ANALYSIS OF WAIKATO SOILS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 2847, 11 October 1890, Page 4

ANALYSIS OF WAIKATO SOILS.

c> TllK i"..i!..wiii'.: M!Kii.y-.).-i .:f Wakul.o soils v.-iiri! ti):i(ls in IiSiIS for Urn Government. They hiivii lio.in tahr.l -ittid by Mr H. K. llyiitt, "f Ciinliridifti Wust, at tlin i-equiist of' the lAii-iilW Club. Ho lias not only li»en iit ciinsifli'i'alile trouble in arranging tliiMii, but has niwi noted s-imonf the chief points tiint in-.y Iμ deduced therefrom, nnd gives ninny hint-- that will prove to farmers. Wo f u ir there will ho n difficulty in Inciting tlie exact spots from which the noils weni tdk-Pi) as only tlm names of tlii! inviKia wi'ra givon in tin" return*, but wt! trnr-t »»iw of (in.- •' old identities" may remember tho :in:ily,jv being mad.-, «»d be able to throw further light on the subject. ANALYSIS OK WAIKATO SOILS, ARIIANT.KII WITH KKC.MII> TO Til ICIU AITKOXIMATB iioJirosiTiOiV.

XV.c'-o"' Deductions. ■;■:,., 1: ,.-i. ■:■:.- -uti:,! elements of the food of |,;.,;;'.; ;:■'. mm' u iirlur.--1< •■>! Ito be tho mineral ~■ nor* id'o iri.ittars which arc absorbed in tli. !; ;i.,u-t.h of their several parts. The fertility of a foil is therefore controlled by the minimum proportion of any rum nf the mineral elements are e-sential to the (jrowiiiK of it* f l-'.nt.-;, however übiinrliuit tlio remainder may be.

Thfl principal assistance which chemical iisinly.si'i nffords is by ascertaininK whuio such dftticifintly or want of |.ic|'ort.ioii amonr» the elements of the soil UNi-ts, in nriln thiit it may be rectified liy nrtiticiiil apr.lientions. lint it is not merely necessary that the noil should contain these r.i"mi!riti«, but also that they should be present in a form that iidmil.s of their be.ng rapidly ul'Horbiwl by the plant*. For this purpoKi they must bo easily dissolved by thn feeblß ic-ngcnts which olFcct this natural proco-:- , . of disint.'ftralion of tin! vobUm. Wr> lmif-t further bear in mind that were it not for another property of ff.«id soil—namely, lii powers of mechaniorilly absorbing and lT.tninins; thovn suluhle elements f,out tlio?c solutions—it is obvious that tlio l;cst soilk, as judged by I ho standard of the proportion of the aolnble matter which they contain, would, within a brief period, become nlurile from having all the ir.ost valuable elements abstracted by a process of simple mechanical percolation. This property of absorption is cm?cted_ in any soil, first by the clay which it contains, and .secondly by the decomposed organic matter which it contains, the former retaining within it<olf the solutions of the inorganic salts, while the latter has a predisposition to select the organic matters which are held in the solution.

Tin) tpiality nf a soil is, therefore, determined tiy tlio iimmiiit of s'llnblu inorganic

::,■,!;; nb-orbnd or huM in a state of phy.iril combination, or, in other words, by'tli" prop'Ttioii wlik-h tlic.ro is of clay to ;!ii.,,il', and of ir.itra'nii inorganic cotii- • Miiniil'. T.i Imi ab ■;".■'.' ■'! I'.v itA Mip.'.ilici.d '-\.-in iii.,i.ioii "f uwdil by \.h». cxpcnripcml is suliii:i Mil, I. i indiiMtc. to him its viiliiu, and, ex(■•pi, with runiird !." 1.1'.u :ibnvo points, fur csccri/iiiilii',' sv;,ii:!i <:\iu;inr:<l analysis is

ii.'c-'.-s:iry, tii'i pr.u'.liciil j'id;,'iin:iit fonmlnd .hi 'l,c in.ipf.c'.ioii c:f il.s tn.>uli;iiiic:iil propci,.i-. ;,nd '.■.•:■ h tin- otlirr .....ih of l;u,.vnas:.luv :■ ivnuilly suiiicinnt for oi'diivirv piirprv.c. :. i[ov.-:nvr perlVi'i :\ :v'A mifrlit Iμ; from n ciipmicjl iv.intoi'li.iv. idl its bent projicr-μ-s may b.--..vprrnlH by iii"cli!inic:il df-J'.-cl,-, such :i.- wiuit, o[ purcoliitioli, v.-.nntof (irninii. , ?'!, t.lin prcsr:ncn of cliarciml in the f ...i 1. which coni!i"li.'s a< nn iipent villi Liu; root-i of |>l;it't ■■, n:d niiiiiv other

