l82 



NATTVF-: ACRFCULTURK 



C. The Pondoland Council. 



Since outbreak of the war e.xpenditure has been cut down to a minimum. 



2. Arboriculture. 



The traveller in the Transkei is usually impressed by the 

 absence of trees. In certain i)arts we ,yet the mimosa scat- 

 tered over the land.scape, and in the southerly aspects of the 

 mountains we get magniticent forests in the valleys. Many of 

 the tradino- stations and mission stations have an acre or two 

 of wattles, an orchard, and i)erhaps a luimber of eucalyptus 

 and other trees, and the ( lovernment plantations are a perma- 

 nent object-lesson of wliat can be done in the wav ot tree- 

 planting'. But. apart from these, it is a rare sight to see a 

 native kraal surrounded by trees. The native has not yet 

 learned how much a full-grown tree represents of the patience, 

 and wisdom, and power of the Creator. His wives and children 

 nnist walk perhaps eight miles to the forest, and carry home 

 on their dexoted heads sufficient for the domestic requirements, 

 but it has never entered into his head to plant a few trees near 

 by. so that all this trouble might be saved. If he wants a few 

 poles for a new roof, he is put to the trouble of the same long 

 walk and the expense of purchase. And what is the secret of 

 all this? The fact is that, broadly speaking, the native i- 

 wasteful to an extreme — wasteful of the land he uses, of the 

 lives of trees and animals. It is this wastefulness wdiich has 

 destroyed all the game in the Transkei. 



The boys organise regular hunts for the tin\ field mice, 

 and few birds d\- ])ast without having a club hurled after them, 

 and such trees as there were in early days liave been for the most 

 part chopped up f(jr firewood in the same wasteful spirit. It 

 is said that the Transkei was once fairly well wooded. The 

 Forest Department has now stepped in to protect and extend 

 the forests, and while wood may be taken aAvay if it is drv enough 

 to be broken off, no axes are allowed in the demarcated areas. 



This wise ])rovision is in the best interests of the ]:)eople 

 themselves, and protects the forests from wholesale destruction. 

 It is. however, unfortunate that the goats and cattle should be 

 free to wander about in the vicinity of the huts, just where one 



