75 



The nrst sample taken iii this Division was No. 1, a rather poor, sandy 

 soil, from lands 011 the slope of the hill south of De Erf, or Papenkuilsfon- 

 tein. On the same farm No. 2 was taken, a dark alluvial soil, of greater 

 productiveness than the previous one, and collected from the garden near 

 the house. Both samples proved rather poor in phosphates, and No. 1 in 

 lime as well : they also show signs of being brack, especially No. 2. A very 

 barren belt of country stretches between the Prins and Buffels Bivers, and 

 resembles the Gouph in every respect : flanked on the north by the Klein 

 Zwartberg Range, and on the south by the Touwsberg Mountains, both of 

 which ranges consist of Table Mountain sandstone, its barrenness is not 

 to be wondered at. At Buffelsfontein the bed of the river widens out con- 

 siderably, on entering a broad valley which is literally dotted with farms. 

 Two samples were selected here: No. 3, a sandy soil taken from a vine- 

 yard on the farm of Mr. J. J. van Zyl, and said to be very fertile, and 

 richer than No. 4. The latter was a loose clay, taken from Mr. J. Wolf- 

 aardt's farm, and supposed to be as rich as the soil collected along the 

 Touws River* ; analysis, however, shows that there is not a superabun- 

 dance of mineral plant food. 



.V,5,ONAL MA* OF 



LADISMITH 



I- E 



Passing through the farm Voorbaat, the river course was followed ta 

 the farm Zeekoegats Drift, and here sample No. 5 was selected from soil 

 adjoining the vineyard. Good results have been obtained from sweet pota- 

 toes and other root corps on the particular soil represented by this sample : 

 it is adequately furnished with potash and lime, a fact which will account 

 for this. At BufFels Drift a loose, sandy clay, No. 7, was sampled, repre- 

 senting the bulk of the lands in the valley on either side of the Zwartberga 

 River. Then following the main road to Ladismith, these samples were 

 collected : No. 6, taken from lands on the right bank of the Buffela Kloof 

 River, on the farm Buffels Kloof. The soil here very closely resembles a 

 red Karroo soil : although not equal to such a Karroo soil in fertility, it 

 is said to yield much better results than No. 8. There are several large 

 patches of this soil under cultivation. No*. 8 represents a stiff clay, rather 

 shallow, from the farm Elands Vallei. It is considered to be poorer than 

 No. 6, and this supposition is borne out by chemical analysis. The amount 

 of lime is extremely low. 



* See remarks later on, page 132, regarding the collection of sample from 

 Zevenfontein, No. 1 from the Swellendam Division. 



