From the Summary ... 'Veld burning is a highly controversial subject. Some people think it should be forbidden by legislation; most farmers in the higher rainfall areas maintain that it would not be possible to farm without burning the veld. To determine the effects of fire in three different veld types, some preliminary work was carried out in the Natal Thornveld and critical experiments were laid out in the Tall Grass Veld and Highland Sourveld.Veld burning is not a common practice in the Thornveld but work showed it could be used successfully to prevent bush encroachment if carried out at the right time of the year and in conjunction with good veld management. There would be no other valid reason for burning in the Thornveld.In the Tall Grass Veld burning is a common practice. Under conditions of complete protection from burning or defoliation the grass cover dies out. It there is a source of seed, the succession may proceed to the shrub stage but this is very slow. Run-off is high between the dead tufts of grass which form very good protection for rodents against predators.The best treatments for the maintenance of a good cover of good species is mowing in the spring or burning in the spring after rain.In the Highland Sourveld complete protection leads to the replacement of the grass sward, after it has become moribund and died out, by forest margin grasses and shrubs. Mowing of the old grass instead of burning maintains the best cover while there is mucyh damage done by leaving too long a period between burns. Autumn burning is harmful to the cover and in terms of erosion. The generally recommended practice is burning biennially in spring after rain.Under grazing conditions, it is found that some method of removing old grass must be used if the veld is not to deteriorate. Burning in spring after rain is the commonest practice to achieve this. Removing old grass by mowing gives the best results. The new practice of feeding high protein supplements to enable the livestock to clean up the old grass may do away with the need for burning but the effects of such defoliation are being studied before definite recommendations can be made.'