460 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 



The part of South Africa occupied by the Caffres enjoys a delightful 

 climate, and they, consequently, need but little protection from the 

 weather ; and their huts are rudely constructed. 



Of late years the settlers at Port Natal, on the eastern coast, who 

 are surrounded by the Caffre tribes, set themselves up as a sort of 

 independent community, believing they were beyond the limits of the 

 colony ; they enacted laws and regulations, issued their declaration 

 of independence, invited settlers, and for a time committed many 

 atrocities on the Caffres. The Cape government, deeming it was 

 advisable to check this disorderly spirit, sent an expedition to assert 

 their proper supremacy. Troops were proceeding to Port Natal at 

 the time of our visit. 



During our stay we visited, as all strangers do, the estate of Con- 

 stantia; it is situated about thirteen miles from Cape Town. There 

 are three small estates that bear this name, viz. : High, Great, and 

 Little Constantia. The country we passed through, although barren 

 and sandy, was apparently well settled : the village of Wynberg is 

 the residence of many persons who come here to enjoy the delightful 

 air that generally blows from the eastward ; most of the residences 

 are pretty cottages, and some have the appearance of handsome villas; 

 they all have an air of neatness and comfort about them. Oaks and 

 the pine are almost the only trees met with, and one is somewhat 

 surprised that even these should be found ; for the country is, to 

 appearance, a barren waste, and many miles of it are quite unpro- 

 ductive for agriculture. The scarlet heath, blue oxalis, and the 

 yellow compositge, not only enliven this waste, but give it somewhat 

 the character of the flowery prairies of Oregon. The saudy soil looked 

 like the sea-shore, and bears indubitable marks of having been once 

 covered by the ocean. 



The estates of Constantia lie east of the Table Mountain, on False 

 Bay, and from their peculiar situation are adequately watered by the 

 mists condensed by that lofty mountain. The soil of these estates is 

 far from being rich, but is rather a light and in some places a gravelly 

 soil. The graperies lie for the most part on the slope to the southeast, 

 while some are situated on the low lands, which are carefully ditched 

 to preserve them dry. They are divided into fields of some four or 

 five acres each ; the grape-vines are planted in rows four feet apart, 

 they are never permitted to grow higher than three feet, and the 

 whole is kept free from grass and weeds. In the spring, the vines 

 are pruned ; the grapes come to maturity in April ; while they are 

 growing, all unnecessary leaves and sprouts are removed, to give free 



