199 



In the Division of Steynsburg ten samples of soil were collected on the 

 farm Groene Vlei, in the Brak River Field C'ornetcy, north of the railway 

 line near Thebus Station, by Mr. W. B. Gordon, late Director of Irriga- 

 tion. They axe not included in the list of soils collected in the above men- 

 tioned division,* and were examined by mechanical analysis with the fol- 

 lowing results : 



No. a ^. . 



A 36-18 14-22 49'60 



B 42-42 28-54 29'04 



C 44-92 23-92 31'16 



D 25-14 35-34 39'52 



E 37-82 30-72 31'46 



F 46-14 16-96 36'90 



G- 28-72 35-84 35'44 



H 23-72 32-86 43'42 



I 24-96 49-06 25'68 



J 23-68 39-06 37'26 



The [joils in the neighbourhood may be generally described as sandy 

 loams, with a very distinct tendency towards alkalinity, and rather cal- 

 careous in parts. 



More comprehensive than any other series of mechanical analyses 

 undertaken in the Government Analytical Laboratories was the investiga- 

 tion into the physical composition of the different types of soil which occur 

 on the Government Experiment Station at Robertson. In dealing with the 

 chemical analyses of the soils from the division named, mention was made 

 of four samples, Nos. 21, 22, 23 and 24, taken from the grounds of the Ex- 

 periment Station. When the surface soils, which were subsequently 

 chemically examined, had been removed to a depth of eight inches, further 

 samples were collected at each spot, representing every succeeding eight 

 inches in depth, up to a total depth of four feet, thus making six samples 

 a-s representing the soil-profile at each of the four spots, or 24 samples in 

 all. In the tables below, the numbers 21, 22, 23, and 24 signify the sur- 

 face soils to eight inches deep; Nos. 21a, 22a, 23a., and 24a mean the second 

 eight inches of soil, and so on. | 



* See page 126. 



t It may be explained that the figures in the following tables are all the results of 

 direct determinations upon the air-dried soil. Any loss of material would therefore be 

 included in the " moisture," which would represent the total weight of the air-dry soil less 

 the sum of the weights of the different grades of soil particles. 



