8 



KERRY WOODS. 



the results of the mechanical analyses of the samples described 

 above. Sample IA consisted chiefly of fragments of shale 

 and contained very little clay (2*2 per cent.) or fine silt (4/4 per cent.). 

 The soil was evidently the debris washed down by an adjacent 

 stream. It is remarkable chiefly because of the excellent growth 

 of spruce on it (see Group IA, p. 23). The remaining- soils from 

 the Ludlow Shales, conform, as nearly as one could expect, 

 to a type, considering the large area from which they were selected. 

 The average composition of these 10 samples is given below. 



AVERAGE MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF SOIL ON LUDLOW SHALE. 



This composition shows the soil to be of a texture which is very 

 suitable for the growth of trees. 



Chemical Analysis. The results of the chemical analysis are 

 given in Table II (Appendix A, pp. 52 and 53). As a general rule 

 it may be stated that the chemical composition of a soil is of very 

 much less importance in the case of forest trees, where the produce 

 of the soil is removed only at very long intervals of time, than in 

 the case of agricultural crops. 



Provided that the soil is of good mechanical composition, 

 sufficient depth and protected by a proper canopy, trees will thrive, 

 in the presence of sufficient moisture, on soils extremely poor in 

 mineral food. For instance, Henry * gives the following analyses 

 as typical of the dunes of Gascony, where the soil on an average 



* " Les Sols Forestiers," Annales de la Science Agrononiiqiie, 1907, Vol. ii., 

 pp. 246 and 307. 



