VbtiloComtutb. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 2£nt!lf Taffitfemntala. 8*1 



an expedition tf> assert their proper supremacy. 

 Troops were proeeediag to Port Natal at the time 

 of our visit. 



During our stay wo visited, as all strangers do, 

 the estate of Constantin ; it is situated about thir- 

 teen miles from Cape Town, There are throe 

 small estates that bear this name, viz. High, 

 Great, and Little Constantia. The country we 

 passed through, although barren ami sandy, was 

 apparently well settled : the village of Wynborg is 

 the residence of many persons who come here to 

 enjoy the delightful air that generally blows from 

 the eastward ; most of tho residences are pretty 

 cottages, and some have the npjicaranee of hand- 

 some 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 some- 

 what surprised that even these should be found ; 

 ftu" tho country is, to appearance, a barren waste, 

 and many mileH of it are quite unproductive for 

 agriculture. Tho scarlet heath, blue oxalis, and 

 the yellow composiue, not only enliven this waste, 

 but give it somewhat the character of the flowery 

 prairies of Oregon. The sandy 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 Day, and frmti their peculiar 

 situation are adequately watered by the mists con- 

 densed by that lofty mountain. Tho soil of these 

 estates is far from being rich, but is rather a light 

 and in some places a pra veil y soil. The graperies 

 lie for the most part on the slope to the south-east, 

 while some are situated on the low lands, which 

 arc carefully ditched to preserve them dry. They 

 are divided into fields of Borne four or tivo 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, tho vines are 

 pruned ; the graj>es come to maturity in April ; 

 while they arc growing, all unnecessary leaves 

 and sprouts are removed, to give free access to 

 the sun and air, and full advantage of the growth 

 of the parent stock. 



Tho grapes are allowed to remain on tho vines 

 until almost converted into raisins: they are then 



carefully exam i I, and ull tho decayed ami bruised 



lines removed, before being gathered. The same 

 process is used for expressing the grape here as at 

 Madeira; but ihvy have in some [.lacs advanced a 

 step, and use the screw-press. The buildings for 

 the storage of iho wines are of otic story, aud 

 arranged into three apartments ; two of these are 

 appropriated to ihe manufacture of the wine, and 

 the third to that which is kept ripening for sale. 

 The wines are of four kinds, Pontac, Fmntignac, 

 aud the white and red Constantia. These are 

 named in the order of their celebrity and price, 

 which is usually a fixed one : the wine here is sold 

 by the MUD and half nam, equivalent to a barrel 

 and half barrel ; the cost for the last quantity is 

 one hundred dollars for the first kind, eighty-live 

 for ihe second, seventy-five for the third, and sixty 

 for the fourth. To L. V. Kencn, Esq., the pro- 

 prietor of tho High Constantia, we are indebted 

 for many attentions. The grounds of Constantia 

 were ornamented with some plaster statues of 

 Hottentots aud Caffrcs, which were said to repro» 

 sent the true type of these natives. 



1 paid a visit to the Cape observatory, famous 

 from the labours nf Sir John Hcrschell, on the 

 southern constellations. It is now in charge of T, 

 Maclear, Esq., who was at the time of our visit 

 absent, being engaged in tho measurement of an 

 arc of tho meridian. His assistant Mr. Smyth, 

 and Lieutenant Wilmot, of the magnetic observa- 

 tory, showed us the instruments. Lieutenant 

 Wilmot has four non-commissioned artillery officers 

 for his assistauis. The day of our visit happened 

 to be term-day, when an almost uninterrupted 

 series of observations are taken ; our stay wot* 

 therefore but short, as I was disinclined to ijite«r- 

 rupt the constant duties of the observers. During 

 our visit at the observatory, the weather was beau- 

 tifully clear ; no clouds were to be seen except 

 over the Table Mountain, and objects viewed 

 across tho sandy plain were much distorted by 

 refraction- 



The botanists attached to the expedition at- 

 tempted, during our stay, to ascend to the top of 

 Table Mountain; but having taken a path different 

 from that usually pursued, they were arrested by 

 the perpendicular wall when about six hundred 

 feet below the top, A great collection of botanical 

 specimens amply repaid them for iheir disappoint- 

 ment. They visited tho valley between Table 

 Mi uni tain and the Devil's Peak, and found it to 

 consist of a dry spongy soil, densely covered with 

 rutaceip, intermixed with low bushes of heath, 

 thymelacete, diosmas, and compnsita?, having a 

 close resemblance and analog)' to the upland bogs 

 of New Zealand. 



The drives around Cape Town are pleasant; the 

 erne to Green Point is the nu>st agreeable: this is a 

 straggling village, with the houses having pretty 

 gardens in front, laid out in the English stylet the 

 distant view of the ocean, with the heavy surf 

 breaking upon the rocky coast, ore fine objects to 

 seaward. The sides and tops of the hills in the 

 rear are bare of trees, but the roaels are lined with 

 cacti of large growth, giving to tho scenery a de- 

 cidedly tropical character. Green Point has a 

 municipal government, and elects its commissioner 

 and ward-masters in the same manner as Cape 

 Town. The light-house is within this district: it 

 is quite unworthy of the name, being decidedly the 

 most inferior British establishment I have seen, 

 litis surprised me the more, because there is here 

 a great necessity for a brilliant light. 



There is a commercial exchange at Cape Town, 

 i messing a public library, consisting of about 

 thirty thousand volumes, and containing a reading- 

 room, as well :is a large hall, which is used for tin- 

 public meetings and festivities of the iuliabitants. 



Different sects of Christians are vying with each 

 other, to carry civilization and the Gospel to the 

 tribes in the interior; but, as usual, there are many 

 who deny the purity of their principles, and 

 spread scandalous reports concerning their opera- 

 tions. 



The walks near the town are pretty, and kept in 

 neat order. One that leads along the brook in the 

 rear of the town, whose banks are occupied by heists 

 of washerwomen, is peculiarly picturesque; as soon 

 as you ascend to the top of the hill, you overlook 

 the town, bay, and shipping, ami gain a view of the 

 sandy plain and distant mountains, with Robben's 

 Island and Green Point in tho distance. 



Among the objects of interest at the Cape, is tin* 



a a 



