Ill) 



5.— EASTERN GRASSVELD REGION. 



This great region of summer rainfall comprises the whole 

 eastern side of South Africa. The dry season coincides with 

 the season of lower temperatures, and the Veld vegetation, 

 therefore, has a well-marked resting period, when all the 

 herbage withers. Renewed growth begins with the first rains 

 in Spring. In its larger aspects, the climate of the whole 

 region is, therefore, a uniform one, and in taking a broad 

 general view, there is no reason why the whole of the Eastern 

 (irassveld should not be considered one formation, determined 

 by the summer rainfall. A closer analysis, however, at once 

 reveals the fact that there are very distinct climatic variatiozis 

 throughout the region. The most general of these is the varia- 

 tion in the amount of rainfall. The rain-bearing winds come 

 in from the Indian Ocean, and deposition takes place, chiefly 

 on the rising slopes which face east or south-east. Other 

 asj^ects, as well as the grea't river valleys, remain relatively 

 dry. We thus <>et a fairly well-marked division into Hiyh 

 Veld and Low Veld or Valley types. Not only do the climates 

 differ in these two cases, but the soil conditions do so also. 

 The High Veld soils are looser, moister, and better aerated, 

 though usually poorer from the agricultural standpoint. The 

 Low Veld soils are drier, harder, more clayey, but richer in 

 chemical salts. In spite of the considerable differences, both 

 climatic and edaphic, between the two habitats there is not 

 the difference in the composition of the grass veld, which one 

 would naturally expect. Though there are distinctive Low 

 Veld and High Veld species, yet a large number occur in 

 both, the differences, if any, being merely varietal. There 

 are, however, easily recognisable differences in the general 

 physiognomy of the two types. The High Veld grasses are, 

 as a rule, taller, the Low Veld grasses lower growing, and 

 the difference in colour is reflected in the names Eed grass 

 for High Veld and Blue grass for Low Veld. As a matter of 

 fact, the dominant Blue grass is simply a glaucous variety 

 of Anthistiria imberbis (the "Red grass"), though sometimes 

 glaucous varieties of Andropogon hivtus, which is often 

 dominant in Low Veld, are also called Blue grass. 



There are other climatic variations in the region, which 

 lead to the establishment of types, which are very distinct, 

 both in physiognomy and in composition. These, undoubt- 

 edly, must be considered distinct formations. The most impor- 

 tant is the Tussock (Irassveld of the Hrakensberg, where the 



