clay soils, but also on calcareous 

 clays, where the limestone and clay juncture with each other, and 

 which will be general y found to be rich in potash, and good land 

 for wheat. From the analyses of soils the white gums and morrell 

 gums would seem to indicate a soil rich in potash. I have only 

 ^ivcMi a lew of the analyses of soils w.iich I have made, but they 

 point to the jarrah and rcdgum soils as poor in potash. It would 

 be rash to come to any definite conclusion from the few analyses 

 I have made up to the present, that is, few when we consider the 

 extent and variety of soils thai are to be found in this colony. 

 With a motv extended series of analyses of the soils, together with 

 analyses of the ashes of the indigenous trees of the colony, we shall 

 have much more li.^ht thrown on the subject, which will enable us 

 to come to more definite conclusions as to what soils we are to 



