286 A Field Naturalises Ramble in South Africa. [Sess. 



VII.— ^ FIELD NATURALIST'S RAMBLE IN 

 SOUTH AFRICA: 



With some Sociological Inferences therefrom. 



By Mr W. C. CRAWFORD, F.R.S.E, 

 {Read March 28, 1906.) 



Last summer the writer visited South Africa with the British 

 Association. It was a splendid opportunity of seeing a coun- 

 try very different physically and socially from lands many of 

 us are familiar with in Europe or America. South Africa 

 shows us many things from a new point of view, — it supplies 

 so much food for reflection on subjects geological, biological, 

 sociological — problems of the past, the present, and the not 

 distant future. Our tour was informing in the highest 

 degree. 



The large official party arrived at Capetown on the very 

 day the meetings began : that gave no time to see the country 

 and attend meetings too ; so we started fully a fortnight 

 earlier, and had thus some time to see Capetown, with its 

 beautiful environs, and a little of Cape Colony. Then we 

 did not wish to add another 800 miles to our long voyage by 

 going by sea from Capetown to Durban, — we preferred to 

 travel by rail to Johannesburg through the Karroo, the 

 backbone of South Africa, and to stop at different places on 

 the way to get a better impression of the country. Then we 

 wanted to return by the east coast, and to break our journey 

 in Egypt. The most satisfactory way of doing all that was 

 to take a circular ticket by the German East- Africa Line : 

 besides, we had as much German conversation as we liked, 

 and some well-informed, calm, philosophic views of South 

 African affairs. 



After leaving England our first stop was for a few hours at 

 Las Palmas, picturesquely situated on a steep hillside amongst 

 volcanic mountains and luxuriant vegetation. Our next stop 

 was at Schwakopmund — not far from Walfisch Bay — in 

 Damaraland. There is no harbour, only an open bay and a 



