196 
THE KARRO-THORN. 
6 July, 
(Karro-thorn). The name of Acacia is correctly applicable to this 
tree, on account of its great affinity and resemblance to the True 
Acacia of the ancients, or gum-arabic tree of Egypt. It is very 
different from that which in England is commonly, but impro- 
perly, called Acacia. This was the first spot in which we met with 
it ; but I was told by the Hottentots, that in the following part of 
our journey it would be one of the most frequent, and often the only 
tree we should see for several days. Its height here did not exceed 
twenty feet. Innumerable straight white thorns, from two to four 
inches long, cover every branch and twig ; and the foliage is so fine 
and thin, as to afford a remarkable example of a tree furnished with 
abundance of leaves, being neither dense nor umbrageous. They 
generally grow in a sandy soil, on the banks of rivers, along the dry 
beds of periodical S'treams, or in hollow spots that receive water in 
the rainy season. It is certainly the most abundant and widely-dis- 
seminated tree of the extra-tropical part of Southern Africa. 
The road being sandy, we moved but slowly onwards ; but, when 
arrived at the termination of the Vale of the Hex-river, the oxen 
had to drag the waggons up a long and steep ascent, the only exit 
from the valley. This road having been made at public expense, a 
toll is collected from every waggon. 
Galenia Africana, a small bush, growing in great abundance 
here, is a very common plant in hot, dry, karro-like places, and 
affects the same soil and situations as the Doornboom : a very pretty 
kind of Cyphia was observed twining round its branches. Different 
species of Hei^mannia and Selago grow by the road-side, together 
with a variety of plants not seen before, and of which I added to my 
list thirty-two. 
We continued the whole day travelling over a level monotonous 
country, covered generally with the rhinoceros-bush. A little before 
dark, the drivers wished to outsjjan for the night ; but, finding that 
no water was to be obtained, either for the cattle or for ourselves, I 
ordered them to push forward till we reached Pieter Jacobs's. This 
day's journey had been both long and fatiguing, especially for the 
oxen ; but I judged it less distressing to urge them on for a few 
