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house, and most of the principal citizens, plantations, farms, and 

 vineyards, surrounding a rural habitation. The gardens and 

 orchards were extremely pleasant, and very productive, min- 

 gling the peach, apricot, and apple of Europe, with the guava, 

 banana, and pomegranate of tropical climes. There were mango 

 trees in the company's garden, which had not then produced fruit. 

 The peaches, apricots, and plums were all standards, and in 

 January, the commencement of the Cape autumn, were bending 

 under their grateful produce; nectarines had not succeeded, and 

 cherries were uncommon: strawberries abound earlier in the season, 

 with a few gooseberries and currants; oranges, lemons, figs, and 

 mulberries are as prolific as the apples and pears, every where in 

 great profusion. Nothing can exceed the plenty and variety of 

 the grapes; one of the most delicious, produces the tent-wine, a 

 black grape, with a rich crimson juice like blood; which may have 

 caused it to be selected for the sacramental wine. 



The avenues are generally planted with almond, chesnut, and 

 walnut trees, which attain a large growth, and protect the flowers, 

 vegetables, and tenderer fruit trees, from the high tempestuous 

 winds, which so powerfully prevail in that part of the globe. The 

 kitchen gardens abound with cabbages, cauliflowers, artichokes, 

 asparagus, pease, beans, french-beans, beet-root, turnips, carrots, 

 potatoes, salads, and most of the European vegetables; many of 

 them much improved by the climate. They seem to be more at- 

 tentive to these productive and useful crops, than to the cultiva- 

 tion of flowers, for which the Dutch are generally famous. Yet 

 a variety of European flowers seemed to flourish among the aloes, 

 geraniums, and elegant heaths indigenous to Africa. A chief 



