46 



collecting the berries, preparing from them a kind of wax, which is 

 useful for all purposes where wax is needed. A muid of the berries 

 yiebis 15—20 lbs. of wax. In course of time this may become an 

 article of commerce, for the plant grows in the dry sands, where 

 nothing else will thrive, and of that description of soil we have over- 

 abundance. Who can tell what more may be discovered. 



" Speaking of the fruits or berries, I must observe, that the sparrow 

 hawk* is extremely fond of them, and that they should be gathered 

 before the great heat of the summer sets in, in order to prevent their 

 melting on the bush, as is already visible on some of them. There are 

 several farmers here that have collected some hundreds of pounds. 

 I do not exactly know the size of the shrub, but I presume it cannot be 

 less than 5 or 6 feet in height. All this I hope to ascertain myself, &c. 



"J. F. BODE.t 

 " The Kevd. A. Buurt, Amsterdam." 



The wax-bush referred to in this document is the Myrica 

 Cordifolia, a shrub not only common in the locality named, but 

 also in the sandy tracts which gird the shores of the Colony. It 

 is as abundant at Cape L'Agulhas and in tlie downs of Algoa 

 Bay, as in the vicinity of Cape Town, and will probably be 

 found likewise on the Western Coast. Few plants are better 

 calculated to keep down the loose shifting sand than this, and 

 for that reason alone, it would be of infinite service, were it not for 

 the additional benefit derived from the waxy coat of its drupes. 

 When the intelligent wanderer drags his weary steps through the 

 deep sands of these inhospitable wastes, he will meet with a bush, 

 which at first sight appears to be low and insignificant. On 

 closer inspection the delusion will vanish ; for what seemed at a 

 distance a middle-sized slirub, is now discovered to be branches 

 only of a subterraneous, creeping trunk of considerable length. % 

 It should be remarked, that the male plant attains a larger size 

 than the female. 



Wax obtained from plants of the Myrica tribe exudes from the 

 surface of the fruits, chiefly towards the time of their maturity. 

 It is exhaled in a licjuid state, but soon hardens when exposed to 

 the atmosphere, and forms a white powder, which under the 

 microscope displays the shape of minute scales. 



This vegetable-wax, and that prepared by bees, must be regarded 

 as a concrete fixed oil. Both kinds are indifferent to the action 



• The bird alluded to in this letter, is Colius Capensis, the muisvogel of the 

 colonists. 



t Neue kurzgefasste Beschreibung des Yorgebirges der guten Hoffuung. Leipz. 

 1779. 8 pag. 217 and 218. 



. X The wood of this shrub is very brittle ; hence its vernacular name of Glashout 

 (Glasswood). 



