Page:George McCall Theal, History of South Africa from 1873 to 1884, Volume 1 (1919).djvu/45



1876 and the early months of 1877 the progress of construction of the different railway and harbour works was rapid, and immigrants continued to arrive from Europe in considerable numbers, so that the prospects of the colony continued to be cheerful. At this time several parties of agricultural immigrants from Northern Germany were provided with land on the Cape flats, which they soon turned to good account. The rolling sand had previously been fixed by means of the mesembryanthemum, and screens of acacias and similar trees prevented the wind from disturbing large areas, which could then be placed under cultivation. The sand was found to be fertile, and was made still more so by stable litter and street sweepings carted to it from Capetown, so that it bore excellent crops of vegetables. The contrast is great between the Cape flats as a dreary waste of drifting sand and a succession of little farms with comfortable houses and hard roads, with screens of trees and green fields and gardens, with even a railway to convey produce to market as is seen to-day, and it depicts what can be effected in South Africa by the industry and; patience of such men and women as these immigrants.

In November 1876 the eminent marine engineer Sir John Coode arrived in Capetown from England, his object being to inspect the different ports of the Cape Colony and Natal and devise plans for their improvement. His reports upon East London and Durban were Rh