198 



NATURE 



IDec. 29, 1887 



CROWN FORESTS AT THE CAPE OF GOOD 

 HOPE. 



Management of Crown Forests at the Cape of Good 

 Hope under the Old Re'gime and under the New. By- 

 John Croumbie Brown, LL.D. (Edinburgh: Oliver 

 and Boyd ; London : Simpkin Marshall and Co., 

 1887.) 



IN June last we noticed a work by Dr. Brown dealing 

 with the schools of forestry in Germany, which, it 

 appears, was the author's fifteenth volume on a variety of 

 forest subjects. He has now presented the public with a 

 new volume, out of a store of thirty said to be ready for 

 publication. This plethora of forest literature showered 

 upon us by Dr. Brown is becoming alarming. We 

 pointed out on the previous occasion that the English 

 reader has, in reality, very little interest to spare for forest 

 questions, and what little does exist will certainly not be 

 augmented by literature of the class under review. Here 

 we have a goodly volume, comprising 352 pages of print, 

 made up of a motley collection of old and new official 

 reports, pro:eedings of an endless succession of Com- 

 mittees, &c., which, even if it were an official Blue-booV, 

 would have to be pronounced badly arranged and filled 

 with quantities of irrelevant matter. We do not mean to 

 say that there is not a silver thread running through the 

 whole ; what we desire to point out is that the information 

 to be conveyed and the lesson to be learnt could with the 

 greatest ease have been arranged in a pamphlet of thirty 

 or forty pages. To scatter a i&\\ grains amongst a huge 

 quantity of chaff is highly objectionable, and it is our 

 duty to protest in the strongest terms against this class of 

 book manufacture. The author had a really interesting 

 story to tell, which, if placed before the public in a small 

 pamphlet or an article in a periodical, would have been 

 sure to attract attention, and might have done some good. 

 The story to which we refer is peculiarly English. It 

 has been said that whenever we engage in war we 

 generally begin by incurring some reverses : we then 

 gather up our strength, and meet the enemy in such force 

 that the strife is certain to end in success. If this holds 

 good as regards our frequently occurring little wars, it 

 seems to be no less applicable to our Civil administration. 

 Looking, for instance, at our forest policy at the Cape, 

 which Dr. Brown has brought before us in the present 

 volume, it will be seen that after prolonged playing with 

 the question, and after the forests had been well-nigh 

 ruined, vigorous steps were taken to redeem the past. 



As in most countries, the forests at the Cape were 

 originally made use of by the population without let or 

 hindrance. Then, with the arrival of European adminis- 

 tration, came the colonist, who also betook himself to the 

 woods, partly to clear the land for cultivation, partly to 

 supply himself with material for his domestic require- 

 ments, and partly to cut and sell timber for the purpose 

 of making a livelihood. The woodlands, which appeared 

 sufficient to supply the wants of the native popula- 

 tion, were soon found to be incapable of bearing the addi- 

 tional strain caused by a European Government and the 

 inroads made by the accompanying colonist. Some en- 

 lightened person perceived that the forests could not last 

 at the new rate of consumption of its produce, and raised 

 the alarm. Inquiries were set on foot, officers reported. 



and Committees deliberated. It was found that the 

 denudation of extensive areas had become an accom- 

 plished fact, and that more were rapidly following in the 

 same path. The principal causes were, as in all similar 

 cases, the following : — 



(i) Reckless working of the forests by natives and 

 colonists. 



(2) Extensive and frequent fires overrunning the forests, 

 destroying all humus, seedlings, and young trees, and 

 damaging more or less the trees of more advanced age. 



(3) Uncontrolled clearing of land for cultivation. 



So much having been ascertained, the Government 

 should at once have proceeded to take steps to counteract 

 the evil ; but only half-measures were adopted. The 

 Government attempted to bring the forests under control 

 by prohibiting certain acts, without providing an efficient 

 agency to see the restrictions enforced. If in any instance 

 they were enforced, it was found that they interfered with 

 previously prevailing practices, complaints were made, 

 and the strife swayed to and fro. Then the Government 

 of the time tried various means to satisfy all parties. 

 Once it resolved to throw the forests open to 

 private enterprise by offering them for sale. In this 

 manner a certain area passed into the hands of private 

 parties, but fortunately only a limited number of lots were 

 sold. Next, the forests were closed, but this also would 

 not meet the case, and they were opened again, so-called 

 hcenses for the removal of fixed quantities of material 

 being issued against small payments. There being no 

 proper staff to control the operations, matters grew from 

 bad to worse. About this time Dr. Brown appeared upon 

 the scene, having accepted the appointment of Govern- 

 ment Botanist of the Cape Colony in the year 1863. He 

 soon perceived the unsatisfactory condition of the Cape 

 woodlands, and he strongly urged the introduction of a 

 more systematic treatment. Fresh inquiries were set on 

 foot, new Committees sat and deliberated, but it was not 

 until the year 1881 that really efficient measures were 

 adopted. By that time the mischief had been done, and 

 the yield of the forests was so low that, out of a total con- 

 sumption of two and a quarter million cubic feet of timber, 

 only a quarter of a million cubic feet came from the 

 colonial forests, while a little over two million cubic feet 

 were imported. 



In the year 1881 the services of a French forest officer, 

 Count de Vasselot de Regne, who had previously done 

 excellent service in the fixing of the dunes and creation of 

 extensive new forests at Royan, near Bordeaux, were 

 secured as Superintendent of the Cape forests, and with 

 his advent a new regime commenced. The selection of 

 this gentleman, due, we believe, to Colonel Pearson, lately 

 in charge of the English forest students at Nancy, was 

 most fortunate. Although we are not acquainted with 

 the Cape from personal experience, we have no hesitation 

 in saying that the reports issued during the last six years 

 prove the administration of the Cape forests to rest in 

 very able hands, and that substantial progress has 

 been made during that short period towards placing the 

 management on a sound and solid basis. A fairly 

 adequate and competent staff has been brought together, 

 the forests are being demarcated, waste is being put down, 

 fir conservancy has been begun, blank areas are being 

 planted,, and there is altogether a fair prospect that, after 



