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TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS.. 53 
air, take a delicate rose-colour. This accounts for the beautiful rose tint not un- 
frequently remarked upon the stalks of those Boleti which contain aniline. 
Analysis of the Diluvial Soil of Brabant, Fe., known as the Limon de la 
Hesbaye. By T. L. Pureson, M.B., Ph.D., P.CS. Se. 
The curious geological formation known as the Limon de la Hesbaye, which ex- 
tends from the Seine to the Rhine, traversing Belgium from east to west, where it 
covers the whole of the district of Hesbaye, a great part of Brabant, Hainault, and 
Flanders, is exceedingly remarkable for its fertility. “J¢ ts to this deposit,” says 
D’Omalius d’Halloy, “that we may attribute the richness of the most fertile countries 
of Belgium.” It extends also over Picardy, stretching from the Seine to the other 
side of the Rhine, and is everywhere characterized ‘by its great fertility and the 
excellence of the vegetable mould to which it gives birth by culture. No fossils 
have as yet been discovered in this deposit; it ranks among the “modern,” “ post- 
tertiary,” or “ diluyial ” formations of geologists; and there exist, on different por- 
tions of the globe, similar modern deposits equally interesting in an agricultural 
point of view. 
I have submitted this remarkable deposit to analysis, and its composition shows 
that though the Limon de la Hesbaye contains upwards of 90 per cent. of pure 
sand, yet the chemical ingredients necessary to form a fertile soil are present in it 
in notable quantity ; besides which, its porosity, which allows water to pass slowly 
through it and admits the ingress of atmospheric oxygen, is an important condi- 
tion of fertility. 
When pulverized and exposed to the air, the Limon de la Hesbaye dries com- 
pletely, but when in mass it retains its moisture for some time. When seen in 
mass it is brownish yellow, becoming of a lighter colour when dry, and giving a 
whitish-yellow powder when pulverized. Its density is about 2:00 (water=1-00) ; 
it has a straight fracture, possessing a certain compactness, though it can be pul- 
verized in the hands without much difficulty. 
The sample analysed by me was taken in the neighbourhood of Brussels: I was 
careful in selecting it from the centre of a stratification about 2 yards thick, and 
where it had never been submitted to cultivation. The result obtained is as 
follows :— 
NGAUS a otios Sc pagdseegetancacseies traces 
Organic matter and combined water........ 3°00 
PACTIMIOTIA Ts ale ofs.siolae raze leveteiarelale igs eieCeadle chaisle 0:10 
Potash, with a little soda ................ 0:23 
Ibe, Boconrecncqpancocgqdoneoagnognde .. 0-40 
DPN oy a wetness, cp). Some, Kabeia tears sata viele 0:07 
Alumina, with a little oxide of manganese .. 1:20 
Oxidecof irons sacri nee reeled iia derstelsrtets 2:56 
PHOnphOMe HIG) ois hie GGEen sweaivages § OZO 
Sulphuric acid 
OHTOMNE spose ag htaeigtere Rs Reneuates arom +eeee traces 
Carbonic acid 
Qua rbZGsO: SACs eyfarte, oat eyeher dale esehinre atid alent oats 1 A. 
100-00 
This composition resembles that of another deposit of Limon, equally remarkable 
for its fertility and the readiness with which it is converted into excellent arable 
land,—I allude to the celebrated tchornoizen, or black diluvial soil of the Ukraine, 
which has been analysed by several chemists; it extends from the Carpathian 
Mountains to the Urals, giving to the whole district included between these two 
ranges a characteristic fertility. 
It is not my intention to discuss the geological origin of these deposits which 
are so important to agriculture, but I may state here that they are all post-tertiary 
formations, that they exist in seyeral parts of the globe, and that the regions where 
they are present appear to be, in an agricultural sense, highly favoured by nature. 
