thunberg’s account of the cape of good hope.

3

Portuguefe, or elfe the Malabar, feldom the Dutch language, and learn various trades,by which they bring their mafters confiderable profit, efpecially fuch as are taylors,carpenters, bricklayers, or cooks. The flaves are let out by the month, week, or day,during which term they are to earn for their mafters a certain fixed fum per diem. Themale flaves wear their own hair, upon which they fet a great value, wrapped up in atwifted handkerchief like a turban, and the females wreath up their hair and fix it ontheir heads with a large pin. Trowfers conftitute the other part of their drefs ; and,as a token of their fervile condition, they always go barefoot, and without a hat.

Previous to the company’s fitting down to meals, either dinner or fupper, a female flavebrings a wafh-hand bafon and towel, to wafh their hands, which is alfo done on thecompany’s rifing from table. In the houfes of the wealthy,' every one of the companyhas a flave behind his chair to wait on him. The flave has frequently a large palm leafin his hand, by way of a fan, to drive away the flies, which are as troublefome here asthey are in Sweden .

As well within as without the town, neat and excellent gardens are laid out, bothfor fruit and culinary vegetables, being watered by the ftreams that run down from themountains. Among thefe, that extenfive and beautiful garden belonging to the com-pany diftinguifhes itfelf, like an old oak amidft a thicket of bullies. It is from thefegardens that the ftranger, on his arrival, meets with his firft refrefhments ; and fromtheir fuperfluous flock the Dutch and other fhips are fupplied with ftores for their voy-age. The garden-feeds muft be brought every year frefh from Holland, as they other-wife, almoft all, degenerate in time, excepting the feeds of cauliflowers, which arebrought to great perfection here, and, on that account, exported from hence to Hol-land, where they gradually degenerate.

Apples, pears, and other European fruits, are mellower and riper, but have not thatflavour which they have in Europe , neither will they keep long. Nor are the peachesproduced here equal in goodnefs to thofe of the fouth of Europe . They are fometimesdried like pears, with or without ftones.

The trees imported from Europe , fuch as oak (yjuercus robur ), the white poplar(populus alba), and others, fhed their leaves in the winter, as they do in their nativeplaces, whereas the African trees do not part with theirs. It is not long, however, be-fore they recover their leaves again. This circumftance is lingular enough : firft, be-caufe the cold here in winter is not more fevere than it is in Sweden in the autumn ;and, in the fecond place, becaufe they fhed their leaves to the fouthward of the equa-tor at the very time that they put them forth to the northward of it. The lime-trees(tilia Europcea.) do not thrive well, on account of the violent winds that rage here ;and the fame may be faid of the hazel (corylus avellana), cherry-tree ( prunus cerafus ),goofeberry-tree (ribes grojfularia et uva crifpa), currant-tree (ribes rubrum et nigrum ),all of which degenerate, and feldom yield any fruit.

The myrtle (myrtus communis) grows to the height of a tree, though its ftem is neitherthick nor ftiff, nor does it throw out many branches. For this reafon it feems to beproper, and indeed, is frequently ufed, for forming high hedges, in a country fubjedtto violent winds, as its fupple ftem bends to the ftorm.

The foot of the mountain, or the hills round the town, confifted of a red flame-colouredclay, which proceeds from the water’s running down the cracks, and tinging the earthwith its acid, charged with ferruginous particles. Higher up on the hills, lie fcatteredwithout order, ftones of all fizes, that have been rolled down from the mountains.

Among others, I vifited M. Auge, the gardener, who has made many, and thofe verylong, excurfions into the interior part of the country, and has collected all the plantsand infedls, which the late Governor Tulbagh fent to Europe to Linnaeus , and to the

b 2 Profeffors