PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS SECTION C. 95 



would be a question whether an even more cautious poHcy than 

 is now in vogue should no't be adopted. 



Hutchins's recommendations, however, have been amply justi- 

 fied as far as it is possible to judge at present, and if it were 

 feasible to obtain seed of the kinds that have done best, the 

 Department, through its nurseries, would encourage their culti- 

 vation. Till the war is over nothing can be done in this direc- 

 tion, and even then much will depend on how Mexico settles 

 down. Even in the ten years the Department has been dealing 

 with these species a a good deal has been learnt about their sylvi- 

 cal characters, and in the next twenty it should be possible to use 

 them with considerable assurance. -By that time it should be 

 possible to get seed locally, and thus the progress of afforestation 

 in the Northern portion of the Union would receive an impetus 

 such as is at present impossible. Just as in the Cape Province 

 the Cluster and Insignis Pines have acclimatised themselves, so 

 in due course I anticipate that some of the Mexican Pines, such 

 as Pinus arisonica,, P. montesmncc, and P. nvacrophylla, together 

 with P. longifoUa from India will take hold in the Transvaal. 



In the Transvaal, as in Natal, the cultivation of hardwoods 

 is more advanced than that of Conifers. Certain areas of the 

 Transvaal, such as the warm, moist Eastern slopes of the 

 Drakensberg, grow Eucalypts of the best timber-producing varie- 

 ties excellently, and in most parts a Eucalypt of some kind or 

 other can be, cultivated for mining purposes. But the coal fields 

 of the Transvaal cannot be divorced from industries and, indus- 

 tries require coniferous timber, and, as in Natal, the Department 

 has to keep this point in view in shaping its policy. The Trans- 

 vaal is an inland country, and therefore its need for a local timber 

 supply is more important even than it is for the coastal Pro- 

 vinces. The extent of Government plantations in the Transvaal 

 is 7,600 acres. 



In the Free State 'before the Boer War there was no organ- 

 ized forest work. Shortly after the Government test plantations 

 and nurseries were opened at various central places. 



Generally speaking, the conditions in the Free State for 

 afforestation are unfavourable, but good work was done by 

 Carlson, the Cape Forest Officer appointed to take charge of 

 afforestation, in spite of many difficulties and much discourage- 

 ment in ascertaining the most suitable species to plant under 

 different circumstances and the best methods to employ. The 

 success of some of the plantations, particularly the one at Har- 

 rismith, has been remarkable, and the object lesson afforded by 

 Government plantations has undoubtedly led to increased plant- 

 ing by the general public, which is one of the principal objects 

 the Department has in view, especially in that Province, for other 

 portions of the Union are more favourably situated for afforesta- 

 tion on commercial lines. Millions of young trees have been 

 distributed from the Government nurseries in the Free State 

 (and for that matter in the Transvaal) during the past 15 years, 

 and anyone familiar with these Provinces after the Boer War 



