put on board others on freight. Their oil, therefore, continued
to lie as a dead (lock in their cifterns, till the high premium
of bills on England induced fome of the Britifh merchants to
purchafe and make their remittances in this article. The price
at the Cape was about 40 rix dollars the legger, or tenpence
fterling per gallon. Sometimes, indeed, ihips from the Southern
Whale Filhery took a few caiks to complete their cargoes, but,
in general, they preferred to be at the trouble of taking the fiih
themfelves, tin or near fome of the bays within the limits of the
colony, where they are fo plentiful and fo eafily caught, as to
enfure-their fuccefs. It is remarked that all the whales which
have been caught in the bays are females 5 of a fmall fize, generally
from 30 to 50 feet in length, and yielding from fix to
ten tons of oil each. The bone is very fmall, and, on that account,
of no great value.
The Whale Fiihing Company, finding there was little probability
of their difpofing of the oil without a lofs, thought of the
experiment o f converting it into foap. The great quantity of
lea-weed, the fucus maximus, or buccinalis, fo called from its
refemblance to a trumpet, which grows on the weftern ihore
of Table Bay, fuggefted itfelf as an abundant fource for flip-1
plying them with kelp or barilla; and from the fpecification of
a patent obtained in London, for freeing animal oils of their
impurities, and the ftrong and offenfive fmell that train-oil in
particular acquires, they endeavoured to reduce to pra&ice this
important difcovery. The experiment, however, failed; for
though they fucceeded in making foap, whofe quality, in the
jnoft effential points might., perhaps, be fully as good as was
defired,
defired, yet the fmell was fo difgufting that nobody would purchafe
it. Unluckily for them there came in, alfo, juft at that
time, a cargo of prize foap, which was not only more agreeable
to the fmell, but was fold at a rate lower than the Company
could afford to manufacture theirs of train-oil. Being thus
thwarted in all their views, they fold the whole concern to an
Engliih merchant, who was fuppofed to be turning it to a tolerable
good account, when it was fignified to him, by the pre-
fent Dutch Government, that the exclufive privilege of fiihing
on the coafts of Africa, within the limits of the colony, was
granted to a company of merchants refiding in Amfterdam;
and, therefore, that he could not be allowed to continue the
concern.
D r i e d F r u i t s .
Under this head the moft important articles are almonds and
raifins; o f which a quantity might be raifed fufficient for the
confumption of all Europe. I have already obferved that many
thoufand acres of land, now lying wafte, might be planted with
vineyards, within fight of Table Mountain. In like manner
might the whole fiea-coaft, on both fides of Africa, be planted
with vines. In no part of the world are better grapes produced
than at the Cape of Good Hope; and it is unneceffary to ob-
ferve that good grapes, under proper management, cannot fail
to make good raifins; but with refped to this, as well as moft
other articles, little -care and lefs labour are bellowed in the preparation.
As in the making of wine the whole bunch is
thrown under the prefs, fo, in the procefs for converting grapes
v o l . 11. Q . Q_ in to