:l ii'i:ir!<ntl.v «li;,'!it ami iiniiuportaiit causes v'liu'h arn (jwifc'i Mtiilioiii.it to urre«t the -rowth "f pK.nts, notwitlisf.iin(]inß that (.'..•rry flnirienfc they they rcrpilro may be ,„,.:,.nf, in dun ;>vopoi-;.i'n. In surli wsni .'i , •„•.,..■,'•. :i v/hicliin:li«Mui-.t mpplins is n.io.'ul fi'jiii it.i giving hh assur-

aiicii t;i the farmer that if the mechanical cl'-lußls b:: removed, what may appear to him to be a barren and worthless soil, may \vt b« siHoi'ptibie 'if it liigli stuto of culture.

Fnun a general examination of the above tabid of Hualynis", more particularly the columns at tho lipjht band «i>e, which Rive tin; co:ii(io*ition of the portions of the s»il wiluble i» weak acid, and. therefore must: aMii!uabl<! to atmospheric solvents, it will h< s<>on that not <me of these soils is quite deficient in the common mineral ingredients whifli are β-senlial portions of vegetable tissues. In the above table the soils are iirraiiKßd in order according to their quality, the best soil —Hamilton—heading the list, i.e., of the fifteen samples. From cal"iiliiti.>ns based upon the analy,is of a C.imbridtro soil, Una 4, we Hnd"tliat it contains thn following amounts of the different minerals necessary tn agriculture. The soil to a depth of six inches contains to the ucro :— lb. Silica (soluble) 8,775 Iron oxide 48,600 Alumina 185,5^0 Liuio 10,402 J[»gnesia <,' ,,2 Phasphoric acid f>,142 Potash 8,471 Soda r>,O2S It may bo useful to compare these numbers with the quantities of the same minerals that aro extracted from the soil by representative crops as follows :— (1). Wheat requires per acre (30 bushels): lb. Silica 90*9 Lime 9-2 Magnesia 71 PhiK'.phoi ic acid 21 "1 Votash 2S-8 Soda 2 ' u (2). Red clover hay (2 tons) requires per lb. Silica 7-0 Lime pO-1 Miicnnsia 28 "2 PhwplmricAcid 24'9 Potash S3'4 Soda '"'"I (,V. Turnips (17 tons) require per aero : lb. Silica 77 Li.u-i 74-0 MuKne.sii. /-I* PhoKphuric Acid HS'l Potash 14S-S Soda 24-i! (4). Potatoes (li tons), require per acre : Silica 4'7 Limn - I ' B Magnesia I'J"' Phosphoric Acid 24L Potash "»■<■ Soda 4-2 It will be noticed that the table of analysis given does not mention nitrogen, which is one of the most important plant foods. It must be borne in mind that tho above list of food elements found in the CambridKe soil by no means includes the absolute quantity in which they exist in the soil, but only the portion liberated in a short time by the action of a weak acid, the great bulk ot the soil, or about !>.VI percent remaining intact, and containing a large reserve of the same elements ready for liberation by the more prolonged exposure to disintegrating ngpnts, f.n- it will be noticed the great part of the b;i*B of this soil is basaltic, and consequently rich in alkalies, magnosia and Ori tho whole, therefore, it may safely be affirmed from these calculations, that so far as their chemical composition, or amenability to common disintegrating agents is concerned, there is no reason to expect that nny of these soils may not be advantageously cropped with any plants suited to the climate. X.I-;. The following information was supplied with the sample of Cambridge soil by the sender, Captain Clare. Uncultivated land, tins been rim over by a few cuttle. Yegotation, small fern and manuka. Average depth of soil, "in. to Sin. ; subsoil, 20m. to LMin., resting on sand and pumice. Open plains, principally old bu«h land (Kahikatea ami Matai). The analysis is dated IMS.

