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it as an ingredient, and chiefly from felypars, one of the constituents 
of granite. Of these, the richest, Mr. E. 8. Simpson, of the Mines 
Department, reports having analysed were from a pegmatite cut- 
crop at Ferndale, Balingup, which yielded 12.56 per cent. of potash. 
and another at Mahogany Creek going 12.2. It may be said 
that a soil showing .03 per cent. of potash on analysis does not 
usually need a potash fertiliser. Crops not fed off on the ground 
remove amounts of potash which vary greatly. Beets may remove 
as much as 100 lbs. per acre, and cereals about 30 lbs. A table given 
above (page ) gives the relative likings of various fruit crops for 
potash. The percentage of that element of plant food in soils 
usually rises with their contents of clay, but eases occur in which 
even heavy land is deficient in availolle potash. Reclaimed swamps 
and sandy soils are almost invariably benefited by the application 
of potash fertilisers. 
Potash in Western Australia, 
Besides the two cases of potash felspar mentioned above, Mr. 
E. 5. Simpson draws attention to investigations made while potash 
was unprocurable during the war as to likely sources of supply 
within the State. 
Amongst others he mentions the “Glauconite” sand from Mole 
Cap Hill, Gingin. He gives four analyses which show that the 
chalky outcrop which supplies the phosphated lime sold by Mr. 
V. B. Gordon contains a fraction under 2 per cent. of potash, while 
the glauconite sand under the chalk contains nearly 3 per cent. 
Another mineral called “Jarosite,’” found near Northampton, is 
reported to contain up to 5% per cent. of potash. 
The most promising form from which a low-grade potash is 
likely to be procured is in the “Alunite” deposits of Kanowna, which, 
after roasting and treatment, savs Mr. T. Blatchford, of the Geo- 
logical Department, yield a material which contains up to 7 per cent. 
of potash, and can also be utilised as a source of aluminium. 
Som, AMENDMENTS OR IJMPROVERS, 
Besides the fertilisers reviewed in the previous pages, soils 
often need the application of methods of fertilising which exercise 
on them both a mechanical and a chemical effect. 
Amongst the most commonly used amendments are: 
Lrur, which is especially valuable for the renovation of worn- 
out soils and for breaking down stiff clay and making it more friable 
and pervious to water; it supplies plant foud; it assists in the de- 
composition of organic matter, and for this reason a soil poor in 
humus should receive more sparing applications of lime than soils of 
a peaty nature, or rich in organic matter; it sweetens sour soils in 
neutralising the acids; it decomposes injurious substances in the soil 
