358 



'AGUtCVLTVUAL JOURNAL. 



the weather was quite warm, but since that date 

 it has been very cold. I regr ^t to report that 

 lungsickness is on the increase. Thtre have 

 been four cases of freph outbreaks, two of wh ch 

 were amongst local Native cattle. The infected 

 herds under license in the District at the present 

 time are Havemann Bros., Insuzi ; P. E. Ziets- 

 man (one herd) ; Colonel Bottomley's cattle, 

 Mf ongosi : J. H van Roi yen and J. Nel, Rooi 

 Drift, Tugela ; C. R. S. Hyslop, J. Hutchinson, 

 and j. Fry, Empandblen' ; 'J'. W. Cooper, 

 Mfongosi ; Mabambcni Chief Siswana, near 

 Magistracy ; and Sikonyaca, Chief Matshanaka, 

 Sitshagya. Mr. J. R. Cooper, Acting Stock 

 Ins-pector, arrived here on tbe 29tb instant, and 

 is busy visiting the icfected herds. The veld is 

 very bad, especially in the neighbourhood of the 

 Magistracy. Things remam m icb in the same 

 unsettled state along the Border The Boers 

 have taken several mares and foals from 

 the Natives. Mr. Owen's store and build- 

 ings at the Upper Umhlatuzi have been 

 almost entirely ruined by the enemy. On 

 the .3rd inst. I collected" hut-tax from the 

 Natives of the Border Chiefs at the Insuzi 

 Store, thus complet ng the collection from all 

 the Chiefs in the District, the amount colkcted 

 up to date being £.5 064 odd. This is very 

 favourable as compared with last year. The 

 health of the District cannot be said to have 

 been gocd, bad colds and dengue fever having 

 been prevalent. No locusts have been reported 

 in the District. 



C. C. FoxoN, Magistrate. 



XJBOMBO. 1st August. — The weather 

 throughout the past month, though rather chilly 

 at times, has been pleasant. But little rain fell, 

 only '14^ inch being registered. The minimum 

 temperature was 47 degrees, and 79i degrees the 

 maximum. Owing to the late rains peacV'es 

 have blossomed and fruited, and it is feared the 

 crop will be a bad one this year, consequently. 

 Mulberry tree?, moreover, are aloiost in full 

 leaf, and herbage generally much greener than 

 usual at this time of the year. Five head of 

 cattle are known to have died from gallsickness. 

 Crops of all cereals and vegetables on the 

 mountain have been harvested, save pumpkins, 

 in many places -the crop thereof being in excess 

 of that usually produced. In the low country 

 to east of Magistracy, crops of native millet and 

 mealies still remain green. 



A. R. R. TuRNBULL, Magistrate. 



UMLALAZI, 10th August.-I regret being 

 unable to report favourably on the condition of 

 stock, as. since my last report, lungsickness has 

 appeared in several parts of the District, chiefly 

 amongst the cattle of surrendered Boers, at pre- 

 sent stationed here. The infected herds are 

 still in quarantine, and I fear it will be fome 

 time before theDistrict is free from thisdisease. 

 In addition to lungsickness, several deaths among 

 cattle have occurred from anthrax. It may not 

 be generally known that the flesh of cattle dying 

 trom this disease is exceeding unwholetome. 

 Indeed, the Stock Inspector informs me that 

 he has known of several natives dying as a 



result of eating it ; and it is difficult to pre /eat 

 their doing so, though I have repeatedly warned 

 them of the probable consequences. I have 

 heard of no diseases among horses lately. The 

 merino sheep do not thrive here, but the natives 

 breed a few of the common black and brown 

 native sheep, which appear to do well a few 

 miles iLland. Weather.— The early coast spring 

 is already with us, and evei\ywhere plou9;hing 

 and planting is going on apace. The first week 

 of this month was very hot, and the high iiorth 

 winds have again commenced. Over 5 inches 

 of rain fell during June, but only ''.IS inch 

 was registered for July. Very heavy dews have 

 been observed during the last few weeks. There 

 is nothing to report regarding crops, save to 

 remark that the natives are breaking up a good 

 deal of new ground and planting mabele largely, 

 encouraged, probably, by the abundant crops 

 reaped last season. Through the courtesy of 

 Mr. M. Goates, at present of Matikulu, I have 

 obtained a very fine sample of arrowroot, grown 

 near the Matikulu River in this District. The 

 root measures nearly two feet in length, with a 

 maximum diameter of two inches, and weighs 

 about 2 lbs. As this was grown by natives, 

 without any special care, probably still better 

 results would be obtained were the plant 

 properly cultivated in that locality. Whilst 

 travelling recently between the Umlalaz.i and 

 Umhlatuzi Rivers, I notice great numbers of the 

 Uala Palm tree (sometimes called Vegetable 

 Ivory), flourishing and covering a considerable 

 tract of land. They yield a prolific crop of 

 fruit, each containing a very hard white sub- 

 stance, resembling ivory in appearance. I am 

 informed that a palatable alcoholic drink is 

 obtained by tapping the trunk of the tree, and 

 allowing the juice, which exudes, to ferment. 

 The tree itself is very graceful in appearance, 

 and contains a quantity 'of strong fibre in its 

 branches. 



J. J, Jackson, Magistrate. 



WEENEN, 9th August.— A spell of warm 

 weather has now set in, and it is reasonable to 

 suppose that we have done with frost and ice 

 for another nine months. The past wiriter has 

 been characterised by unusual severity, the 

 thermometer having registered a lower 

 minimum temperature than any recorded since 

 1897. To this (act is probably due the absence 

 of the strong north wind?, which are, as a rule, 

 the prevailing feature of July and August. As 

 is generally the ca=e in The Thorns, stock of 

 all kinds has done well in spite of ttie cold, 

 cattle being in particularly good coujition. 

 During the past fortnight a larije troop of 

 horses, variously computed at from 1,000 to 

 1,400 has been depastured on the Weenen town 

 lands, and tht se animals must be excluded from 

 the condition of well-Leing just referred to, 

 as they are dying in large numbers from poverty 

 and other causes. Scab among the sheep ficcLs 

 in the District is lessening, and no further cases 

 of lungsickness have been reported. A sus- 

 pected case of rinderpest caused a flutter of 

 excitement among cattle owners, but the ari'ival 

 of the District Veterinary Surgeon, who re- 

 jiorted that death was due to other causes, re- 

 stored the local peace of mind. Tobacco 



