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grazing and when cut as hay. It rarely acts as a pioneer for 

 it prefers to develop in its early seedling stages in shade, but 

 it gradually overcomes the primitive types by shading them, 

 and by depriving them of water, as explained more fully in 

 a previous section. Its renewal buds are intravaginal, and 

 above ground., and it does not stand burning well. The effect 

 of burning is to send back the succession a step, which leads 

 to the establishment of the more primitive types dominated 

 by Aristida, Eragrostis and Sporobolus. 



3. If the plant succession has gone still further, and tall, 

 coarse, Tambookie grasses [Andropogon nardus var. validus, 

 A. auctus, A. dregeanus, etc.) have developed together with 

 numerous shrubs, and even seedling forest trees, or even if 

 some of the species belonging to the earlier stage {e.g., Andro- 

 pogon Jiirtus) have grown rank and coarse, then the V^eld must 

 be burned, provided grazing is required. In other words, the 

 plant succession must deliberately be sent back. Such Veld 

 is progressing towards Forest, and the planting of trees in 

 such places will be found to be a very sound procedure from 

 the financial standpoint. Trees grow so very rapidly here 

 that not so very many years need elapse before a better return 

 may be obtained from them than from the pasturing of stock. 



4. With regard to the time of the year when burning, if 

 it must be done, should be done, most farmers agree that it is 

 best to burn late in autumn. If the burning is done too early, 

 new growth commences also very early, and the young shoots 

 suffer from frosts, and early burning also prevents the grasses 

 seeding. The only advantage in burning early is to get a 

 certain amount of winter food for the stock or to get grazing 

 as early in Spring as possible. 



5. Other general effects of burning will be mentioned in 

 connection with soil erosion, but one general effect, in addition 

 to the sending back of the plant succession, is the increasing 

 of the number, and extent of the numerous vernal aspect 

 societies of flowering plants other than grasses, which occur 

 in the Veld. The laying bare of the surface of the ground 

 enables the sun's rays to raise the temperature of the sub- 

 terranean storage organs, which nearly all those plants possess, 

 and they develop early, and vigorously, in consequence. They 

 are thus able to spread and multiply, and store up food for 

 next year, when they spread still more. Some ot them may 

 iae useful, but several of them are known to cause stock 

 diseases, and an increase of them can hardly be considered 



