44 A NATURALIST IN MID-AFRICA. 



the march — which of course avoids forests as much 

 as possible— one passes through a mile of forest in 

 every fifteen miles' walking. But in most parts of 

 the region the trees, though quite able to yield 

 as much fuel as may be required for many years 

 to come, are not on the whole large or of any 

 specially valuable kinds. The most important are 

 Lusambia, which seems a very ordinary useful 

 wood, and Nzo, which takes a remarkably fine 

 polish. Anywhere near a native village the forest 

 is being continually cleared of timber to supply 

 native fires and materials for building, and goats 

 prevent any young trees from growing up to re- 

 place it. The effect of grass fires is to destroy 

 annually a very large amount of forest. It would 

 be very simple for the Government to arrange that 

 only a certain proportion of the now existing 

 forests should be touched in any one year, and 

 thus allow the natural forest growth to afford a 

 permanent source of timber. This is very im- 

 portant in view of the tremendous requirements 

 of the steamers which every one hopes soon to see 

 plying on the Victoria, and also in view of the 

 rainfall. 



The climate of Uganda is not really unhealthy. 

 Europeans can easily walk about and superintend 

 natives before noon ; but at present the physical 

 strain involved in walking 750 miles, the extra- 

 ordinary and dirty productions of a Suahili cook, 

 the miserable mud houses and the absence of any 



