PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS — SECTION C. 83 



firewood for local consumption are the principal products. Much 

 of the reserves is grass veld, and all that is required is the regu- 

 lation of grazing to maintain the surface cover and to avoid the 

 exposure of the sand surface to the wind. 



In other cases, e.g., at Port Elizabeth, Bellville, Rerste River 

 and Strandfontein, costly works have had to be undertaken to 

 fix the sands. The reclamation work at Port Elizabeth took 20 

 years to carry out, and cost i6o,ooo. 



Another large tract of forest land, aggregating 100,000 

 morgen (83,000 morgen demarcated, 17,000 undeniarcated) is 

 the Cedarberg, on which are found the Cedar forests. These 

 forests hardly fill the popular conception of what a forest should 

 be, for the trees composing them are sparsely scattered among 

 the boulders of the precipitous mountain sides, and their flat, 

 spreading tops do not meet and form canopy, so that heaths and 

 other sour veld vegetation are free to flourish between them. In 

 form the old Cedars, botanically known as Callitris arboreci, look 

 exactly like the Cedars of North Africa (Ccdrus atlantica). which 

 grow in a similar rocky country and within the snow belt. These 

 Cedar forests have been carefully conserved and fire-protected 

 'for the past 25 years, and there is abundant natural regeneration. 

 The trees grow to 60 feet in height and 5 feet in diameter. Un- 

 fortunately, even old trees are very susceptible to damage from 

 fire, and all over the mountains may be seen specimens from 

 which the bark has been burnt long ago, but which, on account 

 of the great durability of the wood, remain otherwise almost 

 intact. 



The occurrence of this tree is interesting. It is only found 

 on the Cedarberg, between 3.400 and 4,800 feet above the snow 

 line, and is absent from the Winterhoek, where similar climatic 

 conditions exist. Lister is inclined to believe that the difference 

 in the geological formation between the two localities sufficientlv 

 explains the distribution, but the general appearance of the sur- 

 face soil in the two places is much the same. The timber which 

 has a strong cedar odour is not of general economic importance, 

 and is used locally principally for fence posts. In the past it 

 was used for planking, and is still to a small extent, though the 

 sale of timber is now entirely confined to dead trees. The out- 

 put of this vast area during the year 1916-1917 was only 1,151 

 cubic feet. These reserves, extensive though they are. will 

 never appreciably afi'ect the timber position in this country, 

 though, if fire protection continues to be successful, they will 

 greatly increase in value. C)wing, however, to the occurrence 

 of Buchu on them, their conservation is meantime carried out 

 with financial profit to the country. 



Thus a big percentage of the forest reserves consist of waste 

 lands, most of which will never be of any value for afiforestation. 

 What proportion is plantable is not known, for no close investi- 

 gation or survey to ascertain this has vet been made. The matter, 

 however, is not one of urgency, as there is at present sufficient 

 accessible ground to occupy the attention of the Department. 



Of the large total of forest reserves, the area of dense indi- 



