182 



HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part I. 



185 



the appearance of standing on short legs. Their contents are usually protected by a 

 covering of skin or str&vv." This mode of keeping their corn and beans, Burchell ob- 

 serves, shows a degree of ingenuity equal to that which is displayed in the construction 

 of their houses, and is to be admired for its simplicity and perfect adequateness to the 

 purpose. In the dwellings of the richer inhabitants, the back part of the houses is com- 

 pletely filled with jars of this kind." (rra?;e/s, ii. 520.) 



1111. The natives of the south of Africa live much on bulbous root?, of which their 

 country is naturally more productive than any 

 other. Burchel has enumerated a considerable 

 number which he saw them use. One of the most 

 remarkable grows on the mountains of Graf- 

 reynet, and is called Hottentot's bread i Ele- 

 phantopus, Willd., Testudenaria, Salisb., _^g-. 185.) 



Its bulb stands entirely above ground, and grows to 

 an enormous size, frequently three feet in height 

 and diameter. It is closely studded with angular 

 ligneous protuberances, which give it some re- 

 semblapce to the shell of a tortoise. The inside is. 

 a fleshy substance, which may be compared to a 

 turnip, both in substance and color. From the top 

 of this bulb arise f.everal annual stems, the branches 

 of which have a disposition to twine round any 

 shrub within reach. The taste of this bulb is 

 thought to resemble that of the yam of the East 

 Indies, the plant being closely allied to the genus 

 Dioscorea. [BurcheWs Travels, ii. 147.) 



1112, The Bachapins are a people of the interior 

 of South Africa, which were visited by Burchell. 



Their agriculture, he says, is " extremely simple and artless. It is performed entirely by 

 women. To prepare the ground for sowing theV pick it up to the depth of about 186 

 four inches, with a kind of hoe or mattock, which differs in nothing from a 

 carpenter's adze but in being two or three times larger. The corn they sow 

 is the Caffre corn or Guinea corn, a variety of millet (Holcus Sorghum 

 Caffrorum). They cultivate also a kind of kidneybean, and eat the ripe seeds, 

 and also water-melons, pumpkins, and the calabash gourd for the use of its 

 shell as a domestic vessel for drinking and various uses. They are inordinate 

 smokers of tobacco, but they do not cultivate the plant. Burchell gave them 

 some potatoes and peach stones to cultivate, with which they were exceedingly 

 pleased and thankful. [Travels/ii. 518.) 



1113. The Bushman spade {fig. 186.) is a pointed stick about three feet long, to which there 

 is affixed about the middle a stone to increase its power in digging up bulbous roots. This 

 stone is about tive inches in diameter, and is cut or ground very regularly to a round form, 

 and perforated with a hole large enough to receive the stick and a wedge by which it is lixed 

 to its place. {BurcheWs Travels, ii. 30.) 



SuBsECT. 6. Present State of Agriculture on the Eastern Coast of Africa, and the 



African Islands. 



1114. Of the various countries on the east coast of Africa the chief is Mocaranga, 

 whose agriculture may be considered as a specimen of that of the savage tribes of the other 

 states. The climate is temperate, though tlie mountains called Supata, or the spine of 

 the world, forming a great chain from north to south, are perpetually covered with snow ; 

 the air clear and salubrious, and the soil fertile and well watered, so that its pastures feed 

 a great number of cattle, more valued by the inhabitants than their gold. The inland 

 parts of the country-, however, are sandy, dry, and barren. The products of the country 

 en the coast, are rice, millet, and maize, but no wheat; sugar canes and cotton are 

 found both wild and cultivated. They are without the ox and horse, but elephants, 

 ostriches, and a great variety of wild animals abound in the forests. According to the 

 doubtful accounts of this country, the king on days of ceremony wears a little spade 

 hanging by his side as an emblem of cultivation. 



1115. The island of Madagascar is celebrated for its fertility, and the variety of its pro- 

 ductions. Its climate is mild and agreeable ; and the surface of the country is divided 

 into the east and western provinces by a range of mountains. The summits of these 

 mountains are crowned with lofty trees of long duration, and the low grounds are 

 watered by torrents, rivers, and rivulets, which flow from them. The agricultural pro- 

 ducts arc rice, cotton, indigo, sugar, pulse, the yam, banana, cocoa, pepper, ginger, 

 turmeric, and a variety of other fruits and spices. There are a great number of raw 

 fruits and esculent plants, and many curious woods. Oxen and flocks of sheep abound ; 

 but there are no horses, elephants, lions, or tigers. The culture is very imperfect, the 

 soil and the excellence of the seasons supplying the place of labor and skill. 



