-peaches, almonds, apricots, figs, walnuts, mulberries, quinces, ches-
nuts, bananas or plantains, and guavas. Strawberries, plumbs, raspberries,
and cherries, are met with only in the gardens of the curious;
the last has hitherto been found to succeed nowhere but in the division
of the Cold BokkeVeld. For gooseberries and currants, the
climate is considered to be too warm, while, on the other hand, it is
thought too cold for ananas, mangoes, and most tropical fruits.
Nearly all the common vegetables of Europe grow here' in perfection.
Wheat and barley are the grain most extensively cultivated; the
latter is the corn usually given to horses. A small quantity of rice,
scarcely worth mentioning, although of a very good quality, is grown
along the western Elephant’s river.
In Sneeuwberg (Sneeberg) and the Eoggeveld, innumerable
flocks of sheep are reared; and in these parts of the colony the
greatest number of horses are bred. Very good soap and butter are
brought from different districts ; but cheese is rarely made, the milk
being thought too poor for that purpose. Tobacco is cultivated in
every part of the colony, and is an article of such universal consumption,
that it may here class among the necessaries of life, but has not
yet been raised in quantities sufficient for exportation. Brandy, which
is made from grapes or peaches, may, in regard to the great request
in which it is held, rank next to tobacco in importance.
The climate of the Cape is not only pleasant but is very fa*
vorable to health. Lying in the southern hemisphere, its seasons
are the reverse of those in Europe; December and January being
the hottest months, and June and July the coldest. The sun at noon
being always in the north, causes the northern side of the mountains
to be much hotter and dryer than the southern, which differs very
perceptibly also in verdure, and luxuriance of vegetation. The appearance
of the starry sky is greatly different from that which it presents
to an observer in Europe ; many constellations are here seen in a reversed
position. The well-known stars of Ursa Major are never
seen at the Cape; but this loss is well compensated by some constellations
and remarkably beautiful stars which must always remain invisible
to the inhabitants of England ; particularly Canopus, Achemar,
two in the feet of the Centaur, and the brilliant constellation of the
Cross.T
he winter and spring are the most delightful part of the year ;
the summer and autumn in the country along the coast, being constantly
dry, and consequently a season when verdure almost disappears.
In the districts remote from the sea, the wet season commences
in the summer months, the rain falling in heavy showers,
accompanied most frequently by lightning and thunder. Cape Town
is subject to violent winds, and the dust of the streets, at such times,
becomes extremely disagreeable.
The degree of heat and cold varies in different parts of the
country; in Cape Town, the highest degree at which I observed the
thermometer, Was 102° of Fahrenheit’s (31°‘l of Keaumur’s: or 38°-8
of the Centigrade) scale in the shade ; but, during the warm season,
it ranges between 80° and 90° F., (21° and 26° B., and 21° and 82° C.)
In the winter it seldom sinks below 50° F. (8° B., 10° C.): ice is, however,
sometimes found on the top of Table Mountain ; ■ and during
a few days in every year, the summits of the Stellenbosch and Hot-
tentot-Holland mountains are seen covered with snow. ColdBok-
keveld, as its name implies, is a country distinguished by a colder
atmosphere; and the same may be remarked of the Roggeveld, where I
found the thermometer in August, so low as 26° F. (— 2-6 B.,—3-3 C.)
But the coldest district is that called Snfcewwberg, or the Snow Mountains,
in which more particularly, a small and elevated table-land
called Coudveld (Cold country), is considered by the boors to be the
coldest spot in the whole colony: in many farms on Sneeuwberg,
the summers are not warm enough to bring grapes and peaches to
perfection. At a farm-house on these mountains, I was assured by
the owner that snow falls often to the depth of a foot, remaining
on the ground two or three days; and that it has sometimes been
seen as deep as two feet. As far as my own experience enables
me to decide, it is the coldest region in Southern Africa.
The hottest parts of the colony are to be found in those barren
plains which are distinguished by the general appellation of Karro,
and in the low arid lands situated towards the coast; but in such