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wood, Hard Pear, Red Pear, Assagai, Natal Mahogany (Kiggelaria Africana\ White Iron- 

 wood, PlioberosZeyheri,Oleaverrucosa t 0. Capensis, Euclea Natalensis, Ekebergia Capensis, 

 Euclea undulata, Cathastrum Capensis, Celastruspeduncularis, C. butrifolius, C. acuminatus, 

 C. undatus, Elceodendron spp., Myrsine spp., Ilex Capensis, Cryptocarya spp., Cleroden- 

 dron glabrum, Plectronia Mundtiana, Plestronia ventosa, Hippobromus alata, Zanthoxylum 

 Thunbergii, Celtis spp., Schmidelia Africana, Schmidelia sp., Royena lucida, Buddleia 

 salvicefolia, HalJeria lucida, Myaris incequalis, Trimeria alnifolia, Rhus spp., Rhamnus 

 prinoides, Burchellia Capensis, Grewia occidentalis, Ficus spp., Leucosidea sericea, Hetero- 

 morpha arbcrescens, Brachylcena discolor, Dovyalis rhamnoides, Cluytia sp., and Scutia 

 Commersonii. Outside the forests the principal trees met with are : Acacia Horrida, 

 Acacia spp., Salix Capensis, along streams, Protea hirta, P. lanceolata, and Greyia 

 Sutherlandi. 



Mr. W. H. Bierbaum is paid 36 a year to supervise these forests, but their extent 

 and distribution does not allow of the work being done efficiently by one man. However 

 there is at present very little wood cut in the forests, and the destruction from other 

 causes appears to be slight. Mr. Bierbaum is himself a woodcutter, and thus has to 

 check his own work, which is a very bad arrangement in principle. A practice that is 

 carried to the detriment of the revenue consists in cutting a number of trees down under 

 a wagonwood license, taking a small piece from each, and removing the remainder under 

 a dry wood license, which costs twelve times less. Before the appointment of Mr. 

 Bierbaum, wood stealing was very prevalent, and many well worn wagon roads and slip- 

 paths remain to show that large quantities of timber were illicitly removed over the 

 border. But illicit felling decreased as the quantity of serviceable timber within reach 

 grew less ; and it almost died out with increased supervision. The Mounted Police 

 formerly patrolled the forests to prevent their destruction, but the practice has been 

 discontinued. 



The majority of the forests in the Newcastle division appear to be situated on 

 grazing leases. It is not clear whether the timber they contain can be sold to other 

 persons than the lessees. Should any of the leases be sold, it would be well to ascertain 

 beforehand whether they contain any of the forests. 



In the northernmost point of Natal, near the Transvaal border, there is a Crown 

 Reserve, including the Inkwelo and the Majuba mountains. A kloof running south from 

 the Inkwelo is partly wooded, and the forest spreads on the hill side at 5,500 feet altitude, 

 covering some 600 acres. The trees are very stunted, and the undergrowth tangled. The 

 princ ; pal species are those found in the rest of the Drakensberg forests, but there is very 

 little yellowwood or indeed serviceable timber of any kind. Along the kloofs, Ilex 

 Capensis and several species of Myrsine are abundant. Mr. A. H. Trow receives 36 a 



