This paper, after sorne reminiscences of the environment, deals with the pedogenesis, the classification, the characteristics and the geography of New Hebrides soils.

The soils derive mainly from basic and volcanic rocks, even on limestone plateaux. They are often young or frequently rejuvenated by volcanic ashes. Three main groups of matured soils are differentiated, according to a climatic sequence due to the tradewinds : ferrallitic soils in the wetter southeast part, fersiallitic soils in the drier nortwest part, andic and hurnic soils on the "perhurnid" higlùands. Weakly matured soils formed by erosion and brown soils appear on the steep slopes of old volcanic mountains. Vitric, mollic and hurnic andosols derive from recent volcanic products. The wetter the climate, or the younger the volcanic ashes, the more andic are the soils. A correlation is attempted between the soils units of the French pedological classification and those of the sail map of the world by F.A.O. The prominent features of the eighteen rp.ain groups of New Hebrides soils are outlined. At the end of this paper, a sketch map at 1/500 000 shows the soils geography of all the archipelago.