SOUTH AFRICAN FORESTRY. 5 



1902) it furnishes one of the most convenient and practical means of 

 fixing and utilizing the sun's energy. The fixation of carbon, in a 

 quick growing Eucalypt or Wattle plantation in South Africa, is about 

 fifteen times that of a similar plantat-on in Europe. To-day, near 

 Cape Town, it is less costly to plow the ground- and produce wood 

 fuel in a. plantation of Wattles or Gums than to import coal fuel 

 oversea, or by a long journey overland. If, on the World's surface, 

 we take latitudes below 40 and rainfalls above 40 inches, and 

 imagine this covered with forest, either with tropical forest or the 

 quick-growing Eucalypt and Acacia forest of the extra-tropics, I 

 calculated that there could be produced yearly, at the lowest computa- 

 tion, thirty times the world's present consumption of coal ! Details 

 ul this calculation are given in one of the forest pamphlets which 

 ue on the table for distribution. 



CAPE COLONY S TIMBER BILL AND THE MEANS TAKEN TO MEET IT. 



During 190 2 -the imports of timber to< Cape Colony amounted in 

 round numbers to half a million pounds sterling. Previous to the 

 war the average for some years was a quarter of a million. South 

 Africa is a poor dry country. It cannot afford to go on sending these 

 enormous sums out of the country to pay for foreign wood, hence 

 the existence of Forestry at the Cape. In its Forestry Cape Colony 

 now stands at the head of every British community. Speaking recent- 

 ly Dr. Schlich (who occupies at this moment the position of the 

 highest authority on forest matters amongst Englishmen) stated that 

 amongst the British Colonies and dependencies, only India and Cape 

 Colony had seriously considered the forest question. India is a 

 tropical country with vast areas of poorly stocked pestiferous forests 

 and a comparatively small area of well-stocked, healthy extra-tropical 

 forest on the Himalayas. Fo'r some years past Cape Colony has 

 spent, on an average, ^60,000 yearly on Forestry. Of this amount 

 between ^40,000 and ^50,000 is spent on timber plantations, com- 

 posed mainly of Eucalypts and Pines. The bulk of the Eucalypt 

 planting is to ^roduce sleepers for the Railways. The Cape Govern- 

 ment Railways require annually about one million cubic feet of timber 

 and literally train loads of imported sleepers, mostly Jarrah, can be 

 seen now by any traveller on the Cape Railways, These Jarrah 

 sleepers come from West Australia and cost at the rate of 5/- per 

 sleeper delivered here. The Cape Government Railways have now 

 to spend nearly ^100,000 yearly for imported sleepers. It is thus 

 a matter of great importance to produce this timber at home, espec- 

 ially when it is considered that we have an exact duplication here of 

 the climate of Australia, where these Eucalypt sleepers are produced. 

 Eucalyptus marginata, or Jarrah, is the sleeper now most in favour. 

 Some time back metal sleepers were used, but these have turned out 

 tts unsatisfactory here as in most other places where they have been 

 tried ; and the creosoted pine sleepers require the extra expense of 

 a plate to prevent them being cut into by the heavy rails and rolling 



