486 J. w. BEWS. 



present one, in which a more detailed oecological survey of 

 this Province is commenced. 



In the first part of the former paper the various factors 

 that influence plant life in Natal — geological structure, 

 soil conditions, rainfall, mists, temperature, light, winds, 

 fire, and animals — were described and discussed. Even in 

 the comparatively small area especially dealt with in the 

 present paper most of the types of plant formation deter- 

 mined by these factors are found. In a general paper which 

 deals with the vegetation of a whole country, most attention 

 is naturally paid to the climatic factors, but when a detailed 

 analysis of the various plant associations in a limited area is 

 the object in view, the edaphic factors are of most importance. 

 Consequently in this paper more attention has been paid to 

 the latter. At the same time it is well to keep in mind how 

 greatly the edaphic factors are themselves influenced by tlie 

 climatic factors, and nowhere can this be better seen than in 

 Natal. 



The new industry of wattle growing has of late years led 

 to very extensive interference with the natural vegetation. 

 Stock farmers are also finding that certain foreign grasses 

 are very well suited to conditions in Natal, remaining green 

 and succulent when the natural veld grasses are dry and 

 withered. It is extremely probable that in a few years com- 

 paratively little of the original veld will be left. It is there- 

 fore all the more important that an oecological survey should 

 be completed with as little delay as possible. The area 

 described in this paper is representative of the large midland 

 section of Natal. The writer hopes in the near future to 

 survey the coast belt, and the mountainous region of the 

 Drakensberg. 



The aspects of plant oecology that constitute a prominent 

 feature of the work of H. C. Cowles and F. E. Clements in 

 America, and C. B. Crampton in Scotland, namely the stud}- 

 of the influence of topography and physiography on the 

 vegetation, have influenced to a certain extent the direction 

 which the present work has taken. The conception of 



