262 .1. w. BEWS. 



there is an enormous deposition of moisture. One cannot 

 walk along the edg"e of the bush without being immediately 

 di-enched, and the soil underneath is also soaking in moisture. 



This kind of deposition is for the same reason greatest 

 where the rainfall is also greatest, namely, on the high ridges, 

 along the coast, at the edges of the terraces, and on the forest 

 areas. 



The practical importance of this kind of deposition of 

 moisture has already been sufficiently demonstrated in the 

 growing of Wattle (Acacia mollissima). It is found that 

 it does not grow well outside the " mist-belt " even where the 

 soil is suitable. 



In addition to this summer mist there is a cold winter mist, 

 which settles down into the valleys. It is due to the fact 

 that the colder air in the absence of winds sinks down to the 

 lower levels, and being able to hold less moisture owing to 

 the falling temperature a cold frosty mist is formed. In the 

 early morning from a hill top the other hills can be seen 

 rising above the white sea of mist like so many black islands. 

 I shall have occasion to refer again to this cold winter mist 

 in dealing with temperature. 



It is very important to note as carefully as possible in what 

 form moisture is deposited. As we have seen, a very con- 

 siderable amount — how much it is difficult to say exactly — is 

 deposited as mist. This affords a constant supply of water 

 to plants growing in the mist-belts during the summer. 



3. Rain and Hail. — A large amount of the recorded rainfall 

 falls in the form of heavy thunderstorms. This Avater drains 

 away very rapidly, flooding the rivers and washing down soil. 

 Such thunderstorms may be accompanied by hail. 



Hail-storms are especially frequent at the higher altitudes 

 in the vicinity of the Drakensberg. They travel great dis- 

 tances, usually in a narrow strip. Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, in 

 a note to ' Jock of the Bushveld,' says that he took a plaster 

 cast of a hailstone — a slab of white ice — and found that it 

 measured 4| in. by 8^ by H. The hailstones usually vary in 

 size up to that of a fowl's eg^. Their destructive effect is 



