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This paper deals only with ancient shoreline features found neal' the northel'l1 and eastern shorelines of the Pauatahanui Inlet of Porirua Harbour. Correspondence of the heights of these features with heights of Pleistocene shorelines overseas is remarkably close. Although Porirua Harbour lies in a tectonically unstable environment, a hypothesis advanced by Cotton (1952) suggests that the Harbour itself may have largely escaped the effects of recent differential earth movements. Pleistocene shorelines could well be preserved in such a locality, and terraces are correlated by height with the (post-glacial) thermal maximum, Late Monastirian, Main Monastirian, Tyrrhenian, Milazziqn, and Sicilian shorelines of other regions.

This paper contains a description of the peat soils on part of the Auckland Islands which lie in the South Pacific Ocean approximatelỹ WO' miles south of New Zealand. Peat forms a blanket over the surface of the Islands and is the parent material of most of the soils. In the area examined in detail the average thickness of the peat blanket was approximately 6 feet. A fossil soil horizon in the peat was dated by the radiocarbon method as 6290 ± 110 years before present. This is tentatively correhted with the post-glacial thermal maximum period any by applying the chronology established elsewhere for this period it is concluded that the blanket peats of the Auckland Islands began accumulating at least 40DO years ago. A thickness of from 2 to 6 feet of blanket peat has been built up in this time. The peat blanket is discussed with regard to origin and development, decompositIOn, movement and erosion, the underlying mineral material, animal contributors and chemistry.

Field trials showing apparently anomalous lack of response to sulphur topdressing of dryland lucerne on brown-grey earths in the Maniototo basin, Central Otago, were followed up by soil studies.Soil analyses showed the presence of sulphate in the deeper layers (2 to 4 ft) of the non-responsive soils, but no such accumulations were present in the responsive soils.Sulphur concentrations in lucerne from the non-responsive soils were normal (0.19% S or greater), but lucerne from the responsive soils had lower sulphur levels (0.15 to 0.17% S).Conditions leading to the presence of sulphate in the subsoils are discussed and two situations are recognised: (a) the older browngrey earths have accumulations of sulphate-bearing salts in the subsoil, often below the c\aypan; and (b) the lower horizons of the younger brown-grey earths are continually replenished with sulphate which is present in low concentrations in the ground water.The significance of the results in relation to fertiliser recommendations for dryland lucerne on brown-grey earths is discussed.

This paper summarises characteristic environments and morphologies of soils from schist parent rock which occur in a climosequence in Central Otago. Average values for pH, carbon, nitrogen, cation-exchange capacity, percentage base saturation, and phosphorus are used to illustrate sequential differences in soil chemistry. Trends in sulphur and levels of rhizobia and nitrifying bacteria are discussed.Dryland pastoral management techniques for soils of the sequence are reviewed. By correcting successive factors limiting pasture production it has been possible in some places to increase stock-carrying capacity 10-fold or more. The scientific approach to increasing primary production is illustrated by this soil sequence study, which can be casilv comprehended and applied..