(58 COLONIAL REPORTS MISCELLANEOUS. 



origin somewhere south-west of Braha, and running northwards 

 past the village of Oboase gradually dwindles down to some low 

 dills close to the Volta; it is broken through in one place by the 

 Tomba River, a feeder of the Tain which, in its turn, is a tributary 

 of the Volta. 



The Tomba and Tain together drain the greater portion of the 

 plateau crossed by us. At the head waters of the latter stream 

 water is abundant, biit further down their courses both rivers get 

 very dry, and water is confined to a succession of rocky pools. On 

 the whole the water-supply of this part of the country is very poor 

 and precarious ; the villages have often to depend on wells dug in 

 the beds of dried-up water-courses for their supply, and the whole 

 region has a parched-up appearance, which is intensified at this 

 time of the year (dry season) by the forest fires that were raging in 

 all directions. The highest parts of the plateau, such as at Sikas- 

 siko, Braha, and Oboase, were exposed at the time of our visit to 

 very strong, dry winds, that used during the night to rise to 

 regular gales, even when the sky was perfectly free of clouds. 



As was to be expected from the arid conditions prevailing about 

 here, the vegetation inhabiting it belongs to a markedly 

 xerophilous type, which has been further intensified by the annual 

 fires. 



Generally speaking, the vegetation occurs in open formations, 

 except in the immediate neighbourhood of the streams where the 

 moisture in the soil has induced luxuriant growth and a rever- 

 sion, according to the degree of moisture, to the tropical evergreen 

 or mixed, deciduous forests. These latter aro, however, quite 

 secondary features, and are confined to extremely narrow fringes 

 along the water courses. In the driest localities the majority of 

 the species become dwarfed, and some which are ordinarily found 

 away from water courses in the savannah zone are now obliged 

 to congregate along their banks, as the conditions become too dry 

 even for them. This habit is most noticeable with trees like the 

 true Khaya Senegal ensis (which is the dry zone species of 

 mahogany) and the " Sass wood ' tree Erythrophloeum 

 guineense. Though the formations are open it must not be 

 supposed that they are hardly worthy to be classed as forests, and 

 contain few, if any, species of value to man. Extensive areas, 

 more especially along alluvial deposits in the valleys, are clothed 

 with open forests in which the trees are growing as close to each 

 other as they are in a well-stocked orchard, and it is only the 

 absence of a dense and tall undergrowth that enables one to see for 

 any distance through them. In such places the growth of the 

 trees is straight and tall ; and above all the natural regeneration 

 and condition of the age gradations is, comparatively speaking, 

 very satisfactory in marked contrast, as far as the latter point is 

 concerned, with what is usually experienced in the tropical ever- 

 green forests, and even the mixed, deciduous ones. 



Moreover, it is on just such areas that forest conservancy is 

 most called for, and would have the best results on the water 

 supply of the country and improved tree growth, providing, of 

 course, fire protection is a prominent part of the programme. As 



