a—io.

It is clear that the National Park provides much that will attract all who are interested in the mysteries, and the wonderful facts of the gigantic forces of volcanic action, the towering mountain forms, the glaciers, active craters, and rushing steam provide objects of interest and appeal which must attract and engage the imagination of all. Soils ox? the Park. Mr. B. C. Aston, Chief Chemist of the Department of Agriculture and Vice-President of the Royal Society of New Zealand, has kindly prepared the following report on the soils of the park. Mr. Aston is also a member of the Park Board :— The soils of the Tongariro National Park have only been examined in a few localities on the Tokaanu Road frontage. In mechanical composition the samples usually fall into the category of sandy silts for the top 9 in. of soil and also for the subsoil taken to a further depth of 9 in. These lands, therefore, in texture are similar to the great areas of air-borne soil which is spread out round Rotorua, Matamata, and Tauranga Counties. The great lack in all these soils is a sufficiency of clay particles, which is the fraction which confers retentiveness on soils. There is only up to 3 per cent, of material present fine enough to be classified as clay in any of these soils or subsoils. While excessive porosity leads to ease of working, it also results in the ready leaching of any plant-food which becomes soluble in water or which is applied in a water-soluble state such as nitrates and sulphate of ammonia. The loose texture also enables superphosphate to be more easily leached out of the surface layer and deposited rather lower in the soil than is available to the pasture-roots. The chemical analysis, however, shows that there are comparatively large amounts of lime and other bases which may be dissolved out by strong hydrochloric acid present, although the available plant-food, lime, and phosphoric acid is deficient, as is also the total phosphoric acid. The large amount of lime extracted by strong acids indicates that the parent rock from which these air-borne soils are derived contained more of the bases calcium, magnesium, and iron than that which supplied the air-borne showers of material which now form the majority of soils of the fertile Rotorua and adjacent counties. The fundamental manurial treatment of the soils analysed should be the application of phosphates, and probably a mixture of superphosphate and basic slag would give the best results in establishing a sward for lawns or pasture which might be grazed by cows. Some small plots of the usual grasses and clover which were sown many years ago near the Haunted Whare are evidence of the ease with which pasture grasses may be established with the aid of phosphates, and without any nitrogenous dressings, in this district. The fact that the parent material of the soils was an andesite rather than a rhyolitic rock is evidence that these recently deposited soils would, on maturing and mixing with organic matter and consolidating, prove even more fertile lands than do the air-borne Rotorua soils. Hence, when it becomes necessary to establish a farm for the supply of the usual products to the Chateau this may be quite well attempted on an area outside the park boundaries with every prospect of success. The sites at which samples were drawn were as follows : (1) Cullen's Whare, taken from a heather association (ling) ; (2) Haunted Whare, in somewhat boggy ground where heather is encroaching ; (3) a nearby area to (2) ; (4) on the track to Pukeonaki from the main Park-Tokaanu Road in a heather association ; (5) near Whakapapa River at junction of main road 2,950 ft. above sea ; (6) at 700 ft. higher, at the foot of Pukeonaki. Mechanical Analysis.—All the above soils were sandy silts having the following mechanical composition : Fine gravel, up to 3 per cent. ; coarse sand, from 21 to 28 per cent. ; fine sand, from 28 to 34 per cent.; silt, from 14 to 23 per cent.; fine silt, from sto 9 per cent.; clay, from 2to 3 per cent. ; loss on ignition, from 6 to II per cent. The chemical analysis shows that the deficient manurial ingredient is phosphoric, acid whether it is present in " available "or " total " forms. The soils are acid, but on such porous soils acidity may be better for plants than neutrality or alkalinity. There are great reserves of both lime and magnesia and the total nitrogen is present in good proportion. The following table shows the results of the chemical analysis carried out by Mr. F. J. A. Brogan, M.Sc., of the six topsoils : —

Chemical Analyses. Results, except, are percentages on soil dried at 100° C.

5

1 per Cent. Citric-acid Extract, irwimr.Mnrip nivtrnct Lime-require- j Volatile Matter. Dyer's Method, Hall's Modiflca- pw ''f ment ' P er 0ent - 1 tion. C Available Plant-Jood.") ( Total Plant-food. ) CaC0;ji | torvNo Locality. ~\ Nitro- ~ j~~ j I PH On gen ' Phoê " Mas Phos " n On Soil 1 ♦At Lime, Potash, phoric Lime, ■£* Potash, phoric Air100" C. CaO. K t O. Acid, CaO. «gg; K,0. Acid, £ed Tongariro National Parle. X/1061 Cullen's Whare .. 2-6 10-7 0-270 0-030 0-011 0-008 0-003 1-70 0-40 0-08 0-05 0-19 0-19 5-4 X/1063 Haunted Whare .. 2-3 9-7 0-236 0-029 0-007 0-003 0-002 2-33 0-43 0-07 0-04 0-17 0-18 5-3 X/1065 Road to Haunted Whare 2-4 9-8 0-245 0-036 0-012 0-007 0-003 1-99 0-41 0-08 0-05 0-17 0-18 5-6 drive X/1067 On track to Ngauruhoe 2-0 7-6 0-148 0-028 0-007 0-004 0-001 0-70 0-19 0-04 0-04 0-10 0-10 5-6 X/1069 Near Whakapapa River, 2-4 11-3 0-235 0-033 0-010 0-007 0-002 1-84 0-37 0-07 0-05 0-19 0-19 5-2 2,950 ft. above sea X/1071 700 ft. above road at sign- 2-4 10-7 0-229 0-026 0-009 0-006 0-003 2-34 0-56 0-07 0-06 0-18 0-19 5-7 post at foot of I'ukeonaki, 3,600 ft. above sea