518 



J. W. BEWS. 



neath overlying sandstones. In many places tlie process lias 

 doubtless been assisted by the Bushmen^ who used the caves 

 thus formed for shelter. These caves occur not only in the 

 Cave Sandstones but in the other beds as well. Their chief 

 interest to most people lies in the Bushman paintings, which 

 they often contain, but they also afford shelter for many 

 interesting shade-loving plants. In such caves, large and 

 small, soil is able to accumulate, and if, as often happens, the 

 type of plant formation is bush or scrub, a rich leaf-mould 

 gathers and the undergrowth is relatively a rich and varied 

 one, ferns and brj^ophytes in particular being abundant. 



At the top of the lower portion of the range (A^an Reenen's 

 Pass, etc.) we find conditions of greater stability than on the 

 Natal face. 



Here there are vleis of considerable size, Avith a varied 

 and interesting flora, and comparatively stable veld. The 

 soil, however, even in such places, is a poor one, the soluble 

 salts being quickly dissolved out of it. The following is an 

 analysis of a sample of soil from Botha's Pass, and for pur- 

 poses of comparison there is added the average of twenty- 

 seven analyses (already published) for different parts of 

 Natal : 



All Natal soils show extreme poverty in soluble salts, there 

 being great scarcity particularly of lime and phosphates. 

 The soil of the Drakensberg, however, is still poorer, having 

 a high proportion of insoluble minerals. Tlie water of the 



