SOUTHERN AFRICA. 35 
fbrni, or bench, or a heap of sheep skins, among the rest of the 
family. In the morning after a solid breakfast he takes his 
sopie, or glass of brandy, orders his slave or Hottentot to sad- 
dle the horses, shakes hands with the men, and kisses the wo- 
men : he wishes them health, and thei/ wish him a good jour- 
ney. In this manner a traveller might pass through the whole 
country. 
If the economy of the African farmer's house be ill managed, 
that of his land is equally bad. The graziers indeed, in many 
places, are not at the trouble of sowing any grain, but exchange 
with others their cattle for as much as may be necessary for 
the family consumption. But even those who occupy corn- 
farms near the Cape seem not to have any kind of system or 
management. They turn over a piece of ground with a huge 
mis-shapen plough that requires eight or ten horses, or a 
dozen oxen, to drag along : the seed is sown in the broad- 
cast way, at the rate of about a bushel and a half to an acre; 
a rude harrow is just passed over it, and they reap from ten 
to fifteen for one. No manure comes upon the ground except 
a sprinkling for barley. In low situations near rivulets, where 
the water can be brought upon the ground, they reap from 
thirty to forty for one. Water in fact is every thing in South- 
ern Africa. Not like the Chinese, whose great art of agricul- 
ture consists in suiting the nature and habit of the plant to 
that of the soil, which he also artificially prepares, the Dutch 
peasant at the Cape is satisfied if he can command only a 
supply of water. IJe bestows no kind of labor on the ground 
besides that of throwing in the seed : the rest is left to chance 
and the effects of an excellent climate. The time of seeding. 
F 2 
