Wattle Culture 35 



produce firewood, with bark as a bye-product, rather than bark 

 with firewood as a bye-product. Others, again, may not have 

 time or the opportunity to make special investigations. For such 

 the following information may be useful. 



Necessary Conditions. 



Acacia mollissima does not succeed under all conditions, but 

 requires a set of conditions, for commercial purposes at any rate r 

 quite well defined by the experiences of the last 30 years. It is 

 not a success in Thorn Veld, nor on the bleak and cold high veld. 

 Northern slopes and shallow soils are to be avoided also. The 

 following points should be carefully considered in order that the 

 right choice of land, and situation may be made. 



(a) Land may be too valuable for Wattle Culture. There can be 

 no doubt that many Midland farmers have planted Wattles 

 on land eminently suitable for the finest Agricultural pro- 

 duce- and these will eventually see that the return from the 

 trees is not nearly so large as would have been the accumu- 

 lated returns from crops of farm produce, or from dairying. 

 Land which will grow 10 muids of Mealies Per acre, will 

 yield a profit of about 3 per acre per annum at least; 

 whereas it is very rarely that the best of our Wattle plan- 

 tations will yield half this amount. We hint at this so that 

 the point may be considered when land is chosen. 



(b) Soil and Soil texture. The soils on which the best results 

 are being obtained is the red igneous soil of the Natal Mid- 

 lands. As a rule this soil has plenty of depth and is of that 

 half-porous, moisture-holding nature, in which all trees seem 

 to live at their best. Yet it is not absolutely necessary that 

 this particular soil only should be chosen. The chief con- 

 ditions necessary are depth, porosity enough to prevent ac- 

 cumulation of too much moisture ; not too great a proportion 

 of heavy clay, which, generally, is too tenacious and cold, 

 and average general fertility. By fertility, we do not mean 

 land which is rich enough to grow a good Mealie crop, but 

 rather that which produces a fair crop of good grass. .Where 

 possible it is preferable to choose new land unbroken veld 

 this being much cleaner for working than old arable land. 



(c) Atmospheric Conditions. There should be a rainfall of from 

 25 to 35 inches per annum. Although many indigenous 

 Acacias are quite at home in the Thorn Country, the exotic 

 types will scarcely live in such localities, or at best form only 

 a miserable, useless stunted growth. The area where the 

 necessary rainfall occurs is almost confined to Zululand, 

 Natal, East Griqualand, and some parts of the Eastern por- 

 tion of the Cape Province. In one or two favoured localities 

 it may just reach into the extreme East of the Transvaal or 

 Orange Free State, but in such places the colder climate 

 usually makes Wattle growing unprofitable Further West 



