14 
and cultivation, be made to lend itself to the special requirements 
of the plant, whereas in the second instance, the welfare and pro- 
ductiveness of the plant is mainly dependent upon the nature and 
peculiarity of the climate. 
It is a well-known fact that soils are more or less suited to 
different sorts of trees, and it is one of the leading features of 
Western Australia that the nature and character of the soil is 
extremely variable; the line of demarcation of one kind being in 
many instances somewhat abrupt and sharp in its delimitation. On 
closer examination, however, the soils which are met with in the 
agricultural districts of this State belong to only a few well-defined 
types. These are often intermixed together in various ways, and 
cover, generally speaking, small areas only. Their recurrence at 
frequent intervals, according to the contour of the locality, lends to 
the country a motley appearance; a characteristic which has been 
appropriately expressed by the word “patchy,” which applies more 
or less to the whole of the territory comprised in the South-West of 
Western Australia. Most conspicuous amongst the soils of that 
division are the following :— 
TRoNSTONE GRAVEL. 
With which the Darling Ranges are mostly covered. The soil 
consists of ferruginous claystones, or laterite ironstone, showing as 
coarse pea gravel, varying in size from that of shot to that of 
marbles. In colour it varies from a light yellow to a dark red, 
according to the amount of oxide of iron it contains. It is generally 
mixed with a fertile loam, the result of its own disintegration, or it 
consolidates into a hard conglomerate which, broken up, makes a 
very good top dressing for roads. 
Where mixed with a fair proportion of loam, this soil is capable 
of producing a high-class wine, clean {o the taste, rich in colour, 
and of pleasant bouquet. Fruit trees generally do well on it. Gener- 
ally speaking, it is costly to clear and, on account of the uneven- 
ness of the surface, cultivation in many places is rendered difficult. 
This ironstone gravel is generally well drained and easily pene- 
trated by plant roots. It is poor in lime and also requires liberal 
applications of phosphates and of potash. Good results have been 
obtained by using explosives to erack the subsoil where it is in- 
tended to set trees, or by blasting the ground in the winter in 
proximity of trees already planted. By this means the pipe-clay or 
the rocks which constituie the subsoil are fissured and a deeper 
range is provided for the roots. 
In gullies and in favoured spots a rich deposit of brown and 
red loam, varying in depth from 6 to 24 inches, cover this soil, and 
wherever land of that description occurs, fruit trees or vines bear 
well and thrive. 
