F. B. GUTHRIE. LVII, 
loams and heavy loams. With the increase in decayed 
vegetable matter, which, as we have seen, will be one of 
the results of irrigation, this retentive power for water 
will be considerably improved. This is exemplified in the 
case of the soils from the Richmond River and other places, 
and is especially noticeable in the laterite soils from Malaya, 
where the increased humus content has increased the water- 
holding capacity of the soil enormously, although the pro- 
portions of sand and clay are, on the average, the same as 
in our Western soils. This characteristic of the soil to 
absorb and to retain moisture is one of the very greatest 
importance in determining their fertility, and although the 
average of the soils examined from the semi-arid regions 
is lower in this regard than the average of soils from other 
parts of the State, it must be borne in mind that these soils 
are for the most part sandy soils, and only fairly compar- 
able with similar sandy soils from other parts. 
The average water-holding capacity of the loams and 
heavy loams will be found to be quite as high as that of the 
same class of soils from other places. It is, I think, a 
matter of congratulation that we are able to assure our- 
selves that, in this important particular, the soils in our 
drier districts are in no way inferior to those of more 
favoured regions. 
Mineral Plant-food.—A second very striking peculiarity 
in these soils is the large amount of mineral plant-food 
present. It will be seen, on comparing them with the 
County of Cumberland soils, for example, that they contain 
about three times the amounts of lime and potash, and 
twice as much phosphoric acid. This is, of course, largely 
to be attributed to the absence of water, which, in more 
humid regions, carries away a considerable proportion of 
saline matter into the sub-soil. To show that these 
peculiarities are not abnormal, and that they correspond 
with what has been observed elsewhere, I quote some 
