THE SOILS. 



19 



Partial analyses of soil samples — Continued. 



"o 



is 



as 



08 • 



"3 



6 



OJ 



0> 



n 







II 



1^1 



Pi 



If 



O 



go 

 •£o 



3 



o 



CO 



£o 



o?Ph 

 O— - 



Ph 



So 



s 



o 

 pq 



Carbonate of 

 lime in soil. 



Remarks. 



18 



0.02 













0.00 



0.00 





















salts. 



18 1 



.03 



.05 



4.00 













.00 

 .00 

 .00 



.00 

 .00 

 .00 



do 



Do. 



18 c 













do 



Do. 



22 



0.20 



0.50 



1.62 



0.19 



0.07 



Large amount . 



Carbonates and chlorids 























(black alkali). 



23 



.60 



.14 



.17 



.03 



.02 



.04 



.00 



.00 



do 



Carbonates (black alkali). 



24 



.13 













.00 



.00 



Small amount . 

















salts. 



25 



1.60 



.36 



.46 



Trace. 



.01 



.03 



.00 



.00 



do 



Carbonates (black alkali ) . 



26 



.52 



.12 



.24 



.03 



.04 



.04 



.00 



.00 



Large amount . 



Do. 



29 



.50 



.11 



.14 



.02 



.04 



.00 



.00 



.00 



do 



Do. 



32 



2.20 



.48 



.29 



.02 



.28 



.08 



.00 



.00 



.'....do 



Carbonates and sulphates. 



321 



Crust. 



16.19 



28. 46 



1.05 



12. 75 



.18 



.00 



Trace 



do 



Do. 



33 



.70 



.12 



.39 



.03 



.21 



Trace. 



.00 



.00 



do 



Do. 



34 



.16 



.00 



.12 



.02 



.01 



Trace. 



.00 



.00 



None 



Not harmful amounts of 























salts. 



38 



.35 



.00 



.27 



Trace. 



.02 



Trace. 



Trace. 



.00 



Large amount . 



Do. 



40 



.14 

 .35 

















do 



Do. 



41 



.00 



.25 



.01 



.02 



.04 



Trace. 



.00 



do 



Do. 



43 



.25 



.00 



.19 



.00 



.01 



.00 



.00 



.00 



Small amount . 



Do. 



44 



.50 



.03 



.36 



.03 



.02 



.07 





.00 



do 



Carbonates ( black alkali ) . 

 Not harmful amount of 



50 



.25 



.00 



.18 



Trace. 



.03 



Trace. 



.00 



.00 



do 























salts. 



Only partial analyses are given, since they are sufficient to determine the kind and nature of the 

 soluble salts. 



The analyses of the water soluble component were made according to the conventional formula 

 adopted by the Bureau of Soils: that is, to analyze the portion taken out of a soil by water, when 

 the soil is kept in contact with twenty times its weight of water until equilibrium has been reached. 



It has been found in the experience of the field parties of the Bureau of Soils that 0.6 per cent of solu- 

 ble salts is a dangerous amount in a soil if there be no carbonates present. When soluble carbonates 

 are present, 0.4 per cent may be regarded as the limit of endurance for cultivable crops. These limits 

 have been established by the use of the bridge or field method for determining soluble material in 

 the soil. The method of leaching, such as has been used in the accompanying analyses, will fre- 

 quently give higher figures than those stated above as the limiting values for cultivable plants. 



It appears from Mr. Griffiths' notes, together with these analyses, that salt grass {Distichlis spieata) 

 is a black alkali plant. This bears out former observations and work of the staff of the Bureau of 

 Soils. 



The analyses show that several very important native forage plants 

 grow on soil which is decidedly alkaline and which would in all proba- 

 bility not be easily brought under cultivation. The use of native 

 species of plants as indicators of fertility of soil is recognized by all 

 ranchers in a general way. This, however, is more especially true of 

 the black sage than of any other plant. It is universally recognized that 

 soils which produce luxuriant growths of this shrub are fertile and are 

 especially well adapted for the cultivation of alfalfa, the main crop of 

 the region. On the contrary, grease-wood soil is seldom cleared up 

 and cultivated. When, however, it is desirable to bring the latter 

 under cultivation, it is said that timothy is the most certain crop, and 



