1 6 Wild Life in Central Africa. 



usually there are plenty of ant hills, which form fine 

 stalking cover for approaching game. The drainage of the 

 surrounding bush finds its way to these places, and many of 

 the rivers in this country have their source in some such 

 marshy hollow. 



Compared to many of our other possessions in Africa, 

 Nyasaland is well favoured with trees and a good water 

 supply, and the rains being regular, the natives are able to 

 depend on the soil producing a plentiful supply of food. 

 In the course of time the amount of timber they cut to 

 make their gardens will doubtless affect the rainfall, 

 although they naturally never go very far from water. They 

 are very wasteful with the timber, as they collect it in heaps 

 and burn it, for they believe that the wood ashes make the 

 soil more productive, and, certainly, vegetables such as 

 pumpkins seem to grow best where there are plenty of 

 ashes. The rains usually break about the beginning of 

 December, and they last until April or May. 



About August all the grass has got yellow and dry, and 

 the natives then burn it, and this is ruinous to the growth 

 of the trees in the dryer parts of the country. They start 

 these fires so as to get the field mice, which are burnt to 

 death ; and millions of reptiles, insects, and birds must be 

 killed also ; and in some cases I have heard of young 

 elephants and antelopes being burnt to death. The hottest 

 months are those of September, October, and November, 

 and at this time the heat can be terrific in some parts of 

 the country, such as the Chiromo marsh. In North-Eastern 

 Rhodesia, the valley of the Luangwa River is very hot, and 

 the same can be said of the valley of the Zambesi River. 



In May, June, and July the nights are often cold, and 

 fires are a comfort, but about August the weather gets 

 hotter by day and night, although the nights are never 

 uncomfortably hot on the higher levels. There are many 

 ranges of hills and detached kopjes scattered all over 

 Nyasaland and North-Eastern Rhodesia. 



In Nyasaland the best known mountains are the plateaux 

 on Mlanje and the Zomba range, and people often go to 