I Approximate Analysis. Centkssisially. | Composition of Part Soi.i-hi.k in Acid, i Cc:irof.;::: n ' | N™S_. <=»£££<* LO "on YOr &?£ ! - ? -oS2tt in ! CHy «.. ! Coarse I Gra ,. cl , '. g. ! I | . i "I ! L ! I ! ' j or tao.L. SLI3SO1L. boil.. a ; r _ insoluble solub i cin ; n acids C1.1). Sand _ , Sa]id> Gia-.ci. 1N :j c H j § ! | : « 5 I J] ., . i „. . (:.•-,., I dr >" in S- I wafer. water - wator - a '° ne - | : atkb. r= , g J ] 3 . ~ | * - : P ; * """•"- ; ' ~- ' 1 T,ieut-Colonel Moule ... Sanlyloam White porous clav HamHton i 3 010 C-(K3 -O05 -000 S-OCO IS'000 I 4!) 010 ! 17050 i Sulphates '4JO | -10(1 j S S00 1 "1W i -ltn j -271 '. -J.M \ ... ; •' Captain Clare ... Ditto Sandv qravel ' Ohaupo i '1520 13'062 "003 "OOS 11M0 1C 200 -SICO 21-100 | ... j A'.kalmo sulfates -710 , 4-1-20 ft r.SO -:i:;0 --"."I "Ji-l i -4, u | . . ... 3 - r.vitain McPhcrson Ditto Loaniv i Hamilton : (S'SM li-I'.a! '000 -006 13'SS:? la'OOO ] 11 000 ' 41200 I ... ! Ditto -S01 < S-Trirt | ">-4o0 -170 -l'i' 1 'iJ! i I -iW , •■-. V'. : . -■■ 4' rant- in Clare " Ditto Sandy clay Cambriiee ! 9-r.SO I ll-'.)F,0 '002 '006 S-.'ilO 14800 I SO S50 24'f.OO ! ... j Ditto '200 1-440 j 54SS .T,W , SV' , -1S2 -4i'> ; "S. 1 : "•-■ ■ :.' CapUin McPnerson !.. Ditto White strong loam I Hamilton 4"l:iO , G f.lS -002 -003 0-221 70 .",20 I ... ! Ditto -.".TO 2.W I 070 -220 ■*■*< -241 1 !0O ! ... ... . * •;■-«-■ ■■> ■ G Cp >t?in McPhcr-on Ditto San.lv -ravel I Hamilton : i'CCO . 9-77S '001 "006 <) In.i 11000 1 :". 000 P0 SOO ! ... I Principally rliloridcs -fllO , C 84S -2-0 -2in -.,-2 , T2:0 .. ■ '.- ' I I.i.''ut'-Co!or.cl Sioulo' ' Ditto Sandy Hamilton ' .VO00 li-374 "003 '000 l:i 4S3 0900 30 700 2SoUO ... . Alkaline suiyhatos VW0 .1711 .T:i;i0 -J70 -:il<i Mil , 1 • S Car.-riin" Cl.irc " ' Ditto Sandv "ravel \Vhanitan"ata ' l:i 0C0 : IS 403 '001 -COS 12 700 .V(W0 \ 20 400 ! ... ... : Ditto | -:il0 j 2 840 ; 0-210 -400 -Wi -2"4 , 2 :Sv« , ■ 9 C.-rt«in Snccd'v' Ditto i Sandv loam Tirongia : 17 «0 . 21114 "011 -002 77W • 510O , 210G2 24100 ; ... [ Ditto ! 1090 ] 3 70.) . 2 070 -l.-iO "ill' -211 -2.V1 | 10 Caytain Cl.-ire' '.. Ditto I Sandy "oil Piria, W-.itoa 14'ISO 14333 -006 '014 13'2:5O 3 100 1 :ii ISO 17'000 .. Ditto ! "750 ; :MO0 7 100 :iC,0 ■ -:i7<) -3:,(i ■ 1-2H) 11. Captain Taction .. Ditto Sandv soil Rargiaohia 12-390 17-167 -011 '002 7 170 ... ! ;14 .SW ; 23-400 ! ... ■ Ditto J "410 : 2 S40 2 S70 -450 V-Ml ; : " .. , .. 1-' C.ip'ain Sprcilv Ditto Sandv soil '■ Kihikihi 12 OSrt 1C 004 '001 -004 ->-.VH traces i 2:> S!)0 42 C-00 ' ... : Ditto j "400 ■ SCOT, 1040 M10 -1» "I:!* ' v 4 l.l Captain Sncrdv '.'.. Ditto i Fine rubble Kihikihi 1.V210 10 SU8 "001 'C02 CM , ... , 230T0 44-200 j ... ' Ditto ! -r.n ': 2 Sti) 1 4W j '-IW "2:'i' -l.M v'-o 14 C-.i::t-iiM Tisd-,11 ! Ditto I Sandv 'oam AI«an Ira 17 r.DO 10 SS5 '007 "OOi i S10 traces :;i 410 80 020 ! ... ', Dit!.< '7f0 ; 4 000 1470 -J In •:■•■> -OID •■ ■>' 35 Lv-tit -Colonei Muulc ' ' Ditlo , AW""- , )- Hamill-vi 2 170 4-»j -007 '000 J-fti-O ■ ... SS 41:0 ; ... i Ditto -ilO 1 4C0 I 2140 ■ 'lsil ' .!'.'. -]l'5 ■ -H5 \ ....:.'i.:o