THE TSETSE PROBLEM IN NORTH MOSSURISE. 327 



Ptewcarpus sericeus (mumbhungu) wooding, highly deciduous. It is also, howevpr, 

 the chief seat of the surviving primary forest (PL ix ; PI, xiii, fig. 2). A high-forest 

 area composed of primary forest (largely ravine type), tall, dense, mixed secondary, 

 and invasions of the latter by primary forest, covers much of the broad strip of 

 country that comprises the Mafusi and Maronga rubber forests, and stretches 

 interruptedly from somewhat near the British border at beacons 76-77 eastwards 

 to the Musapa, crossing the Lusitu on the way. It is roughly bounded on the 

 south by the Puizisi, but sends two broken, narrow extensions southwards along 

 the eastern and western base respectively of the Sitatongas. Between the Puizisi 

 and the Mtshanedzi, and again in the Gwenzi country, lighter dense secondary ty])es 

 dominate, copse-like groves (PI. xvii, fig.l ), and fern-entwined wooding alternating 

 with open, highly deciduous wooding of Ptewcarpus sericeus and its Acacia and other 

 associates. This more open wooding dominates rather specially at the higher 

 elevations, though scattered close Alhizzia groves, losing their leaves in the cold 

 weather, are also somewhat prominent there. Narrow primary-type thickets 

 — fringing forests (PI. xiv, fig. 1) — often occur along the small streams, and 

 harbour fly permanently at the lower elevations. The grass-jungle gro\vth, except 

 in the dense wooding, is immense and tangled. The fires are normally more or 

 less late and, when postponed further till the grass is dust-dry, they are of 

 extraordinary severity. 



Distribution of the Game. 



This again is most simply stated in terms of rock-formation. The lower-lying 

 Mtobi-Gogoyo clolerite-dyke country that is bounded by the Mtshanedzi on the 

 south, the lower Chikambwe on the west, the Mtobi piece of the Lusitu on the north, 

 and the Sitatongas in the east, forms an area that is poorly stocked w^ith game, 

 and is surrounded by the heavily stocked areas of the gneiss, basalt, sedimentary 

 rock and (latterly) the higher elevation dolerite. Of these well-stocked areas 

 the basalt only (Gunye's, etc.) is somewhat unattractive to the buffalos, though 

 they wander into it in small parties in the rains. Their distribution is chain-like, 

 the new^ bufialo colonies of the dolerite connecting occasionally with the herds of 

 the sedimentary " Oblong," these with the herds of the Umvuazi-Lusitu Brachy- 

 stegia-morsitans area (the gneiss), these with further herds in the Moribane district 

 (at Muchamba's, etc.), and these again, it is said, with those of Cheringoma. With 

 them are found elands and elephants in numbers, animals that are also rather 

 specially attracted by Brachystegia bush, yet have latterly invaded the dolerite 

 also. 



Bush-pigs are exceedingly and increasingly abundant on the sedimentary rock and 

 the dolerite, far less so on the gneiss and basalt, where they are largely replaced by 

 wart-hogs. Herds of sable antelope are distributed through the coimtry generally. 

 Lichtenstein hartebeests are present in numbers throughout the two formations 

 east of the Sitatongas, also (but much less so) on the sedimentary rock, but not 

 at all on the dolerite with its jungly grass-growth. Waterbucks occur in small 

 herds on the large rivers. Bushbucks, reedbucks and duikers are present throughout, 

 where the conditions are suitable, and little blue duikers (Cephalophus monticola) 

 are in some numbers in the dense forests and thickets. 



