18 PEESIDEXt's ADDRESvS. 



On the whole, the Banken Veld affords poor grazing and 

 pasturage for stock, and the trees and bushes are as a rule too 

 small and stunted to be of much value for timber In some 

 places ElepJiantorrhiza Bm'kei is fairly plentiful and the bark ia 

 eagerly sought after for local tanning purposes. The Bergbast 

 (Osyris abyssinica) and the Elandsboontje {Elephantorrhiza 

 Burchellii) are also common and are used for tanning. 



The Banken Veld abounds in one of the most deadly stock 

 poisons kno'wn in South Africa, the Gift-blaar {Dichapetalum 

 cymosum), which nearly every spring causes considerable loss 

 amongst cattle. 



Other poisonous plants include the Gift-bol {Buphanc ioxi- 

 caria), and the Hondeoor (Cofu'lcdon orhiciila-ta). 



G. — The High Veld (Plate X). 



The High Veld includes, the southern portion of the Transvaal 

 and practically the whole of the Orange Free State. It is bounded 

 on the north by the Banken Veld, on the east by the 

 Drakensberg Kange, on the south by the Upper Karroo, and on 

 the west by the Valleys of the Vaal and Harts Eivers. It is a 

 high-lying tableland whose average height above sea level is 

 between 4,000 and 5,000 ft., with a gentle slope to the west. 



The rainfall varies from 35 inches in the eastern portion to 

 25 or 20 in the western. 



Throughout the greater portion of the area the underlying 

 rocks are parallel with the surface, while the soil is mostly deep 

 and of a loamy nature. 



The surface is covered with grass, which forms a distinct turf, 

 except towards the western and southern boundaries, where it 

 becomes more open and the grass forms tufts and is often 

 associated with small shrublets. Indigenous trees are entirely 

 absent in this area, except on broken or rocky ground, and along 

 the sides of the streams. 



The dominant grass covering the veld is the Rooi Gras 

 (Themeda triandra), other common grasses are Andropogon cere- 

 siaeformis, Andropogon amplectens, A. kirtiflorus, A. schirensis> 

 Axonopns semialatus, Cymhopogon elegans, Digitaria eriantha, D. 

 tricholaenoides, Panicum yiatalense, P. serratum, Eragrostis 

 hrizoides, E. clialcantlia, Cynodon Dactylon, Tristachya Ecli- 

 manni, Harpccldoa capcnsis and Panicum laevifolium. 



Common shrublets and herbaceous plants which grow 

 amongst the grass are the Elandsboontje (ElcphantorrJiiza 

 BurcJielUi), Vigna angustifoJia, Rhus discolor, Pentanisia 

 variabilis, Acalypha dcpressinervis, Pachycarpus scJiinzianus, 

 Vangueria pygfnaca, Pacliystiqrna Zeyheri, Gerbera discolor, G. 

 piloselloides, Berkheya setifera, Gazania pygmaea, Arctotis 

 scaposa, Senecio latifolius, 8. serra, 8. coronatus, Dimorphotheca 

 spcctahilis, Heliclirysum floccosuni , Vernonia hraiissiif V. 

 monocephala, V. natalensis, 8cabiosa Columbaria, Becium 

 obovatum, Clerodendron triphyllum, Ipomaea GreenstocMi, 

 Gnidia 7nicrocephala, Erythrina Zeyheri. 



