THE HIGH VELD.—Lines drawn from Pitsani, on the main rail way line some little distance north of Mafeking, to Johannesburg, from Johannesburg to Pilgrim's Rest, about thirty miles north east of Lydenburg, and from Pilgrim's Rest to a point on the Natal frontier to the east of Wakkerstroom, mark off the greater part of the High Veld from the remainder of the country. But a distinction is frequently made between the region to the east of Johannesburg and that to the west. The former—the High Veld proper, as it is called—has an elevation of over 5,000 feet, and consists in the main of rolling downs ; while the latter, which is known as the Middle Veld, and usually lies between 4,000 and 5,000 feet above sea-level, is more irregular in appearance and is frequently broken by long lines of low hills.
Over the whole of the High Veld the summers are hot, but in winter the thermometer frequently falls considerably below freezing point. Johannesburg, which has an altitude of 5,735 feet, has a mean annual temperature of 61°F., with a range from 47°F. in July to 70° F. in December. The range between day and night temperature also is often great. The annual precipitation decreases from over 40 inches in the east to between 15 and 25 inches in the west. On the High Veld proper the rains, which occur in summer, are tolerably certain ; but on the Middle Veld they are more irregular and vary considerably from year to year.
The vegetation is that of a grass steppe practically unbroken by trees or shrubs, except in the moister and warmer districts. The whole of the High Veld is devoted to stock-raising, and its importance may be gauged by the fact that in 1911 more than two-thirds of the total number of sheep in the country (3,360,000) were found in those districts which almost entirely belong to it. Cattle and goats are also most numerous in this region.
The High Veld proper is peculiarly adapted to stock, though it is necessary to " trek " to lower lands during the winter months. In the Middle Veld (to which the outlying districts of Waterbury and Zoutpansberg belong) the grass is not so good, and animals fed upon it are more subject to disease. On the High Veld the land is cultivated only to a limited extent, though it is possible that the development of irrigation and dry farming may lead to an increase of the arable area in the future. Maize and Kaffir corn are the principal crops grown at the present time.
The Witwatersrand, which lies along the northern margin of the Middle Veld west of Johannesburg, has acquired peculiar importance in recent years on account of the vast quantities of gold which it contains. The rocks, which constitute what is known as the Main Reef Series, consist of a quartz conglomerate or banket, in which the gold lies in particles so small that they are rarely visible to the naked eye ; and it was not until the introduction of the cyanide process that the region assumed its present importance. During the three years 1909-11 the annual output averaged £32,000,000. Coal, which appears to be of drift origin, occurs at several places, but the principal mines are near Witbank, west of Middleburg. A considerable part of the output of these mines is exported, by way of Lourenco Marques, to the west coast of India and else where. Coal is also obtained at Boksburg and Springs, east of Johannesburg, and at Belfast,