204 FOBESTRY IX SOUTH AFRICA. 



of the Orange river to northern Zululand. It varies in \\idth 

 from a mile or two to 30 and even more miles. 



(2) A range of hilly gromid rising by degrees behind the coastal 

 strip. Near Capetown the hills are quite close to the sea ; on 

 going inland they become higher, till they reach heights of 3,000 

 to 4,000 feet at a distance of 30 to 40 miles from the sea, and from 

 5,000 to 6,000 feet at 60 miles. These hills, intersected by 

 valleys, are the spurs of a long range of mountains running from 

 Capetown to the Zambesi valley. The height ranges from 3,000 

 to 7,000 feet, and in Basutoland as much as 11,000 feet are 

 reached. Geographers call these hills the " Drakenberg or 

 Quathlamba Range." 



(3) Behind the Quathlamba range the country spreads out into 

 a vast tableland, partly flat, partly undulating, sometimes inter- 

 sected by ridges of rocky hills, forming the third region. Its 

 height above sea varies from 3,000 to 5,000 feet, and some of the 

 hills reach 6,000 feet. Thus the Quathlamba range may be 

 regarded as the escarpment of the tableland. The latter occupies 

 seven-eighths of South Africa. 



There are no rivers in the true sense, since the rivers usually 

 contain little water during three-fourths of the year ; nor are 

 there any lakes of any importance. 



2. Geology and Soil. 



There seems to be much uncertainty on some of the main 

 points in the geological record of South Africa, in the determina- 

 tion of the relative age of the more ancient sediments and of the 

 great intrusion of granite rock in them. However, geological 

 formations do not appear to have any great influence in deter- 

 mining the distribution of the forests, which occur with little 

 change in their general character on different formations. 



Generally, the soils in forest areas are poor in plant food, 

 especially in lime and phosphoric acid. The soils most suitable 

 for afforestation are those derived from granites, table mountain 

 sandstone and dolorites. The soils of South Africa are generally 

 not characterised by any great depth, although hillside soils in 

 Natal are good in this respect so that their physical properties are 

 excellent. On account of the long, dry season, depth of soil is of 

 great importance, and is one of the important points to be 



