had they been pressed. The chief inconvenience was found to consist
in their not lying flat in the herbarium; but, by folding them
up in a wet cloth, they became sufficiently relaxed to admit, with a
little care, of being pressed flat enough for that purpose.
I much regret that I was unacquainted with these facts at
the time when I first travelled from Klaarwater to Graaffreynett. I
had then no convenience for drying plants, but could, had I been
aware of this method, have preserved, without trouble, any number
of specimens I might have desired.
I have been particular in relating these circumstances, because
a knowledge of the complete success of such an experiment may be
of use to those travellers who would desire to bring home specimens
of the botany of some rarely-visited country, but who might have
neither the means nor the time for the usual method. I would
recommend for this purpose a pasteboard box, having a good number
of large pin-holes pierced in the sides, for the purpose of admitting
air till the plants be sufficiently dried; and which, for
safety while on the road, may be enclosed in a box of wood. It
is unnecessary to give a more detailed explanation, as the above
hints will readily suggest other particulars, and some further advantages
of this method: but it should never be resorted to when
the regular mode is- practicable. There are, however, a multitude
of plants which make the best specimens, and preserve the greatest
resemblance to nature, when they are dried without any pressure
at all.W
hile I was employed in making drawings of the village,
Mr. Polemann attended an auction at a neighbouring farm, at which
some draught-oxen were to be sold; .but, as the biddings were as
high as thirty-five rix dollars a-piece, which he considered to be
more than their real value, he purchased none. Therefore, as
Mr. Mong, the Boode *, had informed me that proper oxen might
be obtained in the Bokkeveld, at the price of three hundred rix-
* A Boode is the official messenger of a Landdrost.
dollars for a span (a team), he obligingly undertook the commission
of selecting and purchasing two teams. A team of oxen consists of
te n ; a number which has been found necessary in this country for
drawing a loaded waggon; and from this, some judgment may be
formed of the general heaviness of the roads; while, in the more
difficult passes, sixteen or twenty oxen are often required.
Having thus accomplished one of the principal objects of our
present excursion, we prepared for departure on the following
morning, under a promise, insisted upon by our kind host, that I
should again take up my quarters at his house, when I passed
through Tulbagh in my way out of the colony.