182 



HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part I. 



between with reeds and rushes plastered with mud, and the whole covered with a 



153 _ roof of thatch. The 



"" eaves being in ge- 



neral not higher 

 from the ground 

 than four or six 

 feet, the doors could 

 not be entered with- 

 out stooping. A 

 small unglazed win- 

 dow admitted light, 

 but there was nei- 

 ther chimney nor any other opening in the roof by which the smoke might escape. 

 {BurchelVs Travels, i. 112.) 



1 1 36. The cattle of all the Hottentot and other tribes are kept in circular folds during 

 night ; and it is remarkable that these folds are the only burial places known to be in 

 use among that people. " Corn is preserved in what may be termed large jars, of 

 various dimensions, but most commonly between four and five feet high and three wide. 

 The shape of these corn jars is nearly that of an egg shell, having its upper end cut off : 

 sometimes their mouth is contracted in a manner which gives them a great resemblance 

 to a European oil-jar. They are formed with stakes and branches fixed into the 

 ground and interwoven with twigs ; this frame-work being afterwards plastered within 

 and without with loam and cow-dung. Frequently, the bottoms of these jars are raised 

 about six inches or a foot above the ground ; and the lower part of the stakes, being then 

 uncovered, gives them the appearance of standing on short legs. Their contents are 

 usually protected by a covering of skin or straw." This mode of keeping their corn 

 and beans, Burchell observes, shows a degree of ingenuity equal to that which is dis- 

 played in the construction of their houses, and is to be admired for its simplicity and 

 perfect adequateness to the purpose. In the dwellings of the richer inhabitants, the 

 back part of the houses is completely filled with jars of this kind. (Travels, ii. 520.) 



1 1 37. The natives of the South of Africa live much on bulbous roots, of which their 

 country is naturally more productive than any 154 

 other. Burchell has enumerated a considerable 

 number which he saw them use. One of the 

 most remarkable grows on the mountains of Graf- 

 reynet, and is called Hottentot's bread ( Tamus ele- 

 phantipes ^(?ri^,Testudinaria elephdntipes Btirch-). 

 (fg. 154.) Its bulb stands entirely above ground, 

 and grows to an enormous size, frequently three feet 

 in height and diameter. It is closely studded with 

 angular ligneous protuberances, which give it some 

 resemblance to the shell of a tortoise. The inside 

 is a fleshy substance, which may be compared to a 

 turnip, both in substance and colour. From the top 

 of this bulb arise several annual stems, the branches 

 of which have a disposition to twine round any 

 shrub within reach. The taste of this bulb is 

 thought to resemble that of the yam of the East 

 Indies, the plant being closely allied to the genus 

 Dioscorea. (Burchell' s Travels, ii. 147.) 



1 138. The Bachapins are a people of the interior 

 of South Africa, who were visited by Burchell. 



Their agriculture, he says, is extremely simple and artless. It is performed entirely 

 155 /? by women. To prepare the ground for sowing, they pick it up to the depth 

 of about four inches, with a kind of hoe or mattock, which differs in nothing 

 from a carpenter's adze but in being twice or thrice as large. The corn 

 they sow is the CafFre corn or Guinea corn, a variety of millet (^olcus Sorghum 

 Caffrorum). They cultivate also a kind of kidneybean, and eat the ripe seeds ; 

 they likewise raise water-melons, pumpkins, and the calabash gourd for the use 

 of its shell as a domestic vessel for drinking and other purposes. They are in- 

 ordinate smokers of tobacco, but they do not cultivate the plant. Burchell 

 gave them some potatoes and peach stones to cultivate, which pleased them 

 exceedingly, and for which they were very thankful. (Travels, ii. 518.) 



1139. The Bmfiman spade {fie. 155.) is a pointed stick about three feet long, to which 

 there is affixed, about the middle, a stone to increase its power in digging up bulbous roots. 

 This stone is about five inches in diameter, and is cut or ground very regularly to a round 

 form, and perforated with a hole large enough to receive the stick and a wedge by which it 

 is fixed to its place. {BurchcWs Travels, ii. JO.) 



