218 NATURAL AFFINITIES—INFERENCES, 
together, which is quite sufficient to puzzle any onc who 
has not thoroughly studied them, and this is so much the 
case that there are very few male Kaffirs even who can dis- 
criminate between some of the varieties; in consequence 
of which I had very frequently to call in the superior agri- 
cultural knowledge of the old Kaffir women, until I had 
learned to distinguish them with certainty myself. 
‘When I had attained this first most desirable step, I 
had next to learn their several peculiarities and value, 
which I was able to do with greater exactness by planting 
the seed, watching them daily during their growth, and 
eventually testing the saccharine value of their juices, and 
making sugar from them all in large quantities. 
“Vim-bis-chu-a-pa. This is the largest size, and the 
tallest of the whole, while it is full of juice and very sweet. 
When planted in rich alluvial soil it attains its greatest 
size and most perfect development, requiring from four to 
five months to arrive at maturity. It grows to a height of 
from ten to fifteen feet, is one and a half to two inches in 
diameter at the lower end of the stalk, and usually cracks 
or splits as its ripens. By means of a most primitive and ill 
constructed little wooden mill, I obtained sixty per cent. of 
juice from the stalk. This juice was clean and clear, and 
the saccharometer showed it to contain fourteen per cent. 
of sugar, after I had removed the fecule by means of cold 
defecation. The sugar it yielded was fully equal to the 
best cane sugar of the West Indies. ‘The stalks, carefully 
weighed, were found to vary from one and a half to two 
and a half pounds English weight each, trimmed ready for 
the mill. The seed head, which is very large and beautiful, 
is generally from twelve to eighteen inches in length, con- 
taining many thousands of fine plump seeds, of a sandy, 
yellow color, strongly.held by a sheath, which partially en- 
velops them. 
