1891.] Climatic Condition of South-Eastern Afriea, &c. 13 
what is its physical structure. You will permit me again to explain 
that the continent of Africa consists chiefly of a vast plateau of an 
average altitude of nearly 3,000 feet abovesea level, extending from the 
‘Cape Colony to Abyssinia and the Soudan, sloping gradually away 
to the north towards Egypt and the Sahara Desert. East and west 
the plateau falls away to the sea precipitously and its edge is generally 
marked by a mountain range. Not many will realise that when 
travelling up Nelspoort in the Beaufort West district, or even Bush- 
-manshoek near Queen’s Town, or over the Drakensberg near Harri- 
smith or Newcastle, or over the cataracts of the Congo towards 
Stanley Pool, or from Bagamoyo near Zanzibar over the mountains 
of Ugogo in the direction of Lake Tanganyika, or from Mombassa 
over the high range near the Kilimanjaro to Lake Victoria Nyanza, 
that they pass over the outer edge or rim of the great African 
Plateau. The map shows the extent of the country in South- 
Eastern Africa which is situated above 38,000 feet (the average 
altitude of the African Plateau). Throughout the whole of Southern 
Africa from the Cunene River on the West Coast to the Zoutpansberg 
district in the Transvaal, the edge of the inland plateau keeps almost 
-parallel with the coast at an average distance of about 150 miles. 
From the Zoutpansberg the contour of 3,000 feet follows a south- 
west direction to the Limpopo, which it crosses near the junction of 
the Great Marico, thence extends north in the direction of the sources 
of the Tati River and thence north-east and east, sweeping in irregular 
lines round the plateau of Manica and Mashonaland and thence tending 
west to the upper Zambesi valley. It will be seen that there is 
-situated above 3,000 feet the whole of the Free State, Basutoland and 
Bechuanaland, a great portion of the Transkeian Territories and 
Natal,and two-thirds of the Transvaal. Of Mashonaland and Matabele- 
land not one-half exceeds the altitude of 3,000 feet above sea. level. 
From practical experience gained in other parts similarly situated. 
-we can safely make the statement that the whole of the country 
between the Limpopo and the Zambesi situated below the contour 
.of 8,000 feet is absolutely unfit for European settlement, and that 
it can neither on theoretical or empirical grounds be maintained 
that either the Tuli, Fort Victoria or Beira-Massikessi Road is of 
any lasting practical value. The Highland of Mashonaland and 
Manica is comparatively healthy ; that is all that can at the present 
time be said. In order to obtain some idea of what may be expected 
_ of that country, let us consider the northern portion of the Highland 
