408 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [NOVEMBER 
lava and is selected from a large series collected by H. S. WaAsH- 
INGTON (U.S. Geol. Survey, Professional Paper no. 14). The 
DMs oes es eke BIS. RSs hs Belt oak 0.80 
jes ae er eee SU S07 EMS oes hea ek 3.93 
) i 8 Saige Cae ga oe Are ee eer 0.49 
jg | er tear Seat oe ae BO PEM eee es ae o> Be 
ENT ol ee es BOGE. ee oe ti Fe ees 0.20 
ei id Se Oe Os has ala as 0.02 
TS 8 gle Meade Soap naire ae Ca ged &: 8 DORE Re ares aetciameneres Ort 0.10 
soils derived from the weathering of these basaltic lavas are very 
different from those common on the mainland of the United States. 
Burgess? states as follows: 
They are primarily basic in composition, whereas those of North America, 
for example, are ac cidic.. ..The bases or framework of Hawaiian soils are the 
oxides of iron and aluminum, whereas the basis of mainland soils is silica. A 
glance at the following table will show these great differences better than 
words can express them. These figures represent averages of large numbers of 
soil analyses made by the “‘absolute” or “fusion”? method. The column 
marked “Mainland soils” represents averages of soil analyses from almost 
every state in the Union and from provinces in Canada. The column labelled 
“Hawaiian soils” gives average figures for over 300 composite samples of soil 
from the leading types on all of these islands. All of these analyses were made 
here and under similar conditions. 
Hawaiian soils | Mainland soils 
Per cent Per cent 
Basic constituents.......... 63.717 18.9 
Acidic constituents......... 36.458 81.014 
RG PAL. 6.55 355 anes 59.240 13.250 
CAD ic Rick eee ce oe 0.698 0.830 
TD sien oe ate ie a Sa weer e oO. 77% 
Be eee 0.737 1.622 
INA AS es Beer 1.420 2.229 
The prevailing low summit temperatures have already been 
noted. The annual mean temperature of Mauna Loa at the timber 
line is estimated by the United States Weather Bureau as sa F, 
and the summit temperature as 35°. The Bureau states “‘in the 
® Rept. Haw. Sugar Planters’ Expt. Station, Honolulu. rors (p. 62). 
