232 D7\ R. Marloth, Ph.D., M.A.— The [Oct. 27, 



wise begin to make preserves. They put the pulp in a pot and boil 

 it clown to a thick pap, pouring it then through a sieve of their own 

 invention, which retains all the seeds, whilst the pap hardens on 

 the sand to a flat cake. Both these products, the seeds as well as the 

 inspissated pulp, are put aside for later times, when no more fresh 

 fruits are to be met with. They form the principal food of 

 these people, who eat the seeds as they are and boil the pulp up 

 simply with water, obtaining thus a very nutritious soup. The seeds 

 are also regularly brought to the Cape Town market, known here as 

 butterpits. They contain much oil, whilst the pulp is rich in 

 albuminous matter and sugar. 



The most interesting property of the fresh fruit is its effect on 

 milk. During my travels I heard it mentioned from different natives 

 that the aroma of the Naras acts on milk like rennet. They stated 

 invariably, that milk kept for a few hours in a room, where a Naras 

 lies, will turn on being boiled. When T came back to Walfish Bay, 

 I inquired there into this question. All the Europeans confirmed the 

 statements of the natives. One lady mentioned for a proof thereof, 

 that she placed a jug with milk in a cupboard where a Naras was 

 and found that the milk turned on being heated a few hours after- 

 wards. On my question, whether she had kept a portion of the 

 same milk somewhere else and tried it for comparison after the same 

 time, she answered, no ; admitting then, that her one-sided experi- 

 ment was not conclusive. 



At my return to the bay the Naras season had already passed several 

 months ago, but as it was of the utmost interest to me to ascertain 

 how much of these strange statements was true, I asked some men 

 to look out for a few fruits. On hearing that I wanted the Naras 

 only for experimenting with them on milk, they laughed apparently 

 at my ignorance in a matter which was known to every child in the 

 country, but by the promise of some coffee and tobacco I induced a 

 small party of men to search the whole area for full grown Naras. 

 They brought me three, but they were hard. Yet, by nursing them 

 properly, that means to say, by exposing them to the sun at day-time 

 and taking them into the room before the evening mist came on, I 

 managed to ripen them in a week's time. Fortunately I had a spirit- 

 lamp and some test-tubes with me, which enabled me to make a series 

 of experiments. 



I think it unneccessary to enter here into the details of these 

 experiments and I shall mention only the results of them. 



