38 African Park Lands . 
throve amazingly; so much so indeed, that on land that was still 
further from the lake, and consequently still older, the thorns and 
bushes of various sorts were enveloping the euphorbias, which now 
appeared as rather choked growths in the centre of the bushy 
patches. Further away again from the lake there were many 
clumps of bushes and trees scattered in all directions over the 
country ; and in many of these were still to be found the dead or 
dying remains of the original euphorbia, to the protection of which 
the bush patch owed its growth. The seven lean kine had here 
eaten up the seven fat kine, and in such districts we entered the 
typical scenery of an African park. 
Once started the groups of trees and patches of bush which 
marked the graves of their former benefactors, the euphorbias, 
spread gradually under the protection of their own shadows, until 
finally the patches ran together and more or less coalesced into the 
ragged forest which covers the higher portions of these long alluvial 
slopes.” (The Tanganyika Problem, pp. 114-117.) 
Mr. Moore points out that at least in the regions which he 
visited park-lands were only found on recently formed alluvial 
plains, and that their occurrence had no relation to rainfall, since 
they “ occur in the Semliki valley where it is very wet, and also 
on the Albert Edward plains where it is very dry” (p. 113). 
Further, he could find no trace in any instance of differences in the 
soil—either of dampness or other characters—between the spots 
where the clumps of trees were growing and the grass-covered 
stretches between. Though it is not definitely stated in the book, 
it also appears that the euphorbia which he found playing such an 
important part in the initiation ol the Park-Lands of the Albert 
Nyanza plains, also occurs, and plays the same part, in the other 
Park-regions which he observed. 
Of course further information on several points is much to be 
desired, but taken as it stands, Mr. Moore’s theory is very convincing. 
Whether it can be applied to the West African Park-Lands is 
another matter; while in the cases of the great Savannahs of South 
America, and the striking Park-landscapes of North-Eastern Asia 
(Kamschatka and Saghalien), it is probable that we must look for 
some quite different explanation, possibly on the lines suggested by 
Schimper. 
Through the courtesy of Mr. Moore and of his publishers, 
Messrs. Hurst and Blackett, we are able to reproduce a plate from 
“ The Tanganyika Problem,” illustrating the gradual development of 
Park-Lands (Plate II.) A.G.T. 
