8 



sistence, making it necessary to take precautions 

 against the drifting of the surface soil of the looser 

 (sandy slopes. 



NATURE OP MURRAY LANDS. 



The land suitable for fruit growing along the 

 Murray consists of two distinct sections : the river 

 flats and the high lands. 



The river flats consist of alluvial soil deposited 

 by the river in the course of ages. These flats are, 

 on the whole, fairly level, but usually contain 

 numerous small local irregularities, which have to 

 be graded off before the land can be planted. The 

 soil usually consists of a variety of clays and loams 

 of a fairly heavy nature, which are often overlaid 

 with a layer of sand. 



The high lands generally consist of loose, sandy 

 rises, which in their native state are often thickly 

 timbered with pine, mallee, and other bushes. The 

 soil is generally a red, sandy loam. The depth of 

 soil varies from about 2 feet to 5 feet, and is usually 

 underlaid with a loose, light-brownish marl. Land 

 of this nature exists by the thousands of acres along 

 the Murray Valley. 



