Book I. AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA. 179 



between 70*^ and 80, and sometimes between 80'' and 90, but scarcely ever exceeds 

 95. 



111 5. The surface of the country consists of some mountains and extensive barren- 

 looking plains. The upper regions of all the chains of mountains are naked masses of 

 sand -stone ; the valleys beneath them are clothed with grass, with thickets, and in some 

 cases with impenetrable forests. The inferior hills or knolls, whose surfaces are generally 

 composed of loose fragments of sandstone, as well as the wide sandy plains that connect 

 them, are thinly strewed over with heaths and other shrubby plants, exhibiting to the 

 eye a uniform and dreary appearance. In the lowest part of these plains, where the 

 waters subside, and, filtering through the sand, break out in springs upon the surface, 

 vegetation is somewhat more luxuriant. In such situations the farm-houses are generally 

 placed ; and the patches of cultivated ground contiguous to them, like the oases in 

 the sandy deserts, may be considered as so many verdant islands in the midst of a bound- 

 less waste. 



1116. Soils, in this tract of country, are generally either a stiff clay, impenetrable by 

 the plough till they are soaked by much rain ; or light and sandy, tinged with red, and 

 abounding with small round quartzose pebbles. A black vegetable mould seldom ap- 

 pears, except in patches of garden -ground, vineyards, and orchards, that surround the 

 habitations, where, by long culture, manure, and the fertilising influence of springs or 

 rills of water, the soil is so far mellowed as to admit the spade at all seasons of the year. 

 The extensive plains, known in the colony by the Hottentot name of karroo, which 

 are interspersed between the great chains of mountains, exhibit a more dismal appearance 

 than the lower plains, which are chequered with patches of cultivated ground ; and their 

 hard surfaces of clay, glistening with small crystals of quartz, and condemned to per- 

 petual drought and aridity, are ill adapted to vegetation. The hills that break these 

 barren plains are chiefly composed of fragments of blue slate, or masses of felspar, and 

 argillaceous limestone. However, in those karroo plains that are tinged with iron, and 

 are capable of being watered, the soil is extremely productive. In such situations, 

 more especially in the vicinity of the Cape, they have the best grapes, and the best fruit 

 of every sort. The great scarcity of water in suminer is much more unfavourable to an 

 extended cultivation than either the soil or the climate. 



1117. Landed property was held by the original Dutch from the government of the 

 Cape on four different tenures^ The first tenure was that of a yearly lease renewable 

 for ever, on condition of payment of a certain rent, not in general exceeding eight tenths 

 of a farthing per acre ; the second tenure, a sort of perpetual holding subject to a small 

 rent ; the third, a holding on fifteen years' leases at a quit-rent, renewable ; and the 

 last was that of real estate or freehold, the settler having purchased his farm at once for 

 a certain sum. The second tenure is the most common in the colony. The lands were 

 originally measured out and allotted in the following manner : a stake was stuck as 

 near the centre of the future estate as could be guessed, and a man, starting thence, 

 walked for half an hour in a straight line, to each of the four points of the compass ; 

 giving thus the radii of a circle that comprised a space of about 6000 acres. 



1118. Of these extensive farms, the greater part is, of course, mere sheep and cattle 

 walks. They break up for tillage, patches here and there, where the plough can be 

 directed with the least difficulty, or the soil is most inviting for the purpose. A slight 

 scattering of manure is sometimes used, but more frequently none at all ; and it is 

 astonishing to see the crops this soil, and even the lightest sands, will produce with so 

 little artificial stimulus, Seventeen successive crops of wheat without any manure have 

 been taken. When the land is somewhat exhausted by a succession of crops, they break 

 up fresh ground, and the old is suffered to lie fallow, as they term it, for many years ; 

 that is, it is permitted to throw up plentiful crops of huge bushes and heath till its turn 

 comes round again, which may be in about seven years, when there is the trouble of 

 bieaking it up anew. The sheep and cattle are permitted to stray at pleasure, or are, 

 perhaps, intrusted to the care of a Hottentot. 



1119. The agricultural products of the Cape farmers are chiefly wheat and other grains, 

 pulse, wine, and brandy, wool, hides, and skins, dried fruits, aloes, and tobacco. The 

 returns of grain and pulse are from ten to seventy, according to the nature of the soil 

 and the supply of water. Barley, i. e. here or bigg, is very productive, and is used only 

 for feeding horses. Rye and oats run much to straw, and are chiefly used as green 

 fodder. Indian corn thrives well, and is very productive ; and various kinds of millet, 

 kidneybeans, and other pulse, are extensively cultivated. The wheat is generally heavier, 

 and yields a finer flour, than that of England. It is all spring wheat, being sown from 

 the month of April to June. The returns are very various in the different soils ; some 

 farmers declare that they have reaped sixty and eighty for one ; the average may be from 

 twenty to thirty ; but it is impossible to come to a true estimate upon this point, as no 

 farmers can tell you the exact quantity sown upon a given quantity of acres. The crops 

 seem to be remarkably precarious, failing sometimes for three or four years in succession. 



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