Welcome to WOSSAC
The WOSSAC archive contains a broad spectrum of materials from around the world. Here, we provide some examples of these documents as a sampler of the diversity of materials held. The index numbers relate to the WOSSAC item coding system.
WOSSAC: 24495
631.473(414)
A collection of typed and hand-written soil reports for the Anglesey area between 1912 and 1935. Eighty-eight sheets in total inside a binder. The sheets are generally in good condition, can be clearly read and show little sign of damage.
The sheets contain information on the environment of the soil sampling site, including: soil reference number, locality, geological data, collectors identity (initials mainly), and dates of collection. Also presented are the data from the laboratory analysis on the soil samples for different soil horizons which includes: stoniness, coarse sand, fine sand, silt, fine silt, clay, Hygrosc.moisture, loss on ignition, Calcium Carbonate, Colour, pH, Exchangeable CaO K2O and P2O5 soluble in 1% citric acid, Organic Carbon, Nitrogen and Cultivation. Proportions for SiO2/Al2O3, SiO2/R2O3 and Al2O3/Fe2O3 in the clay fraction are also provided.
Contributors to the sheets are: Hughes, D.O., Prof. G.W. Robinson, Hugh. H. Hughes, and F. Strokdale.
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WOSSAC: 24488
631.4(548.7)
Joachim A.W.R. (1945), Progress in the study of soils of Ceylon: Agriculture and Forestry. Reprinted from the Journal of Ceylon Association of Science, Part III, October 1945.
A small, A5 sized booklet of 13 typed sheets containing a summary of the surveys of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) conducted up to the time of writing in 1945 for classifying the soils and to assess productivity. The paper covers the topics of classification, suitability of areas for development, the types and distribution of the island’s soils and the crops suited to each type, soil fertility and crop response. Included is a summary overview soil map of the island and a table of the soil groups and series with their respective environmental, geological, plant coverage and chemical analyses.
Generally in good condition and the print is readable.
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WOSSAC: 24487
631.4(510)
Thorp, J. (1935), Geographic distribution of the important soils of China. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China. Vol. 14, No. 2. 160pp.
A booklet containing 160 typed sheets of soil types, an illustrated provisional soil map of China, and seven plates of black and white photos (sample sites and landscapes of interest with descriptions). This is a ‘classic’ publication as it affected the development of USDA classifications of subtropical soils.
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WOSSAC: 19856
631.474 (412)
Agricultural Research Council (1950), Soil survey of Great Britain. Soil Survey Research Board, Report No. 1. 27pp. HMSO, London.
This booklet begins with a brief history into early British soil survey, and classification by G.W. Robinson (chair of the Soil Survey Research Board). Following chapters include: soil survey of England and Wales, 1946-47 and 1948; soil survey for Scotland, 1946-47 and 1948; and a list of the survey staff in 1948 (including B.W. Avery). The soil surveys break the UK into county regions and provide descriptions of the soil series encountered and a brief history into previous studies in the area.
Generally in good condition, but with damage to binding and a torn back cover.
WOSSAC: 24493
631.474 (412)
Hodge, C.A.H. and Bloomfield, C.J., (1979), A survey of acidity in Wood Walton, Conington and Holme Fen, 1978-79. Unpublished.
A collection of 23 loose sheets, typed and held in a folder. Written in May 1979.
Hodge, (Soil Survey of England and Wales), describes the need for a survey of the Wood Walton area in order to provide an appropriate agricultural grading following an initial survey. He includes his methodology, results and the reassessment for the land.
Bloomfield, (Rothamsted Experimental Station), contributes with work titled: ‘Sulphate and pyritic sulphur contents of peat and underlying clay from Wood Walton and Conington fens’. His work includes a table of pH, sulphates and oxidisable suphide found at depths 0-240 cm; maps showing auger bore locations; hand-drawn raster style maps of pH values and classes for the area at different soil depths; and a small scale map of the fields surveyed and their cropping areas.
WOSSAC: 24494
631.473 (412; 414; 411)
Bridges, E.M., (c.1963), A Soil Map of Great Britain.
A 1:2,000,000 map of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, cut into tiles (perhaps for storage), with legend. Accompanying the map is a small booklet describing the map, and appears to be an early draft with hand written notes in the margin.
The map itself is not of good quality, having been coloured by hand, some place names are illegible and some rough corrections have been made to boundaries.
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WOSSAC: 24491
631.473 (412)
Map and notes for soil profiles in Silsoe area, Bedfordshire.
Two sets of hand-written notes. The first set of notes, dated 6 August 1945, are titled ‘Bedforshire Profiles’ by an unknown author and comprise descriptions of four survey sites in the Wrest Park area. The second set of notes, dated 28-29 November 1946, are titled ‘Soil profiles in woodland near Woburn’, written by W.G.D. Walters, and comprises of woodland soil descriptions for two map sheets in Bedfordshire (24-SE and 24-NW).
The map, dated 16 July 1945 is of the Wrest Park estate in Bedfordshire showing labelled locations of 137 reported borings around the grounds, a legend to the labels and locations of soil profiles.
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WOSSAC: 24492
631.473 (412)
Soil survey and maps for Woad Farm and Forest Farm, Hanslope, Buckinghamshire.
An early set of maps, with brief hand-written notes on the chalky boulder clay soils encountered on two Buckinghamshire farms.
- Field map sheets for the Hanslope area are used to identify the locations of the sample sites.
- 6 inches to 1 mile map of Forest Farm gives field boundaries and field sizes.
- Drainage map for Woad Farm by Northants Land Drainage Contractors Ltd.
- 18 inches to 1 mile map of Woad Farm
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