South African I-'oresirv. 357 



the National Forests, al a renunu-rative rale. When 1 was a 1h)\ it 

 Avas necessarv' to pa\ 5",, fur moneN (in j^ood security, i-'oresls in 

 Europe have not returned liilherto more than 2}, or 3%. It is only 

 Avithin the last fiften or t\\ent\ \ears that monev could be l)orro\ved 

 at a sufficiently low rate nt intt-rest to make the restoration of the 

 forests renumerativel} jiossihie. 



FORESTS OF OAPE COEOXV. 



The total area of indiijenous forests in Cape Colon\. fr(jm Cape 

 Town to Natal, is estimated at 500.000 acres, or 810 square miles. 

 Of this all but an estimated area of about 30.000 acres is (lovern- 

 ment forest worked s\stematically b\ the Forest Department. This 

 is but a small percentat^e of the total area of the Colony, rather less 

 in fact than -I per cent. Small though this area is, if it were well 

 stocked it would be enough to supply the country's present wants and 

 leave a good margin for export ; but unfortunateh the forest area is 

 but poorly stocked with commercial timber. The yield of the 

 Indigenous forest in its present poorly stocked state is estimated at 

 only from 6 to 10 cubic feet per acre per year. This may be compared 

 with the yield of Euro[)ean forests from 50 to 150 cubic feet, or with 

 the yield in Eucalypt plantations which ranges up to 700 cubic feet 

 per acre per vear. The following is a selection of actual forest vields 

 from Eucalvpt and Pine plantations in Cape Colony. 



VIEI.D IN CUBIC FEET PER .\CRE PER VEAR OF TIMBER PLANIATIONS 

 IN CAPE COLONV. 



Cubic feet. 



'J'okai : Kari (Prince Kasleel) 025. 



„ ., (Cedar ridge) 533. 



Eucalyptus saligna (Sphinx rock) ] Acre: ]8 \ears 



old in 1900 5-7- 



Worcester: Euc. globulus (Copse tirst 5 vears) 457- 



Tokai : Kari (Manor House Ridge) 377. 



Phmistead : Cluster ])ine (14 vears old) 341. 



Worcester: Euc. globulus (ist crop over the whole 60 



acre.s) ^,7,2. 



Ceres Road (sample area Paic. ghvbulus) 322. 



Newlanils : Cluster ])ine (G. 93. ^2. Heywood) 178. 



,. .. .. (Hevwood & P>rown) 170. 



An inspection of these figures brings out the cur'ous fact that as 

 much timber can be got in one vear from a good Eucalypt [.lantation, 

 as during 100 vears in the indigenous forest — the " rotation." or life- 

 time of the forest (so to speak) from seed-time to harvest. 



EXHAUSTION OF COAL-FIELD.S MET BY FUEL PLANTATIONS. 



This high rate of production has a general interest outside the 

 production of timber. As T showed recently (" Nature."' March 20ih. 



