^ U f-' 1 Fuller, Some South African Scenes and Flowers. 59 



been used freely as breakwinds), that one would scarcely believe 

 that they were not indigenous to that country. From Table 

 Mountain slopes the flats below appear one yellow mass in 

 wattle time, and may be seen extending for several miles. 

 The private gardens around Cape Town are, on the whole, very 

 poor, as everyone seems to prefer the native flowers ; and when 

 they are so plentiful for sale in the streets, and women frequently 

 going from house to house with a tub of flowers on their heads 

 selling bunches at a " ticky " (3d.) apiece, you have no diffi- 

 culty in obtaining as many as you want. Even along the 

 coast one finds flowers almost to the water's edge. It would 

 take a lifetime to try and paint all the varieties. There are 

 about 450 varieties of Ericas alone, and unless one can see them 

 for oneself it is impossible to imagine the profusion. Western 

 Australia is rich in flowers, but to my mind has nothing like 

 the wealth of the Cape peninsula. 



After leaving Cape Town for the north you pass through 

 miles and miles of flowers. Vlejs or swamps of blue Nympheas, 

 and pink and white water-reeds, Proteas, Ixias, Gladiolus, 

 Watsonias, &c. ; and the familiar Arum Lily is constantly in 

 evidence, commonly known by the Cape people as the pig lily — 

 I suppose because the pigs grub the roots. For many miles 

 the colours are constantly changing, and one longs to get out 

 of the train to gather specimens. But after the Hex River 

 Mountains are passed the country changes into something of 

 a desert — well known as the Karroo ; but even here, in the 

 spring, there is a carpet of flowers of the Mesembryanthemum 

 type, with salt-bush, &c. For many weary miles there is very 

 little change after this, and only an occasional tree, chiefly a 

 willow or blue gum that some enterprising farmer has planted 

 on his farm, is the only growth more than a foot or so high. 

 The kopjes are nearly all stony and barren looking for the 

 greater part of the year, though at times in some places 

 everything is fairly green. The Cape Mimosa, with its long, 

 thorny spines, is one of the brightest bushes in its season, 

 with its large, yellow, wattle-like balls, especially round about 

 Kimberley, where there is so little growth of any kind. 



From Kimberley to Mafeking the country gets more inter- 

 esting again. At every stop there are many natives to greet 

 the train, offering their curious wares for sale to the passengers ; 

 they are picturesque figures, with little more covering than a 

 skimpy waist garment made of native muslin, called limbo, 

 and not infrequently a turban of the same material on their 

 heads — originally, probably, in bright colours, but mellowed 

 and rendered far more artistic by the prevailing reddish dust. 

 Men, women, and children greet the passengers with a volley 

 of chatter, all speaking at once and offering their goods in 



