132 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 



tracks of porcupines leading to their holes, which are often in 

 the caves about the sea cliffs, and have stray quills lying about 

 their mouths, sufficient evidence of the nature of the inhabitant. 

 There are Rock-rabbit tracks, and there are the tracks of the 

 Rheebdk and Grysbok, all to be readily distinguished by an 

 educated eye. 



The great variety of the flowers at the Cape is a source of 

 constant interest to the naturalist. It is also pleasant to see, in 

 their wild condition, large numbers of beautiful flowers, with 

 which one has long been familiar as the chief decoration of 

 green-houses at home. All over the hills grow " Everlastings " 

 {Helichrysuvi), some with large snow-white flowers, others of 

 various bright tints. There is an endless variety of handsome 

 heaths, and numerous familiar Pelargoniums. Amongst bulbs, 

 there are various showy Gladiolas and various species of Iris, 

 and the tall white-flowered Aroid {Richardia CEtbiopka), com- 

 monly called '■'■ Ari/in,'" without the white spathe and golden 

 spadix of which no English conservatory is complete ; all these 

 are very common. 



I had not, before I saw the Cape flora, realized the wonder- 

 ful power of change-ringing, as it were, in plants. Here may 

 be seen a plant with a yellow flower, very like a dandelion, but 

 with leaves dark on the upper surface, and downy beneath, yet 

 in shape like those of our familiar plant. Close by, one meets 

 with a similar flower with needle-like leaves, like those of a 

 heath ; close by again, is another growing on a low bush with 

 leaves, something in the style of those of the holly : then again, 

 another with extremely sharp stout thorny spines for leaves, 

 then another heath-like, but with the leaves reduced to small 

 tubercles. These are all forms with this one sort of flower (I 

 speak only as to outward appearance). One easily finds a 

 white-flowered daisy, as it were, ringing similar changes, and so 

 on. Lobelias, again, are to be seen with exactly similar 

 looking blue flowers ringing all the changes of heath forms, 

 spiny forms, etc. 



Amongst the animals which live on the Cape Peninsula, the 

 clawless otter {Lu/ra i/iuiigiiis) is worthy of mention : it is 

 very large, twice or three times as large when full grown as 

 the European otter. It hves about the salt marshes and 

 lakes, and is tolerably common ; it hunts like the South 

 American marine otter, in companies, but only of three or four. 

 It has no claws on the fore feet, having lost them by natural 

 selection in some way or other, and on the hinder feet the 

 claws are wanting on the outer toes, and only rudiments of 

 them remain on the middle ones. There are, however, pits 

 maiking the places where the claws used to exist. The web- 



