titude--however, changes the appearance of
the land. Rarely on the tableland of Equatorial Africa do we see the
scrub and thorn trees of South Africa. The vegetation there is more
robust, the trees taller, the leafage thicker and of a darker green; the
mere grasses of the tropics are taller than the trees growing on the
plains of Cape Colony, Bechuanaland, and Rhodesia, though in the latter
country there are oases favourable to the growth of noble timber. In
nitrous belts--fortunately of no great width--in Ugogo, Nyasaland, East
Africa, we should be reminded of the thorny productions of Bechuanaland,
and ten degrees north of the Equator we should again see a recurrence of
them.

A MAGNIFICENT FOREST OF TEAK.

It must have struck even the most unobservant of our guests how the land
improved as we travelled northward. How the ungrateful looking Karroo
of Cape Colony was presently followed by expansive plains covered with
dwarf shrubs; how the plains became more promising after we passed the
Hart River: how the rolling grassy prairie-like country of Southern
Bechuana was followed by the acacias and mimosas of Northern Bechuana;
and how as we neared Rhodesia these trees in a few hours of travel rose
from 10 feet to 20 feet in height; how the land became more compact, and
lost much of its loose porous texture, and consequently the grasses were
higher and water might be found at a lesser depth. That improvement, I
am told, continues as we go northward towards Salisbury, even though we
may keep on a somewhat uniform level, that is on the tableland
separating the river flowing eastward, south to the Limpopo and
north-west to the Zambesi. So rapid is the effect of a lower altitude,
and consequent greater heat and moisture, that about 80 miles from
Bulawayo to the north-west a magnificent forest of teak has been found,
from whose grand timber we saw several specimens of furniture, such as
tables, desks, and bureaus, a log of 20 feet long and a foot square,
besides a quantity of planks.

Rhodesia's Fine Climate.

Now, this Rhodesia consists of Matabeleland and Mashonaland, and covers
about a quarter of a million square miles. It is the northern portion
of the Great South African tableland, and its highest elevations run
north-east and south-west, varying from 4000 to nearly 6000 feet above
the sea. This height declines on the eastern, southern, and
north-western sides, as it slopes along with the rivers flowing from
t