LII. CHEMICAL NATURE OF THE SOILS OF N.S.W. 
hygroscopic powers, the extent to which it permits of the 
free passage of air and water, are all factors which are of 
even greater importance in determining the fertility of a 
soil than is the amount of chemical plant food; for unless 
the condition of the soil is such as to enable the plant to 
make use of the mineral matter present, the soil will be a 
sterile one, even though it is supplied with a superabundance 
of plant-food. Moreover, deficiency in plant-food is easily 
remedied by the application of artificial fertilisers contain- 
ing the ingredients which are lacking, whereas defects of 
texture can only be put right by operations which often 
involve considerable expense and the expenditure of much 
time and labour. 
No scheme for the utilisation or conservation of water 
for the purposes of irrigation can afford to overlook the 
nature of the water itself or of the land to which it is to 
be appled. 
Analyses.—The attached tables give analytical data 
showing the nature of soils typical of different areas of 
the State, and have been prepared with the special object 
of drawing attention to the peculiarities which are notice- 
able in the soils of the Western Division, which comprises 
the arid or semi-arid district. Before discussing these 
results, I should like to say a few words with reference to 
the manner in which the soils have been collected and the 
objects with which the analyses have been made. 
It would have been more satisfactory had it been 
possible to collect and analyse a number of soils with the 
special object in view of illustrating this paper. This has, 
unfortunately, not been feasible, and the analyses here 
tabulated are selected from a number which have been 
made of soils, forwarded for the most part in a haphazard 
manner, principally by farmers who desire information as 
to the best methods of treatment of their land. The 
