1885.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



23] 



much unusual beauty. And if he arrive when 

 the many lovely species of bulbous-rooted plants 

 are blooming, some of which kinds he may have 

 nursed with tender care at home ; or watched 

 with curious expectation the many grotesque ex- 

 amples of succulent plants, which everywhere, i 

 with their odd-shaped and abnormal forms, attract 

 his attention ; especially the singular genus of 

 mesembryanthemum, of which there are between 

 four and five hundred species flowering around 

 him, he will be much amazed. Nor will his sur- 

 prise be less, when he beholds so many kinds of 

 pelargoniums, some of which sorts he remembers 

 as having seen long ago. And how plain before 

 the mind's eye will appear the unforgotten green- 

 house at home, where, when a boy, he first beheld 

 these odorous and pretty favorites of the olden 

 time. And among these, upwards of two hundred 

 dissimilar species, many of which, both foliage 

 and flowers, are fragrant ; with curiously blotched 

 and beautifully pencilled petals, in every shade of 

 coloring, from pure white, to brilliant scarlet, and 

 crimson ; he will find much to admire. 



Of what Diaz, the Portuguese navigator, thought 

 of "The Dark Continent," when first he landed 

 there, differing so much as it does from the physi- 

 cal configuration of his native land, history re- 

 mains silent. Yet, we can hardly suppose that at 

 the sight of the fine, portly green trees, handsome 

 shrubs, and pretty flowers, he could remain in- 

 different, after being so long tempest-tossed, about 

 what he aptly termed the " Cape of Storms." But 

 dismissing for the present the notice of many in- 

 teresiing plants which flourish there, I will en- 

 deavor to confine my remarks to the genus Erica, 

 and of that particular section known as Cape 

 Heaths. 



On leaving the quaint looking old city and en- 

 virons of Cape Town, formerly settled by the 

 Dutch in 1652, the enthusiastic traveler soon be- 

 gins to meet here and there, a variety of the small, 

 handsome evergreen Ericas, as a foretaste of what 

 is in reserve for him, as he journeys upwards and 

 onwards. And presuming he is one of those in- 

 quisitive persons, who let nothing escape their 

 keen observation, his progress will be slow indeed. 

 On all sides, and especially while passing over the 

 long stretches of undulating country, his attention 

 will continually be drawn towards the increasing 

 numbers, in many varieties, of these elegant mini- 

 ature flowering shrubs. And, if he fortunately 

 knows their botanical names, he will be much 

 pleased with the winsome features he joyfully re- 

 cognizes, like the meeting of old companions after 



many years. And numbers of free growing kinds, 

 such as Erica cerinthoides major, from three to 

 five feet high ; E. dichromata, from lour to six 

 feet ; E. vernalis, six to seven feet ; E. Masson- 

 iana, eight or nine feet, and E. euriolaris, twelve 

 to fifteen feet; he will occasionally meet, overtop- 

 ping those of a more dwarfed and compact habit ; 

 such as E. comosa, E. nigrita, E. blanda, E. petio- 

 lata, E. minima, E. elegans, and E. carnea. To 

 specify individual kinds by name, from upwards 

 of five hundred indigenous varieties, would give 

 the reader but a faint idea of what they are like, 

 unless well versed in botanical nomenclature. 

 And as he approaches the rising ground, along 

 the well beaten path which winds up the moun- 

 tain sides, further on, these ligneous gems assume 

 a more symmetrical and sturdy habit, and if possi- 

 ble, become more beautiful, until the summit of 

 Table Mountain is reached. 



After hard and persistent strugghng up and 

 along the tortuous and rugged footpath, which fre- 

 quently doubles and zigzags among immense 

 masses of detached rocks ; through deep defiles 

 and apparently impassable chasms, along which 

 the purest spring water comes splashing over pre- 

 cipitous cascades, from near the apex, the tired 

 pedestrian will find an inviting resting place in a 

 natural alcove. To his great surprise, he will then 

 see what may seem incredible to old heath grow- 

 ers, who have only seen them in pots under glass ; 

 namely, low bushes of E. vestita elegans, and E' . 

 princeps, flourishing with all the freedom of bog 

 plants, in soil apparently never dry. While, per 

 contra, E. pumila, E. densiflora, E. incana, and 

 E. penicillata, seemed equally healthy, growing in 

 small cracks or crevices, in the fissured rocks, 

 where it was high and dry, with only a few grains 

 of sand to root in. 



The writer was completely nonplussed at the 

 sight of healthy blooming heaths, growing upon 

 the face of precipitous rocks, upon the sunny 

 sides of which, it was unpleasantly hot to the 

 touch ; conditions, fatal to them under cultivation. 

 It is well understood by those who are vei'sed in 

 vegetable physiology, that climatic and atmos- 

 pheric influences are powerful factors conducive 

 to the health and vigor of plant life. And thus, 

 much which is apt to perplex us, from seeming so 

 ultra-abnormal, at first sight, may often be ac- 

 counted for; especially when we consider the 

 external circumstances, which make so much dif- 

 ference to the welfare of indigenous plants, in 

 their native habitats, to those unacclimated, from 

 other lands. 



