received by me were quite normal soil. It may have been reasonable and proper to sample such places to find out how frequently they occurred. It is necessary in examining the country generally to do this to see what the soils are like. 1029. But they could not be called patches of wheat- growing country. are those sample included in those taken from the district?—I am not giving you the salt pans. 1030. But the patches we are speaking of are salt patches?—Am I to infer that the majority of the samples of the soil taken Esperance were taken from the salt like? 1031.By the CHAIRMAN: Not the majority, but some—I do not know what proportion?—In that case it seems to me that carelessness must have been shown in the original sample of the country. 1032. By Mr. PADBURY: Do you mean the original samples?—Yes. 1033. By the CHAICMAN: We do not say the majority, but a proportion?—Of the original samples, 93 per cent, Contained .05 and 33 per cent, contained .02, so that unless the majority of them were taken from salt pans, the conclusion I have drawn must be taken as justified. 1034. By Mr. McDONALD: It seems to us that most of the original analyses were made on the natural assumption that the samples were taken from places where the land could reasonably be cultivated?—Quite. 1035. And some came from the edge of the salt lakes, and some from salt pans?—I cannot say where they were taken from. If I am asked to make a report on a large number of samples of soil to judge of the character of a district, I must infer that the samples are taken in the district, and if the samples are taken in an reasonable manner to judge of the nature of the district, and if the samples were wrongly taken, then I cannot be responsible for that. 1036. I understand the object of the person taking the samples from these salt places was to find out how much salt the wheat would stand.