l62 



SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



seemed to have a power in influencing tlieir 

 direction. They broke with great violence at 

 Paardeberg, passing up the river to Poplar Grove, 

 whence they frequently travelled round the hills 

 and back again, unabated in fury, to Paardeberg 

 Drift. 



On March 19th, when travelling to Bloem- 

 fontein across the veldt with a few men and an 

 ambulance waggon, I was caught in one of tliese 

 thunderstorms. One man had liis hand on the 

 brake of the waggon, and at the moment the 

 vehicle was struck by lightning, giving the man a 

 shock severe enough to cause temporary loss of 

 power in his arm. One can scarcely realise the 

 brilliancy of the jagged lightning as it appears to 

 rush from the sky to the ground, accompanied by 

 the roar and rattle of the thunder. Soldiers were 

 at times severely burnt by the lightning, or even 

 killed. 1 have been told by residents in the 

 country that when on "trek " it is not uncommon 

 for a whole span of oxen to be killed by one flash 

 of lightning. 



About the middle of April there was very heavy 

 rain in and around Bloemfontein. I left that town 

 in May, and travelled to Pretoria with the general 

 advance, reaching it on June 5th. During our 

 march I have no record of any storm or rain. The 

 climate was perfect ; the rather cold days, with 

 scarcely a cloud in the sky, were followed by 

 cloudless frosty nights, illuminated, when the 

 moon failed, by the Southern Cross and other 

 constellations. The cold seemed of a character so 

 intense that it was impossible to get warm. 



The undulating veldt in the Northern Orange 

 River Colony and the Transvaal was covered by 

 long coarse grass, dry as hay : the least spark sets 

 this alight, causing a veldt fire, which wlien 

 fanned by the fresh breeze frequently travels 

 for miles. Grass fires are very dangerous, as the 

 flames frequently leap to a height of five feet or 

 more. On June 3rd, when nearing Pretoria, one of 

 these fires commenced, and burned in the ordinary 

 way among exceptionally long grass. At the same 

 time a whirlwind travelled along, passing through 

 the fire. It lashed the flames into the fury of a 

 furnace, roaring loudly; and, progressing faster 

 than the veldt fire, it carried the flames, whirling 

 them many feet into the air. Cutting a path some 

 twenty yards wide through the grass for about 

 100 j'ards distance, it came to a road over which it 

 could not carry the fire ; here it took up a pillar of 

 dust forming a thick " dust devil." One of our 

 waggons narrowly escaped being destroyed. On 

 May 28th, at sunset, we covmted eight \eldt fires 

 burning at the same time. Some of these were on 

 the side of a hill a few miles distant. As the fires 

 progressed on the ridges of the hill they burned 

 into the contour of a colossal hand, the fingers 

 and thumb being quite distinct, pointing north 

 to Pretoria. This seemed a good omen, as we were 

 camped at the time near trenches from which the 



Boers had decamped the same morning, apparently 

 in haste. 



The hills in Cape Colony and Orange Biver 

 Colony are remarkable from Table Mountain to the 

 Vaal River. They appear as though sliced off at a 

 certain height, just as a turner with his lathe 

 removes first of all the most projecting parts. The 

 hills in the Transvaal always appear to have 

 rounded tops. 



The possibilities of agriculture in the Transvaal 

 are, I believe, enormous, and, considering the 

 number of rivers and streams by which the country 

 is intersected, a system of irrigation ought to be 

 simple. The rainfall is considerable, and the 

 surface rain water could be stored in dams much 

 more than is done at present. Rain water is stored 

 at distances from rivers in so-called " dams " — that 

 is to say, the outlet from a collecting area is closed 

 by a bank behind which rain water collects. The 

 ground in the dam becomes very soft from mud 

 often several feet deep. This is dangerous to 

 animals coming to drink. I have seen men ride 

 their thirsty horses into the water and become 

 " bogged," the horse being drowned and the man 

 escaping with difficulty. The so-called " pans " 

 are natural reservoirs of water resembling the 

 " dams " : they frequently dry up in the dry 

 weather. They are sometimes several miles in 

 area. 



Concerning tlie climate of Pretoria, taking it 

 on the whole, the weather is charming. The dry 

 period includes the months of April, May, June, 

 July, August, and September. The "Staats 

 Almanak " of the late South African Republic for 

 the years 1891-92, 94-96-97 shows no rainfall in 

 July. June and August are sometimes free from 

 rain. The wet season includes January, February, 

 March, October, November, and December. 



The greatest rainfall — namely, about 150 mm. 

 each — occurs during the months of December and 

 January, showing also from fifteen to nineteen wet 

 days in each. From June 1900 to March 1901 

 the heaviest rainfall occurred in November. That 

 month also showed the greatest rainfall in twenty- 

 four hours — namely, 42 mm. There was no rain in 

 August or September. 



Bainfall 





Mm. 





Days of Rain 



1877 .. 



... 



53900 





... — 



1878 .. 





669-00 





... 59 



1879 .. 





773-00 





... 64 



1894 ,. 





910-25 





... 104 



1895 .. 





518-00 





... 84 



1896 .. 





565-25 





... 86 



1897 .. 





612-50 





... 78 



Temperatures 



1877 





1878 



1879 



Maximum 



.. 34° 



C. ... 



35-5° 



C. ... 33° C. 



Minimum 



.. 6° 



C. ... 



-o° 



C. ... S^C. 



The highest temperatures occur in December 

 and January. These months are damp and warm, 



