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although rendered necessary by the investigations as to the 

 nature of soils with which Sir Robert Kane is occupied, it 

 was important also to present a more general view of the 

 distribution of those classes of soils, which would embrace a 

 large range of values, and constitute, in fact, a generalization 

 of the former, or map of detail. For this purpose, the system 

 of colourings employed in the detailed map had been based 

 upon the use of groups of colours ; thus, the really waste 

 lands, as from value zero to two shillings, being marked in 

 Indian ink, the class of inferior lands were all indicated by 

 various tints of brown ; the class of medium soils were indi- 

 cated by various shades of green and yellow ; the class of 

 superior soils with various tints of blue and purple ; and, 

 finally, the class of soils whose values are above thirty- two 

 shillings are practically found to derive their advantages more 

 from artificial and local circumstances than from intrinsic con- 

 stitution, and these are all coloured with tints of red. The 

 different classes of land are thus indicated by five typical 

 tints: 



Black, .... Waste lands. 



Brown, 

 Yellow, 

 Blue, . 

 Red, . 



Soils of inferior value. 

 Soils of medium value. 

 Soils of superior value. 

 Soils of factitious value. 



The indications thus obtained are very illustrative of the 

 several influences on which the practical values of soils depend. 

 The elevation above the sea, the proximity of towns, the 

 direction of great roads, evidently determining, together with 

 the chemical constitution of the soil and the geological cha- 

 racter of the locality, the practical result on which the finan- 

 cial value depends. 



Sir Robert Kane was led to the construction of these maps 

 from his anxiety to obtain a term of comparison for the fertile 

 value, as deduced from the chemical composition of the soils 



