116 A NATURALIST IN THE TRANSVAAL. 



the " Mimosa-bark," that now supplies a large quantity 

 of tanning-material for export to England. I may 

 here at once state, and the fact will explain the 

 difficulties and expense of transport to the Transvaal, 

 that I found this bark could be absolutely delivered at 

 2 per ton less in London than at Pretoria. The culti- 

 vation of these " Wattles " is largely on the increase, 

 and will considerably add to the exports from Durban. 



Christmas had passed without pleasure, for, even 

 stripped of the pagan accessories of holly and mistletoe, 

 it will always be to Englishmen a time of family 

 reunion, and my thoughts were with my family away in 

 snow-covered Surrey. On " boxing-day " I left by the 

 coach for Johannesburg, and once more began to retrace 

 my steps towards the sea. It soon commenced to rain, 

 and we subsequently drove through a white mist or 

 damp fog, such as I had not seen since leaving home, 

 and which seemed little in keeping with what one 

 anticipates in South-east Africa. 



Johannesburg, which we reached about 7 P.M., is the 

 veritable Chicago of South Africa. The Rand is high, 

 healthy, and cool, and the atmosphere quite invigorating 

 after the close and still air of sheltered Pretoria. The 

 surrounding country looks bare and desolate in the 

 extreme, there are scarcely any trees to be seen, there 

 is nothing picturesque, but there is Johannesburg and 

 the site of the finest gold-producing reef in the country. 

 .It is here that the real pulse of the Transvaal is felt, 

 though the heart may beat at Pretoria. Young trees 

 are being planted in considerable numbers, and by the 

 time these have grown and added sylvan beauty to the 

 spot, may commercial prosperity also have returned to a 

 town that holds so many of our countrymen and con- 

 tains so much capital belonging to English investors. 

 Gold is the main strength of the Transvaal, but its 

 quest by unscrupulous company promoters has been its 

 curse. 



It was a great relief at Johannesburg to once more 

 stay in a comfortable hotel, especially with single-bedded 

 rooms. To occupy a double-bedded room without 



