mining capacities, and had these lines been earlier
constructed Pretoria might have become the terminus
for Central Africa.
As I returned the dry season proclaimed its advent
by the frequency of grass-fires, and the few residents
one met affirmed that the rains were over for the season;
so certain were they on this score that my wagon was
not even provided with its sail-covering in case of wet,
an omission that might have caused much discomfort,
as a storm went before us to Pietershurg and exceedingly
heavy rain fell there on May 2nd, the day before
we arrived. At Pietershurg we met men going up to
and coming down from Mashonaland; and though
much doubt still exists, we shall see whether British
enterprise in that new Protectorate is not as capable of
producing a country, from a “ geographical expression,”
as successfully as other influences have created the
Transvaal, thanks to its auriferous deposits and its
attendant European settlers.
M agwam ba C a b v in g s .
( US )
CHAPTER VII.
A JOUENEY TO DUEBAN.
H cost on imports to the Transva^.-Johannes-
£ L o L - el^ Heid®lber^ ~ f Priest ingogo heights to Newcastle. — Durban. — Coolof nMel aBmo.w-Akecrr o—ss B tehset
Pe cuHa rliMinS around Dur.ban- — Flowers, fruit, and insects.—
to S e n s construction. Model Natal farms.-Insect-pests
c a n fiT e e S 1( R * , l" * ^ ~ Th<S * * * * *
In December 1890 I journeyed to Natal for the purposes
of visiting the farms where the Wattle (Acacia
molhssima) was cultivated, from which is stripped
i 2