FORESTRY. 3 



It is certain that without the assistance of the picked timber 

 trees of larger forest floras, Forestry in South Africa could never 

 be the remunerative business it now is. Which of the introduced 

 trees is best fitted to re-stock and restore the indigenous forest 

 is still an unsolved problem. 



I have mentioned that the Clanwilliam Cedar is an exception 

 to the difficult propagation, the slow growth, and the delicate 

 constitution of the indigenous trees generally. Unfortunately, 

 that tree will not thrive away from its home in the rugged Cedar- 

 berg country an area of 150 or 200 square miles on the western 

 side of the sub-continent, situated 120 miles due north of Cape 

 Town. The re-foresting of this area has been pushed forward 

 as rapidly as the slender provision of funds has allowed of. Fires 

 have been restrained, goat-grazing stopped, and only dead Cedar 

 trees are now allowed to be felled, while 81,000 trees have been 

 planted over 94 acres by the inexpensive process of plowing 

 the ground and sowing the seed broadcast. Seed is obtainable 

 as easily as Pine seed, and the growth of the young Cedars is as fast 

 as that of the Cluster-pine on the Cape Flats. Such Cedar timber 

 as is obtainable from dry trees sells easily in Cape Town for the 

 same price as Stinkwood or Teak. No doubt in the future Clan- 

 william Cedar will largely replace the costly imported Teak, but 

 since the Cedar will not flourish away from the rigorous climate of 

 its snowy mountains, it can play but a restricted part in the general 

 re-foresting of the country. Hence the supreme importance of 

 the introduced timber trees to the South African Forester. 



THE INTRODUCED TIMBER TREES. 



Some of the finest timber trees of the Northern Hemisphere 

 have now been under cultivation in South Africa for 200 years, 

 and may reasonably be considered to be completely naturalised. 

 Most of them show an abundant natural reproduction from seed, 

 and they flourish in localities where drought, frost and parching 

 winds are a complete bar to the cultivation of the delicate indigenous 

 trees. It is of course necessary to see that in their new home they 

 are properly fitted to the climate winter rainfall trees (such as 

 those of the Mediterranean) to a winter rainfall climate ; summer 

 rainfall trees to a summer rainfall climate ; all-the-year-round 

 rainfall trees to an all-the-year-round rainfall climate ; inland 

 trees to an inland climate ; and coast trees to a coastal climate. 

 Hence, to the South African Forester, the prime importance of the 

 study of climatology. The following trees are those which have 

 shown themselves to be most hardy and useful in South Africa. 



Finns pinaster (Cluster-pine). Grows like a weed along the 

 southern coast of Cape Colony, wherever there is a good rainfall ; 

 particularly on the coast mountains and on the plains of the south- 

 west, where there are winter rains and a Mediterranean climate. 

 It is now being largely propagated for sleepers and firewood by the 

 Forest Department. About 8 tons of seed are used yearly in these 

 operations. For an account of the remarkable growth of this tree 



