The Conquest of the Desert 



the rich supply. The elephant, true lord of 

 the forest, and the different species of rhinoceros 

 revel in the fruit, although naturally so diverse 

 in their choice of pasture. The various kinds 

 of antelopes feed on them with avidity, and 

 lions, hyenas, jackals and mice all seem to 

 appreciate the common blessing. These melons 

 are not, however, all eatable, some being sweet 

 and others bitter. The natives select them by 

 striking them with a hatchet and applying the 

 tongue to the gashes. This peculiarity of one 

 species of plants bearing both sweet and bitter 

 fruits occurs also in a cucumber. It is about 

 four inches long, and about an inch and a half 

 in diameter, and is of a bright scarlet colour 

 when ripe. Even melons in a garden may be 

 made bitter by a few bitter Kengwe in the 

 vicinity, for the bees convey the pollen from 

 one to the other " (" Missionary Travels," 

 page 35). 







Another testimony to the value of the tsamma, 

 or wild water-melon, appears in a volume 

 entitled " Through the Kalahari Desert," by 

 G. A. Farini, who travelled from the Orange 

 River to Lake Ngami in 1885. Farini writes : 

 " We gathered some of the largest sama, and 



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