Page:A voyage round the world, in His Britannic Majesty's sloop, Resolution, commanded by Capt. James Cook, during the years 1772, 3, 4, and 5 (IA b30413849 0001).pdf/111

Rh

any volcanic productions. The cultivated spots which we saw had a stiff clay mixed with a little sand and small pieces of stone; but the plantations towards False bay are almost entirely on a sandy soil. The colony of Stellenbosch is said to have the most fertile soil of all at the Cape, and the different plantations thrive there incomparably better than any where else, particularly the European oaks, which are said to have attained a considerable height and flourishing appearance, whilst they do not seem to succeed near the town, where the tallest we saw was not above thirty feet high. The interior mountains are certainly metallic, and contain iron and copper; specimens of ores of both kinds were shewn to us by Mr. Hemmy, and some tribes of Hottentots melt both these metals; from whence we may conclude, that the ores they employ must be rich and easy of fusion. Hot springs are likewise found at several places in the interior country; and the inhabitants of the Cape Town resort to one of them at the distance of about three days journey, which is famous for curing cutaneous and other distempers, and is probably of a sulphureous nature.

The variety of plants in this country is surprising. In the little time we staid there, we observed several new species growing in the environs of the town, where we should least have expected them. And though the collections of former botanists from hence are very ample, yet Dr.