24 



The soils of a great part of the Albany Division, and of the adjacent 

 divisions of Bathurst and Willowmore, are apparently derived from the 

 quartzites of the Zuurberg Range in the Witteberg geological series, a 

 formation lying over the Bokkeveld series, which forms a large portion 

 of the Ladismith Division. Like the soils derived from the somewhat 

 similar Table Mountain series in the George Divison, these sands, or sandy 

 loams, as they become in certain localities, are agriculturally poor, and 

 would be greatly improved by the admixture of clay, especially if vege- 

 table mould were added simultaneously, and the further addition of lime, 

 either as burnt lime, or, less expensively, as crushed limestone would 

 vastly augment the soil's adaptability for agriculture. 



ALBERT. 



No. 

 1. 

 2. 

 3. 



(Privately collected.) 



Field Cornetcy. Farm or place. Collector. 



Lower Groot River. Odendaalstroom. .A. Struben. 



These samples were collected by an officer of the Public Works De- 

 partment from irrigable lands on the bank of the Orange River below 

 Odendaalstroom. No. 1 was a brown silt, rich in lime, but of medium 

 quality as regards nitrogen; No. 2 a stiff red, sandy clay; and No. 3 

 a red sandy clay. These red soils are apparently derived from the red 

 shales and clays of what have been termed the Burghersdorp beds.* These 

 beds consist of fine-grained sandstones, but their fertility seems to be due 

 to the still finer clays with which they are associated. 



The chemical analysesf resulted as follows : 



(Method I.) 



mm. Sieve. 



Potash. 



042 



048 

 051 



Phosphoric 

 oxide. 



149 

 138 

 089 



Of these three soils, the silt, as frequently proves to be the case, 

 is chemically the best, and No. 3, the most sandy, is the worst, being poor 

 in nitrogen and potash, with only a moderate amount of phosphates. No. 

 2 is well supplied with lime, although inferior to No. 1 in this and other 

 respects. All these soils are lacking in potash, but it must be remembered 

 that the good all round supply of lime compensates for other chemical 

 defects. 



ALIWAL NORTH. 



(Officially collected.) 



No. 



1. 

 2. 



3! 

 4. 



Field Cornetcy. 

 Aliwal North. 



Farm or place. 

 Municipal area. 



Collector. 

 E. A. Nobbs. 



* Ann. Kept., Geological Commission, 1904, pp. 75 and 77. 



t For mechanical analyses of ttese soils see under the head of " Physical Composition 

 of Soils," Part VII. 



