590 REPORT—1905. 
3. Little Namaqualand. 
This country is very varied in its vegetation, some parts of it belonging to the 
Karroo and others to the Karroid plains, The mountain-tops possess real Cape 
flora, and the coast strip is a desert. 
As the boundaries of these regions have not been fully investigated as yet, I 
have not attempted to delineate them. 
Ill. The Western Littoral. 
A strip varying in width from a few miles in Little Namaqualand to thirty or 
fifty miles in Great Namaqualand and Damaraland. 
A real desert. The most remarkable plant is Welwitschia mirabihs. 
IV. The Forests of the South Coast. 
The narrow coast strip between George and Humansdorp and the lower 
portion of the southern slopes of the Outeniqua and Zitzikamma mountains. 
The most numerous trees are Podocarpus elongata and Olea laurifolia, which 
form about one-third of the forest. 
The tall Strelitzia alba, several arborescent ferns (Hemitelia capensis and. 
Marattia fraxinifolia), and a number of epiphytic orchids (Angrecum and 
Mystacidium) indicate the high rainfall. 
V. The South-Eastern Coast-belt. 
A narrow strip of low coast lands, reaching nearly as far as Algoa Bay. 
Characterised by Phenix reclinata, the southernmost African palm, Cycadaces 
(Encephalartos), Strelitzia (three species), Euphorbia grandidens, and in the north 
mangroves. ; 
Norr.—This abstract and the accompanying map had to be completed before 
Dr. Bolus’s new treatise on the flora of South Africa was available for reference. 
FRIDAY, AUGUST 18. 
The following Papers were read :— 
1. The Systematic Position of Welwitschia. 
By Professor H. H. W. Pearson, M.A., F.L.S. 
The author gave an account of his investigations on the development and 
germination of the spores of Welwitschia. The material examined was collected 
in Damaraland in January 1904. Owing to the unsettled condition of the country 
the author was unable to stay long enough to obtain a complete series, and 
therefore the latest stages of germination of the spores and the process of fertilisa- 
tion were not observed. The results established are sufficient to throw new light 
upon the relations of the genus to Ephedra and to Gnetum, and show that the 
views of some recent authors as to its position in the group Gnetacew must be 
considerably modified. 
The South African Association for the Advancement of Science granted a sum 
of 251. in aid of the research. 
2. Notes on Irrigation Farming on the Orange River. 
By F. B. Parxinson, A.R.S.M., FR.GS. 
In the central portion of South Africa,say an area bounded north and south 
by Kimberley and Middelburg respectively, and east and west by Zastron and 
Prieska—there is an average rainfall of approximately 1 foot per annum, with a 
tendency to be less on the west and more on the east of this area. Usually about 
two-thirds of this rainfall occurs in the autumn months. Such rain as falls in 
