SOIL SURVEY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 174, 24 July 1923, Page 8

SOIL SURVEY.

LAND VALUATION BASIS.

SUGGESTIONS BY AMERICAN VISITOR. (By Telegraph—Special to "Star.") WELLINGTON, Monday. .The valuing of land on a basis of scientific' soil survey is the interesting suggestion made to Xew Zealanders by Professor Shaw, Professor of the Soil Technology University of California, who is returning to America, having visited Australia, where he observed that there were cases of revaluation that cost the State thousands of pounds. This-was due to the fact that land was sold to settlers 'as lucerne land, and settlers, partly through poor methods, failed to grow lucerne. He saw a dozen tracts in the same neighbourhood that grew very good lucerne, but settlers took the State to Court, and a judge, who he said was a just judge, but not a soil expert, gave heavy damages in the form of revaluations or remissions. That was in Xew South Wales quite recently. That could surely have been obviated by not selling the land with a crop label on it. • A GOOD INVESTMENT. "I believe that the systematic soil survey of the hinds of New Zealand would be an exceedingly good investment both for the Government and the people," eaid Professor Shaw. "'lt is t>. big, slow job, but it has been.carried out in the United States, Japan, Denmark and Germany. You can work out from their experience a system that would be applicable to local conditions, starting with a reconnaissance type of soil survey, with carefully detailed surrey, when you resume any new blocks of land. I do not euggest , chemical analysis; it is relatively valueless, and requires an exceedingly detailed study. It is the physical feature of the soil, particularly the subsoil; with which your survey would be concerned. "Here is. an example of its efficacy. After being there two years two settlers from Durham came up- to town to settle an 'argument between ' them. One of them found a distinct line through his crop —on' one side a good head of wheat, and on the other a much poorer development of the head. His version was that there were two dstinct types of soil there, and on consulting the map, without the. help of any Departmental advice, he "was, able to convince hie neighbour that this , deduction was quite logical and correct." >.•-.. « LESSONS FROM NEW ZEALAND. As for New Zealand conditions in regard to thn-vtiUsation of land, Professor $haw remarked: "Many of our problems are quite different from yours, but there is a lot to learn from .v.on. Some of our coast lands could be profitably ueed in the same manner as you are doing. as I saw in my tour of the North Island. We could get'brush off those lands if we adopted your methods of concentrating cattle in fairly narrow limits in a range of country, but it ie your handling of land settlement that attracts mc most. I have been reading with keen interest the Parliamentary proceedings in regard to .soldier settlement, land settlement, advances to settlers, and loans to farmere. You are decidedly ahead of us in a great many of these activities."