97 



a fine loose clay soil, was taken on the farm Blauwboschkuil, at a dis- 

 tance of five miles from the town. About 6| miles further on in the same 

 direction, on the farm Nooitgedacht, a similar sample, No. 9, was col- 

 lected; that taken at Saffraan River, No. 11, 10 miles from Nooitgedaicht, 

 was sandier, being largely derived from the sandstone of the Attaqua 

 Mountains, and, as one may expect under such circumstances, a rather 

 poor soil. There are abundant evidences of limestone all over the extent 

 of country traversed between Oudtshoorn and Saffraan River : No. 10, 

 taken six miles E.N.E. of Saffraan River, on the way back to Oudtshoorn, 

 is a very shallow, fine, clay soil, similar in character to those just alluded 

 to; No. 6 being another similar soil of greater depth, collected at a dis- 

 tance of about 11 miles south of Oudtshoorn. These two soils, Nos. 6 

 and 10, were taken from hill sides. From the extent of country stretch- 

 ing northwards from the town of Oudtshoorn to Cango no samples wera 

 taken. The river bed is here practically the only cultivated portion, and 

 every available part of that is under actual cultivation, so that virgin soil 

 was unobtainable; as for the "veld," employing the term in a sense in- 

 clusive of hill slopes, except close to the town, in the vicinity of which 

 samples had already been secured, it is very stony, and covered with 

 prickly pear, while farther north the hills are so steep and rocky as to 

 debar cultivation, except along the river side. 



Along the Olifants River, west of Oudtshoorn, two samples were 

 taken, Nos. 8 and 12, light sandy clays, the former from the farm Welbe- 

 dacht, 11 J miles from Oudtshoorn, the latter at Jan Fouries Kraal, 21 

 miles from Oudtshoorn, and 11 J miles south-east of Calitzdorp. Sample 

 13, taken from the farm Welgerust, is representative of the area known 

 as the Gamka Flats, which extend south of the village of Calitzdorp ; the 

 predominating feature in the vegetation of this area is what is generally 

 known to KarrO'- farmers as the Kouwgoed (Aiigea capensis). On the 

 higher level, north of this region, and subjacent to the low mountain 

 range which extends eastwards to the north of Calitzdorp, the spekboom 

 (Portulacaria afra) grows luxuriantly over a space stretching about four 

 miles east. Just beyond this area sample No. 14 was collected. A red 

 sand soil, No. 15, was taken in Coetzee's Poorc, at the base of the con- 

 glomerate hills flanking the southern portion of that pass. Further north 

 the Karroo bushes disappear completely, and the rhenoster covers the 

 entire veld; the loose limestone too, so abundantly scattered about the 

 ground near Calitzdorp, is no 1 longer to be seen, but instead there are 

 numerous fragments of quartz: naturally a corresponding alteration in 

 the character of the soil, both physically and chemically, is to be ex- 

 pected. Of the new typo of soil, a sample, No. 16, was taken on the farm 

 Welgevonden, near the top of a small hill north-east of the homestead. 

 Further east, on the farms Voorbedacht and Matjes River, the limestone 

 reappears in abundance, and to the change in the nature of the soil which 

 this involves is doubtless due the reputed suitability of the latter for 

 tobacco culture. A sample of this soil, No. 17, was taken from a gently 

 sloping hillside, south of, and overlooking, the cultivated lands on that 

 farm. 



(Privately collected.) 



No. Field Cornetcy. Farm or place. Collector. 



18. Lower Olifants River. Vlakte Plaats. J. W. Louw. 



On the farm Vlakte Plaats, already mentioned as the place where 

 sample No. 1 had been collected, two additional samples, Nos. 18 and 19, 

 were procured through the agency of Mr. J. W. Louw. No. 18 was taken 



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