ACROSS CAMDEBOO TO NAROEKAS POORT. 53 



distance fading into a dim cloud of blue upon the 

 horizon ; or whether you see them bathed in the 

 soft rosy hue of evening, you are uncertain under 

 which of these changing and ever-glorious aspects 

 they are most beautiful. During the whole of this 

 day's trek — over forty miles — such is the translucency 

 and rarefaction of this perfect atmosphere, the most 

 prominent of the Camdeboo range, a bold mountain 

 standing out from its fellows, seemed almost as near 

 to us at close of day as when we passed it in the 

 early morning. One more note upon the splendid 

 air of these Cape uplands and I have done. It is 

 probable that few people at home are at all aware 

 of the capabilities of this climate as a means 

 of restoring invalids, and especially those having 

 consumptive tendencies. Here is a summary of 

 Karroo atmosphere by Dr. Hermann Weber. Its 

 notable qualities, he tells us, are as follows : — 



1. Purity : comparative absence of floating matter. 



2. Dryness of air and soil. 



3. Coolness or coldness of air temperature, and great warmth of 



sun temperature. 



4. Rarefaction. 



5. Intensity of light. 



6. Stillness of air in winter. 



7. A large amount of ozone. 



To this list I would add : 



8. Night-time nearly always cool — a very important matter, in my 



humble opinion, where invalids are concerned. For myself, 

 although by no means in need of the recuperative qualities 

 of the Cape climate, I can say that I never felt better at any 

 time of my life, than when enjoying the dry, pure, and 

 intensely exhilarating atmosphere of these Karroo regions. 



We saw to-day a few black crows, a rather un- 

 usual sight in this part of the Colony, where these 

 gentry are almost invariably pied, black and white. 



