The Conquest of the Desert 



and west. Besides the tsamma melon and the 

 bushman grass, both of which thrive upon the 

 sand-dunes, there is also a desert luxury. This 

 is what the bushman calls " nabba," and the 

 Dutch farmer the Kalahari potato, but which is 

 nothing more or less than the European truffle. 

 It is found in enormous quantities during winter- 

 time, when the sand is firm and hard, a few 

 inches beneath the surface of the ground. It 

 can be detected by cracks in the sand, and is 

 greatly relished by the desert-dwellers." 







A note concerning the camels used by the 

 mounted police and to carry the mails may be 

 of interest. At the present time the police own 

 twenty-five, some of which have been imported 

 from Egypt, some from India, and some have 

 been bred at Rietfontein. The chief value of 

 the camel is, of course, that it can go for a week 

 or more without water. It will also travel with 

 ease in heavy sand, and can endure any amount 

 of heat. The best Australian camel, " Lalla," 

 used to do regularly a journey of 100 miles in 

 eight hours. A first-class camel can carry a 

 ton in weight, but the camels of the mounted 

 police are only weighted to the extent of 500 

 or 600 lbs. The Post Office authorities possess 



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