The Conquest of the Desert 



is that the fields of the former are always much 

 cleaner than the fields of the latter. Noxious 

 weeds are often spread far and wide with the 

 waters of the irrigation furrow. 



Another crop which grows luxuriantly at 

 Upington is lucerne, and several ostrich farmers 

 have already taken up land along the Orange 

 River for the development of this industry. 

 Formerly a large trade in baled lucerne was done 

 with the German border, but the line is now 

 closed owing to live-stock regulations, and the 

 local market is overstocked. The same is true 

 of every branch. The agricultural industry is 

 languishing for lack of a railway. Trade is 

 paralysed. There is no market for corn or 

 maize, for fruit or garden produce, for poultry, 

 eggs or pigs. With suitable market facilities 

 Upington should be the Paradise of the small 

 holder. 



At Zwart Modder we were hospitably enter- 

 tained by Mr Harris, who combines the occu- 

 pations of trader and farmer. He owns a 

 fair-sized farm even for this part of the country 

 — namely, 38,500 morgen ; while his twenty 

 years' connection with the Southern Kalahari 

 enables him to speak with authority. It may 



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