196 VISITS TO MM)AGASCAR. chap. via. 



beyond which the waters of the ocean faintly reflected the 

 rays of the morning sun. In one part of our journey we 

 saw numbers of small tortoises, at another place partridges 

 ran along the road for a considerable distance before us ; but 

 the great variety of plants, especially bulbs, gladiolus, or 

 Watsonia, stretching along for miles on either side, were par- 

 ticularly attractive. 



On the second night, when we stopped at a farm house, I 

 walked into the garden or orchard, and was truly astonished 

 at the abundance of the produce. The fig-trees were covered 

 with large well-formed fruit, apples were equally abundant, 

 but the pear-trees were literally loaded, and the branches of 

 the peach-trees hung straight down from the weight of the 

 fruit, which studded the boughs as thickly as gooseberries 

 hang on their bushes in England. The peach-trees were not 

 trained against any railing or other support, but were growing 

 as standards. Some of the fruit-trees appeared not to have 

 had the least pruning, but were growing in all the rank 

 luxuriance of nature. The fruit was small, and, as compared 

 with the same kinds in England, rather woolly and insipid. 

 The vegetables in the same garden comprised maize, French 

 beans, carrots, beet, cucumbers, and pumpkins. Amongst 

 the flowers were the common monthly rose, the larkspur, 

 the old-fashioned purple stock, Valeria, and some curious 

 cactuses. 



On the following morning we resumed our journey, and in 

 the afternoon reached the missionary station of Zurbraak, 

 having travelled, since leaving Cape Town, 175 miles in less 

 than four days. Zurbraak is situated in a somewhat con- 

 tracted valley, and occupies the sides of a small river, from 

 which a portion of the land is irrigated. There are about 

 1600 people connected with this station, but many were 

 absent in service, or at work in Swellendum and the neigh- 

 bourhood. Mr. Helm, the resident missionary, received us 



