Windbreaks and Shelter Trees 25 



Shelter belts of trees, judiciously chosen, well planted, 

 nnd at Tight distances and positions, will create just the 

 break we want for this enemy. 



(c) Shelter for growing Cereal crops. In this country it seems 

 both a bold and unorthodox thing to advise farmers to plant 

 trees around their "land." Yet this is what we here do, 

 and even go so far as to say that when the " lands '' are large 

 they should be split up into small fields, so that distances are 

 not too great to get away from the shelter. It is quite true 

 that in this case one must perforce utilise some good arable 

 land for planting our "break," but we do not hesitate to 

 assert that the increase in the crop on the less cereal area 

 available will far more than make up for the loss of ground 

 put into trees. 



Cereal crops suffer from strong winds in two ways ; from 

 the hurricane power of winds preceding and accompanying 

 thunder storms, and from the evaporative effect of dry North 

 and East winds. With the storm wind there is often hail, 

 and if a high wind is behind the hail, the effect is disastrous. 

 If, on the other hand, the hail falls straight down, little 

 damage is done. The evil of the storm winds lies in its 

 breaking and " laying " effects, each storm reducing the yield 

 of grain per acre. 



The worst of our dry, hot, North winds are of very great 

 velocity, particularly so in the Natal Midlands. We have, 

 many times seen, in the early morning, a magnificent young 

 crop of Mealies, deep green and strong, which before night, 

 after a few hours of " hot wind " was drooping and parched 

 and almost white. Although recovery may take place later, 

 the loss of stamina in the plants is very serious, and never 

 quite made up. It means, again, a reduction in the number 

 of muicls of grain per acre. This is the extreme case. But, 

 during the growth of a crop there are many days of drying 

 winds, which are continually pumping out soil moisture and 

 robbing the plants of life. 



At present one sees miles upon miles of country which are 

 a flat expanse of mealie fields, not a tree visible. There is a 

 time coming when fields will be smaller, and each will be 

 guarded carefully by a regiment of trees. Preservation of 

 water is of far greater importance than much manuring. It 

 means continuous instead of spasmodic growth, and the per- 

 fect filling of the grain before harvest. 



The above would apply with equal force to all field crops. 



(d) Prevention of Soil Erosion. Where wastage of soil, and the 

 formation of " dongas " is a very serious danger, it is neces- 

 sary to carefully study the problem from all standpoints, 

 and there may be other methods than tree planting which 

 will be useful as preventives. All that we desire is to point 

 out that the planting of lines or breaks of trees at intervals 

 on the land will most effectually break and spread the stream 



