August  15,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
151 
remarks,  Mr.  Wallace  said  that  if  one  was  to  draw  an  imaginary  line 
across  Africa,  from  the  southern  end  of  the  Red  Sea  to  the  Gulf  of 
Guinea,  all  the  land  north  of  such  a  line  would  be  distinguished  as  very 
low  lying,  while  east  and  southwards  the  land  would  be  found  to  have 
an  average  height  of  about  4000  feet.  The  eastern  coast  is  tilted  up,  as 
it  were,  while  the  north  and  west  is  low.  The  Nile,  on  this  account,  is  a 
sluggish  river,  with  a  broad,  wide-spreading  delta.  The  flora  is 
governed  by  the  physical  eonditions ;  in  the  central  part  it  is  desert,  in 
Morocco  we  find  rich  steppes,  and  from  the  Niger  and  inward  there  are 
thick  forests.  On  the  eastern  side  we  find  broad  tracts  of  cultivated 
land.  Mr.  Wallace  briefly  enumerated  five  points  as  being  of  special 
importance  if  the  best  returns  are  desired  from  the  land.  1,  The 
maintaining  the  fertility  of  it ;  2,  Following  the  best  methods  of 
preparing  the  land;  3,  Growing  the  most  productive  varieties;  4, 
RHODODENDRON 
we  get  Cloves,  Cotton,  Indigo,  Sugar-cane,  and  Rubber,  fin  the  Soudan 
Dates  are  grown,  together  with  Maize  and  Ebony.  A  peculiarity  rf 
South  Afrioa  is  its  terrace-like  conformation.  Basutoland  is  one 
continuous  plateau,  and  the  Orange  River  Colony  has  an  average  eleva¬ 
tion  of  between  3000  and  4000  feet.  Zululand,  to  the  north-east,  on 
the  other  hand  is  a  belt  of  low-lying  subtropical  country,  much  affected 
by  warm  moist  currents,  which  blow  in  from  Mozambique  Channel. 
Natal  has  really  two  climates.  On  the  shore  the  warm  winds  raise  the 
temperature,  while  the  highlands  are  cooled  by  cold  currents  from  the 
Drakensberg  Mountains.  In  the  hot  lowlands  Indigo,  Cotton,  Bananas, 
and  Sugar-cane  are  grown  ;  while  the  highlands  are  rich  in  pasturage. 
The  Transvaal  may  be  partitioned  into  three  different  regions  : — 
1,  The  uplands  ;  2,  the  low  eastern  zone ;  and  3,  the  bush-land,  merging 
upon  to  dry  steppes  of  Bechuanaland. 
(See  page  148.) 
Judioious  rotation  ;  and  5,  Using  only  the  best  in  seeds  and  plantB.  The 
aim  of  the  cultivator  at  home  or  abroad  should  be  to  improve  the 
quality  of  the  produce,  while  lessening  the  coBt  of  production. 
Referring  to  the  Nile  basin,  the  lecturer  spoke  of  this  region  as  being 
the  hottest  of  any  in  the  Old  World.  Here  are  cultivated  Rice,  Maize, 
Barley,  Sugar  Cane,  Doum  Palm,  Peas,  Lentils,  and  general  crops. 
There  is  also  Tobacco,  Myrrh,  Senna,  Gum  Arabic,  Indigo,  Flax,  Cotton, 
and  plants  yielding  oils.  Egypt  grows  Cotton,  but  not  much  Flax. 
North  Africa  represents  the  warm-temperate,  and  subtropical  zone, 
and  produces  Oranges,  Linseed,  Tobacoo,  and  to  some  extent  Sugar, 
cane,  Cork  Oak,  and  Esparto  Grass.  West  Afrioa  is  a  purely  tropioal 
zone,  and  furnishes  the  Ground  Nut,  Arrowroot,  Yam,  Cocoa,  Banana, 
dye  woods,  Palm-kernels,  Palm-oil,  and  Indiarubber.  South  Africa 
again  is  temperate,  reaching  upwards  into  the  tropics.  In  the  southern 
part  of  this  great  country  all  the  European  fruits  and  vegetables  can 
be  and  are  grown,  plus,  in  suitable  regions,  the  Guava,  Tamarind, 
Banana,  Hemp,  Flax,  Tea,  and  Coffee  ;  while  from  British  East  Afrioa 
No  distinction  can  be  made  in  Egypt  between  the  spontaneous  or 
indigenous  flora  of  vegetation  and  what  is  cultivated,  so  long  have  the 
products  been  grown  by  the  people  of  that  land.  Three  crops  are 
yearly  taken  from  the  ground.  Lupines,  Flax,  and  Clover  are  winter 
crops,  sown  in  November,  and  harvested  in  April  and  May.  The 
summer  crops  are  sown  between  March  and  May,  and  reaped  in 
November  and  December,  while  the  “  autumn  ”  crops  are  sown  in  July, 
and  are  readv  for  gleaning  in  November.  Rice,  Sorghum,  and  Millet 
are  the  autumn  staple  ;  Cotton,  Rice,  Maize,  and  Indigo  are  grown  for 
summer  crops.  Vines  are  almost  entirely  confined  to  the  Fizzon.  The 
anoient  cultivation  of  the  Lotus  and  Papyrus  has  now  wholly  disappeared. 
The  culture  of  Date  Palms  and  Mulberry  trees  occupy  many  of  the 
people  in  Upper  Egypt.  Mr.  Wallace  in  like  manner  enumerated  the 
cultivated  produots  of  the  Gold  Coast,  Sierra  Leone,  the  Niger  region, 
Gambia,  Mauritius,  Seychelles,  Shire  Highlands,  and  Rhodesia.  He 
then  described  the  oultuial  details,  uses,  and  characteristics  of  the 
fruits  and  vegetables,  and  more  or  less  detail. 
