18 thunberg’s account of the cape of good hope.

■which the foldier pulling back in hafte, his thumb was bitten off, and the tendon drawnout to a great length.

From Saldahna Bay we returned to The Fontein , and, at a farm there, had an op-portunity of feeing with what dexterity the peafants perform the caftration of theiroxen, fifty of which, two years old, and one at three years, went through this opera-tion in one evening. The cord of a whip was faftened round the horns, and a roperound one of the hind-legs. The animal being by this means thrown down on onefide, its four legs were tied together. They then cut with a knife on the exterior fidethrough all the integuments quite to the tefticle; after this, they laid hold of the tefti-cle and fcraped the funiculus, continually twilling it at the fame time, till the tefticlecame away.

Great complaints were made of the feed-veffels of the rumex fpinofus (Dubelties),which grew very common here, as the lharp prickles of them cut the feet of the Havesand others, who walked bare-footed.

In wet years, the pbarnaceum mollugo (Muggekruyd) grows copioufly here, and isfaid to make the cattle, that feed on it, very fat.

Difficult as it is to come within reach of it, we at laft ffiot a Korhaan, a bird whichin its flight cries, kok-karri, kok-carri.

The Secretary Bird (falco Jecretarius ), made its appearance frequently, with itsbeautiful head and long legs ; it runs very fall, and lives on the ferpents it catches. Iwas told, that its young are not reared without difficulty, as they are very apt to breaktheir legs. Yet I faw at Conftantia an old bird that was tame. They lay two or threeeggs, and are faid to build their nefts with twigs upon bufhes. They are almoft alwaysfound folitary, and in no great abundance.

The black-berries of a buffi called Kraijebofch, or Crow-buffi, were greedily de-voured by the crows at the Cape.

On the 25th, we left The Fontein , and ferried over Berg-Rivier (Mountain River).

The root of Anife (Anys Wortel) was eaten here roafted, and tailed well; it iseither roafted in the embers, or boiled in milk, or elfe ftewed with meat. The farmersfometimes make their Haves dig up a large quantity of them, which they fell in town.

The root of the Gatagay is likewife roafted in the embers and eaten, but has a badand difagreeable tafte.

Wherever we went, we obferved a black-beetle (trichius laticollis ) occupied thewhole day throughout in rolling large balls of dung with its hind-feet, and conftantlygoing backwards. With its fore-feet it digs large holes in the fand, and alfo throwsthe fand on one fide with its fcutellum. It probably lays its eggs in thefe balls, whichit afterwards buries in the fand. More than once we obferved two of the infects herefpoken of affifting each other in rolling away one of thefe balls.

The oats brought hither from Europe are now looked upon as the worft of weeds inthis country, as the grains are eafily ffiaken out of the ears by the violence of thewinds that prevail here, and fowing themfelves, choak up all the other corn. It is tono purpofe to lay a piece of land fo fpoiled fallow for feveral years, for when the fieldcomes to be ploughed up, the oats, having lain unhurt in the ground, ffioot up afreffi.

They gave the name of nightingale (Nachtigall) to a bird, which in its notes andgeftures imitated feveral other birds.

The Oppblazers ( [pneumora ), a kind of grafs-hopper, were caught in the evening.After fun-fet they begin to make a fingular noife, by rubbing their barbed legs againfttheir empty and tranfparent ftomach. It was fuppoied that this found was heard at agreat diflance. As I perceived that thefe, like many other nofturnal infe&s, were

12 fond