46 PLANTING IN UGANDA 



The existence of a high growth of " Elephant 

 Grass " is a certain indication of a deep rich soil, 

 well drained. The prevalence of patches and 

 strips of forest denotes a well-watered district 

 with a good rainfall. The districts of short 

 grass, interspersed with brush and small trees, 

 should be regarded with suspicion. Here, either 

 the soil is for a part of the year sour and swampy, 

 or the rainfall is deficient. Land supporting 

 short, fine grass only will generally be found to 

 consist of a shallow soil overlying rock. 



In some cases the cause of a scanty vegetation 

 can be traced to recent native cultivation. 

 Abandoned native gardens are often full of couch 

 grass and other pernicious weeds, and entail great 

 expense in cleaning. 



The best land of all is undoubtedly virgin forest, 

 but this being difficult to obtain, and expensive to 

 clear, need not be considered. The next best is 

 that growing " Elephant Grass.'' Provided one 

 is assured that the rainfall of the district is satis- 

 factory, one can safely choose this kind of land 

 for the cultivation of Rubber, Coffee, and Cocoa. 



In another chapter chemical and mechanical 

 analyses of typical Uganda soils are given. Valu- 



