NOTES ON EXPERIMENTAL TREE-PLANTING IN 

 SOUTHERN RHODESIA. 



By W. E. DowsETT. 



The following brief remarks relate chiefly to the work carried 

 ont in the Rhodes Matoppo Park during the last seven years. 

 This has been done in pursuance of the wishes of the late Cecil 

 Rhodes, who was an ardent lover of trees, and who, with his 

 great forethought, realised the serious problem which might some 

 day confront the settlers in Rhodesia, especially the mining com- 

 munity, unless afforestation were undertaken in the immediate 

 future. With this end in view, he had a clause inserted in his 

 ■will to the following effect : — 



"And in particular I direct my Trustees that a portion of my Sauerdale 

 property, near Bulawayo, be planted ivitli every possible tree, and be made and 

 preserved and maintaiued as a Park for the people of Bulawayo." 



The object of his emphasising the wish that every possible 

 tree be planted was undoubtedly with the view of ascertaining 

 by experience which trees would be found the most suitable for 

 practical purposes in this territory. 



In order to do this, a block of ground — i,8oo acres in extent 

 —was selected a few miles north of the World's View, so as to 

 give those visitors to the View who took an interest in the subject 

 an opportunity of seeing for themselves the results of the experi- 

 ments being carried out. The work completed so far has been 

 entirely of an experimental nature — only a few trees of each 

 variety have been planted — as the area available will not admit 

 of large plantations being laid out, and the idea has been to ex- 

 periment with as many species and varieties as possible. 



Block Arboretum. — The first work undertaken was the 

 laying out of a Wock arboretum, each block containing twenty-five 

 trees of the same variety: up to the present this consists of 114 

 blocks, made up as follows: Eucalypts, 46; Pines, 12; Cupressus, 

 12; Junipers, 4; Callitris, 5; various other species, 35. 



Single Specimen Arboretum. — In addition to the block ar- 

 boretum, there is a single specimen arboietum containing about 

 250 species and varieties, and at present there are some 75 new 

 varieties in the nursery. 



It will be realised that in experimental forestry there are so^ 

 many points to be considered, and difficulties to be overcome, 

 that it must necessarily be a matter of time 'before one can speak 

 with any degree of certainty as to the success or failure of any 

 particular tree. Up to the present there are several wdiich give- 

 good promise of ultimate success. 



Cupressus. — The various varieties of Cupressi have almost 

 without exception done well, and they have made good growrlu 

 Of the most successful I must mention C. clegans and C. Gaudn- 

 lepoisis. C. Lazvsoiiiana, C. goi'cniana, C. ariaonica and C. lusi- 



