24 PRESIDENT S ADDRESS. 



world's supply ; certain varieties are even now practicall}' unob- 

 tainable. Attention is, therefore, being frequently drawn to the 

 value of afforestation as a State asset. But afforestation is of 

 national importance, apart from the value of the timber pro- 

 duced. It has served for some years as a means of alleviating 

 the poor white problem. It is a potent agent in the conservation 

 of water, which is of all the more importance in a country like 

 South Africa, so subject to periods of drought, and where soil 

 erosion is becoming a national problem. All over the countrx- 

 we can see large areas absolutely ruined by a network of huge 

 dongas, developed from small shuts, which originated probably 

 in a cattle track. The Railway De])artment has been blamed, 

 so have the (xovernment road contractors, the IrrigaticMi Dej^art- 

 ment has been accused of negligence, while the older inhabitants 

 blame the (jovernment and say that .soil erosion is entirely due 

 to the denudation of trees and vegetation without a policy of 

 replacement. The Minister of Lands blames the farmers! He 

 has said that the first stej) towards a remedy is " to rouse public 

 opinion and get the agriculturist interested in the matter." The 

 remedies are said to include filling up the small sluits when they 

 begin to form; increased affOrestation and grass ])lanting. which 

 assists in conserving the rainfall instead of allowing it to carry 

 millions of tons of valuable soil to the sea ; and, of course, dam 

 building and irrigation, which are claimed to herald the agricul- 

 tural salvation of South Africa. The (iovernment has repeatedly 

 stated that it is alive to the importance of aff'orestation, and the 

 Union can hardly be charged with negligence since 6,300 acres 

 were aff'orested in 1914, and although the acreage fell for 

 obvious rea.sons to 3,900 in 1915, and was slightly under 2,400 in 

 1916, to-day the total area of forest reserves under the Forestry 

 Department is over 1,000,000 morgen. The State cannot be 

 expected to do everything. Surely the farmer, who, in the 

 majority of cases, is the landowner, realises that it is in his own 

 interests, both from the water conservation and the other points 

 of view, to prosecute a vigorous scheme of aff'orestation, and. 

 much as the State might assist in fighting soil erosion, individual 

 eff'ort nuist be strenuously exerted, if the problem is going to be 

 solved. 



These are subjects, which I am glad to say, are receivinu' the. 

 attention of the Scientific and Technical Committee. 



The first work of this Committee has been to arrange for 

 a survey of the raw materials of the country, so as to ascertain 

 what is available for active industrial exploitation. The Govern- 

 ment is paving the way by investigation and research to she\v 

 the world what the prospects of industry are, but the Minister 

 of Mines and Industries has said that "the Government can only 

 see that general conditions as regards tariff' and legislation are 

 reasonable and representative." 



It is claimed that a country Vvdiich imports annually thirty- 

 eight million i)Ounds worth of merchandise must have great 



