DRYLAND FARMING. 351 



although the large quantity of succulent fodder produced under 

 arid conditions warrants a more extensive cultivation. 



Spekboom {Portulacaria afra.). — An indigenous perennial 

 found in the eastern parts of the Cape Province. (It should 

 not be confused with the ' ' spekboom ' ' of the Transvaal bush- 

 veld ; the latter belongs to the genus Euphorbia, a tree never 

 eaten by stock.) Mr. R. W. Thornton, Principal, Grootfon- 

 tein School of Agriculture, Cape Province, who has conducted 

 some valuable experiments with this and other shrubs, writes : 

 " A shrub that really does well is our spekboom (P. afra). By 

 planting cuttings we have been successful in raising these 

 shrubs not only in this country, but in America, and at one 

 time I was informed that the extension of this plant in America 

 was going on at a rapid rate in some of the drier parts of the 

 western and south-western districts of the States." 



Mesembryanthemum spp. — Mr. Thornton considers that 

 some of our species of this genus would make excellent experi- 

 mental material, being valuable as stock fodder. The out- 

 standing work at present in connection with these is to find 

 out the best stock species as well as the best means of propaga- 

 tion. Concerning M. floribundum, an indigenous species, von 

 Mueller says : " This succulent perennial, with many allied 

 species from the same part of the globe (South Africa), is a far 

 more important plant than might be assumed, because ' a good 

 stretch of this is worth a dam (Professor Mac O wan).' Succu- 

 lent plants like these would live in sandy deserts where storage 

 of water may be practicable." 



Goed Karroo (Pentzia virgata) is a small perennial shrub 

 found in the Karroo and highly valued as sheep fodder. 



Eechte ganna (Salsola zeyheri). — Another perennial shrub 

 found also in the Karroo and esteemed as highly as Pentzia 

 virgata. 



Mesquite (Prosnpis juliflera) and Screw Bean (P. piibes- 

 cens) are slow growing perennial leguminous trees, having very 

 nutritious pods. The former is said to be spreading in the 

 South-West Protectorate. Professor J. R. Smith, University 

 of Pennsylvania, cites an instance of a Mesquite tree which 

 bore six consecutive crops of beans of twenty bushels each. 

 In Texas, New Mexico and other dry south-western states it is 

 the chief standby during drought. Mr. Mugglestone, of the 

 Smartt Syndicate, Ltd., Britstown, writes : " I have no doubt 

 the propagation of shrubs in the arid parts of the Karro is prac- 



