248 AFRICA 



grass or in colonies around the trees : the umbrella shape 

 is also a feature of the acacias. Thickets of grey, bushy 

 euphorbias studded with tall aloes are not rare, while 

 the stony hills are strewn with succulents and the 

 ever-present aloe form. 



On the lower terraces, at about 1,500 feet, the climate 

 changes to a moderately dry and hot subtropical type, 

 favourable to the development of subtropical agricul- 

 ture : sugar-cane, tobacco, maize, bananas, and other 

 fruits may be grown with excellent results. The natural 

 vegetation consists mostly of shrubs, thickets, and 

 woods of small trees, among which are palms and the 

 ornamental, banana-like strelitzia, the tree euphorbias 

 and aloes, which latter are found alike among the park- 

 steppes and the subtropical brush- woods. A frequent 

 type of woodland is that of the caatinga jungles; 

 those of a more profuse character occur in the well- 

 watered valleys of the south. 



The character of savana is strongly marked on the 

 terrace, about 1,500 feet above sea-level, which extends 

 between the Drakenberg and the Lebombo range in the 

 north of Natal. This hilly district, a transition between 

 the bush-steppe and the regular tropical savana, is some- 

 times known as the ' nether-veld ' ; without possessing 

 the luxuriance of the savana, it has taller trees and 

 grass than the boschveld. 



Three zones of occupation may thus be distinguished 

 in Natal : (1) the subtropical coast belt of cane, 

 cotton, and fruits, up to 1,500 feet; (2) the temperate 

 agricultural belt with corn and maize ; and (3) the upper 

 or exclusively pastoral belt. 



Madagascar. The core of Madagascar is an elongated 

 high plateau occupying the centre of the island, and con- 

 tinuing across the sea the tableland of Rhodesia. To- 



