Account of the Fish River Bush, South Africa. 81 



bia rears its hydra-headed form above its neighbours in the 

 deep hollows, or on the sides of the kloofs — the refuge for the 

 hunted baboon, or the perch for the far-sighted aspvogel or 

 hawk. Abundance of milky juice distils from incisions in 

 its trunk, or the rupture of a branch from the stem, which 

 very probably would furnish India-rubber or caoutchouc if 

 the proper means were taken to obtain it, and, if successful, 

 the material would be in abundance. The sweet-scented jas- 

 mine entwines and decorates, with numberless white flowers, 

 the different shrubs and trees, whence the wild bee gathers 

 its honey. Numerous bulb-like Amaryllides and Narcissus 

 shoot up their leaves, and single-stemmed crown of flowers, 

 after rains in the spring, from the arid ground of the lower 

 parts of the valley. The Speckboom abundantly relieves the 

 monotonous evergreen colour of the bush, with its lilac clus- 

 tered flowers ; and its succulent subacid gummy leaves, for- 

 merly afforded the principal food for the elephant, and are 

 now partaken of by the thirsty traveller with relish, and 

 often cooked by the native inhabitants into a kind of stew. 

 The tops and sides of the koppies and ridges are garrisoned 

 by stumpy aloes, with their thin bristling head of leaves, 

 often giving the appearance of a picket or party of Caffres to 

 patrols traversing the country during war time. The prickly 

 Acacia covers the level lands, throwing out, when its yellow 

 clustered flowers are in bloom, a delicious fragrance. The 

 spear-shaped, the scentless flowers of the Strelitzia may be 

 seen shooting up amidst their dark green elongated leaves, 

 enlivening with their bright colours the sombre hue of the 

 sides and heads of the kloofs. The River Bush is of a dif- 

 ferent nature to that covering the rest of the country, and 

 marks the course of the stream distinctly to the spectator 

 from some height overlooking the valley ; it is greener and 

 loftier, and completely overhangs the water in most places, 

 so that one scarcely can obtain a view of the stream itself 

 till after passing through to the bank of the river. Coarse 

 willow trees constitute its largest bush, which is tenanted 

 by numerous and various kinds of small birds, some remark- 

 able for their shape, others for the beauty of their plum- 

 age ; some few have notes, but the majority are destitute of 

 VOL. LV. NO. CIX. — JULY 1853. F 



