180 THE WORLD'S MEAT FUTURE 



is of a iiniqiR' character, and all the trees are powerfully armed 

 for resisting drought. In many instances leaves have practically 

 disappeared. The stem has swollen, and seems to take the place 

 of leaves. Then these stems and leaves are covered with a thin 

 film of wax, which acts as a further protection against the 

 evaporation of moisture, while the 'latex' or milky sap, which 

 flows in the bark of so many trees and vines of the country, and 

 provides some very good rubber, seems to be intended as a 

 further protection against drought. 



"Another protection is needed, however, to prevent the exter- 

 mination of plants valuable as forage, and this is a protection 

 against cattle itself. This is abundantly provided. I suppose 

 there ai'e more thorns to the square yard in the Ondroy bush 

 than there are to the acre of English forest. The fantsi-holieke, 

 a wonderful tree, which has been compared to a forest of up- 

 turned elephant trunks, is covered from the ground to its highest 

 tip by thorns about an inch in length, disposed of regular spirals 

 about an inch or two apart. Between these thorns, and just 

 about the same length, grow small, oval, flat leaves, with the 

 consistence of soft leather. 



"The pastures are, how^ever, of greater interest than the bush, 

 and these I must now describe. There are in this part of the 

 country two entirely distinct types of pasture. The one which 

 seems to belong to the calcareous and sandy regions appears to 

 be ideal pasture for sheep. In fact, the natives call it 

 'voln'ny ondry, ' or sheep's pasture; it is short and sweet. 

 The other is found mostly in granite regions and generally on 

 eruptive soil. It is called 'danga,' and is to this country what 

 the spear grass is to Australia. The seed is not more than 

 abcut half an inch in length, but it bears a long thread-like 

 appendix. Native sheep, having no wool, do not seem to suffer 

 from the danga, while bullocks, owing to their greater height, 

 only collect it while grazing, and that around their horns and 

 eyes. If it gets into the eye it may, of course, be dangerous, 

 yet, broadly speaking, horned cattle do very well on danga. 



' ' The land on which I settled at first was right in the middle 

 of eruptive and granitic hills, and renowned for its good pas- 

 ture. The sheep— both native and imported Merinos— did well 

 at first, and my shepherd was delighted with the abundant and 

 rich growth of wool. April came round, however, and with it 

 the seeding season of the danga. We soon saw that there was 

 only one safe course, and that was to keep the Merinos in. For 



