6 About Trees, Shrubs and Climbing Plants for S.A. 



foliage absorbs great quantities- and then allows it to gradually 

 percolate into the streams and springs. It will be obvious that 

 definite types of trees should be chosen and planted where the 

 object is the conservation of rainfall. 



.SHELTER BELTS OR GROUPS will be dealt with in a separate 

 chapter. 



BARK PRODUCTION. The production of Wattle bark for Oversea 

 markets is now a common. by6 : product on many farms. A separate 

 c-hapter will be devoted to this subject. 



MINE-PROPS. This again is well within the scope of farmers 

 who live within a reasonable distance of a railway line, and we 

 are surprised that it has not yet been "take up seriously. It is 

 a most profitable venture, much more so than Wattle growing. 

 We will deal with the subject separately. 



OTHER USES. The production of large timber for such pur- 

 poses as heavy building timber, deals, furniture wood, wagon 

 wood, and railway sleepers is not a subject for this handbook. 

 The period required for the growth of such timber is a long one, 

 varying from thirty to a hundred years, and it seems reasonable 

 to look upon the work as belonging to the State rather than to 

 the individual. 



CHAPTER II. 

 AREAS SUITABLE FOR TREES. 



THE investigations and experiments of the Forestry Department 

 have already resulted in some definite pronouncement as to the 

 varieties of trees suitable for different districts and localities. 

 All this information is readily available from the District Forest 

 officers. Experiments have been made in all the Provinces, and 

 under many conditions of climate and soil, and one of the re- 

 sults is to prove that some kinds of trees will grow everywhere, 

 with the exception of absolutely rainless desert regions. But the 

 natural forest area is very distinctly Indicated by the growth of 

 indigenous " bush," or forest, which, is limited by aspect, rain- 

 fall, humidity, &c. This forest area may be roughly defined as 

 extending from Zululand in the North, to Knysna in the South, 

 with the Indian Ocean as an Eastern boundary, and the Drak- 

 ensberg as a Western boundary. Within this area there are 

 hundreds of square miles of land scarcely better suited for tim- 

 ber growth than the Kalahari desert hot thorn-valleys with 

 small rainfall and unsuitable soils. But, on the other hand, the 

 South and East slopes, and particularly those which, are within 



