Where to Plant 29 



steep, sloping land so as to ensure good drainage. 



Shallow Mallee Soils. These vary from about 

 nine to eighteen inches in depth. The sub-soil is 

 either the usual light-brownish marl, a whitish cal- 

 careous clay, or limestone rubble underlaid with 

 marl. The natural vegetation is often dense, with 

 medium to small individual trees. This is the most 

 difficult of all the upland soils to deal with. Where 

 the sub-soil is the usual loose brownish marl, which 

 allows the irrigation water to pass through it fairly 

 rapidly, the trouble is not so great. Where, how- 

 ever, the sub-soil is greatly impervious to water, as 

 is generally the case with the whitish calcareous 

 marl (which when irrigated gets into a tenacious 

 putty-like mass), then injury from salt may be 

 expected. 



Therefore on soil of this nature it is not advis- 

 able to plant peaches, nectarines, apricots, almonds, 

 or oranges. Of all classes of trees the pear is 

 the hardiest in its resistance to both salt and seep- 

 age; but most varieties of vines are even hardier. 

 The sultana, currant, and doradillo have been found 

 toi>e able to withstand salt and seepage better than 

 other varieties of fruits, and are the "safest" pro- 

 position to plant in this kind of soil. 



Level and Gently Undulating Mallee Lands. 

 These lands are of various depths, but having little 

 or no fall have practically no get-away for the irri- 

 gation water excepting straight downwards. As 

 the sub-soil of the mallee lands is often impervious 

 to water, water-logging may result. Salt also often 

 makes its appearance on this kind of land, and is 

 probably due to the natural salinity of the soil, 

 aided by defective drainage. 



Neither citrus nor stone fruits should be planted on 

 this type of land, the vine being the only safe pro- 

 position. 



