82 TRAVELS IN 
In my laft journey up the mountain I obfervcd, alfo, about 
midway, Teveral arborizations on ftones, thofe of the fern tribe 
very difl:in£t ; and in the fame ftratum, which is ftrongly co- 
loured with iron, I difcovered feveral large maffes of pyramidal 
cryftuls of quartz, and fine fpecimens of haematite or blood- 
ftone. 
In our return over the mountains from Plettenberg's Bay 
little occurred to attract attention. The Sparmannia in the 
"woods, with its large leaves of light green, contrafted with the 
dark and flender foliage of the yellow wood tree, and the ftill 
ds.vker Ecibergia, with the lofty fummits of the naked mountains 
rifmg far above them, afforded fcenery for the pencil extremely 
pidlurefque and beautiful. The fibres of the bark of the Spar- 
mannia make an excellent kind of hemp, fuperior in ftrength to 
that of the Hlbifcus^ which I mentioned to have found on a for- 
mer vifit to this bay. Saplings of this tree the fecond year rife in 
a clear ftem to the height of fix feet, fo that in the event of any 
future eftablifhment being made at Plettenberg's Bay, the Spar- 
mannia may become a very ufeful plant. The Gardenia Thun- 
hergia^ or the wild Cape Jeffamine, being in the height of its 
blolTom, gave out fo powerful a fcent, that, in the evening, 
it could be felt at the diftance of feveral miles. The 
Nymphaa cerulea^ and another fpecies of a fmaller fize with fpear- 
fhaped leaves [Joliis hq/latis)^ and rofe-coloured petals, orna- 
mented the margins of the Keurboom River; and the Wachen- 
dorjia with the Aletris Uvaria were common in all the boggy 
grounds. The ftately white Strelitzias^ which are found only 
on the banks of the Pifang River, were alfo now in flower, 
Tlie 
