100 Jie zi; MAIDEN. 
Wales published by me;’ much of the country marked W 
in that map (W 2, 3, 4) is liable to sand-drifts. 
3. Classification of Western soils.—The western country 
may be divided into three classes :— 
a. The black earthy plains (the “black-soil plains’’) which 
crack when dry, but which do not move. 
b. Soil with more or less clay in it; this may blow away 
but it does not drift. Much of this country is subject to 
inundation during high floods. 
c. Drifting sands. The soil is composed of clay, vege- 
table matter, and sand. The lighter component parts blow 
away during seasons of extreme drought when the sur- 
face is denuded of vegetation. The remaining sands— 
mostly red in colour but sometimes white—are the drift- 
ing sands of the west. 
I presume that the drift sand is the product of the 
denudation or of the disintegration of the Desert Sandstone, 
but the origin is doubtless well known to geologists, who 
have chemical and other data in regard to it. At all 
events it is not rich in the elements which go to promote 
plant life. 
4, Geological origin of the moving sand.—Where does 
it originate? In Central Australia, extending further 
towards the west than towards the east of the continent. 
As far as our own State is concerned, the Barrier and 
Grey Ranges arrest the great bulk of the sand tending 
to come from South Australia, and the Murray River 
performs a similar service in regard to the desert country 
in Victoria. In other words, our trouble has originated 
within our own borders. Between the Barrier Range 
and the Darling River there are tracts of sand hills and 
undulating sandy country which have been well: grassed 
1 Proc. Linn. Soc., N.S.W., 1902. 
