sentences:  It contains a list of 167 species of tree indigenous to Natal; mechanical constants determined by experiment of the hardness, density, elasticity coefficient, elasticity limit, breaking stress; notes on the preparation of wood and railway sleeper manufacture, a list of trees with high bark tannin content, measurements of rates of growth for indigenous trees, timber measurements, recommendations for vegetation from other countries that would be suitable for acclimatisation in Natal as forest vegetation, the altitude ranges at which some 91 species of exotic tree were found, statistics of timber imports for the decade 1880 to 1889 as well as a short extract on 'diminished rainfall' that the Governor had requested, concerning the theory that there might be a link between sunspots and rainfall.All the work was done in 10 months.Fourcade was 24 years old.