16 



Table Mountain is about 3 miles to the north of Hlatikulu. Near the top, on the 

 south side, there is a small strip of scrub composed chiefly of Greyia, and Leucosidea, and 

 at a lower elevation (between 5,500 and 6,000 feet), several small forests in depressions 

 of the hillside. The veldt between is dotted with sugar bush trees (Protect Hirta), some 

 of them of considerable size. A detachment of the Natal Mounted Police, stationed at 

 Ulundi, protects this forest, and two others, some distance to the north-west, but included 

 in the same Crown Reserve. The total area of the reserve does not probably exceed 



300 acres. 



In the Zikali location, the forests are numerous but all of small size ; they occupy 



deep gorges in the north flanks of the Drakensberg Mountains, which here reach their 

 highest elevation between Cathkin Peak (10,357 feet) and Mont aux Sources (11,170 

 feet) the culminating point of South Africa. The country is very rugged, and the 

 grandeur of the scenery is not surpassed in Natal. From Mont aux Sources, the Tugela 

 leaps down some two thousand feet, to form the highest waterfall in the world. The most 

 accessible forests have been cut out, or nearly so, and Kafir cultivation and wattle-cutting 

 have served to damage the greater number. The timber trees belong to the species found 

 at Hlatikuln, but Stinkwood occurs again up to the Lobonjo River, a tributary of the 



Tugela. A characteristic tree of this region is the mountain cypress ( Widdringtonia 

 cupressoides), which forms isolated forests or clumps at high altitudes. 



A remarkable feature of the Drakensberg country, more particularly between the 

 Hlatikulu and the Tugela Valley, consists in the powerful erosion of the soil by the 

 summer downpours. The hillsides are scored with torrential ravines, dongas, as they are 

 called in Natal, of comparatively recent formation, which go far to disfigure the country 

 and reduce the value of the land for agricultural purposes. Dongas are not found in 

 normal conditions, and their spread is always related to the destruction of bush and 

 herbage. It is probable that the burning of the veldt, by which grass and bush are kept 

 down, is the principal cause of their formation. 



In the division of Klip River the extent of the Crown forests may be estimated at 

 8,000 acres. There are no Native locations. Mr. G. L. Coventry is the Government 

 supervisor, and receives 36 a year for his services. The most densely wooded region is 

 that along the Drakensberg, from the Tugela falls to a few miles beyond the Olivier's 

 Hoek Pass ; the forests are, however, scattered and limited to south slopes and deep 

 gorges. The most important kinds of timber are Hard Pear, White Iromvood, Zwartbast, 

 Beukenhout, and Wittehout (Ilex Capensis) . Yellowwood does not grow to a large size. 

 Isolated sugar bush trees are dotted plentifully between the forests ; they occur from 

 the Hlatikulu, but reach their greatest development in the higher portion of the Tugela 

 Valley. Their diameter reaches a foot or more, but the trunk is so twisted and gnarled 

 that it would be useless for any other purpose than firewood ; the bark might be of use 

 for tanning. 



