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* NAST. 256 NATAL. 1872, and illustrated The Tribute Booh; Nasby's iSuiiifiiiig 'round the Ccrkle, and other works, including Dickens's Pickwick Papers and Pic- tures from Italy. He was also a clever jiainter in oil and water colors, remarkable for ciuick- ness of conception and facility of execution. Though he was not as good a draughtsman as the great French caricaturists, liis |)icturcs are fine examples of strong realism. Among his chief oil paintings are: "The Departure of the Seventh Regiment" (1801) ; '"The Civil War:" "The Last Drip." In 1804 he was called to the Pall Mall Magazine, London. On May 1, 1902. he was ap- pointed consul-general to Guayaquil, Ecuador, where lie died on December 7th of the same year. NASTURTIUM. See C'bess; Trop.eolum. NA'SUA. See CoATi. NATAL, na-tiil'. A colony of Great Britain on the southeast coast of Africa, hounded l)y the Transvaal Colon}-, Portuguese East Africa, the Indian Ocean, ('ape Colony, Basutoland. and the Orange River Colony (Map: Transvaal Colony, G 8). Its area, including Zululand and the portion of Transvaal annexed in 1902, is 31,307 square miles. ToroGUAiMiY. Natal occupies a part of the seaward slojie of the great South African plateau, which falls in a series of terraced escarpments running parallel with the coast around the southern end of the continent from the mouth of the Orange on the west to that of the Limpopo on the east. The ranges culminate in the Dra- kensberg (q.v.), which forms the natural bound- ary of the great inland plateau. The average height of the Draken.sherg is 9000 feet, and its highest point in Natal, the .Montague aux Sources, lias an altitude of ll.lii.T feet. Below the last riilge of the escarpment is a low coastal plain which widens northward, where it contains a series of large, shallow lagoons, of which the largest is Lake Saint Lucia. .55 miles long and 10 miles wide. Natal is watered by numerous permanent rivers of great volume, but, owing to the enormous fall of 8000 to 9000 feet in less than ;iOO miles, they are all violent mountain torrents falling in a series of cataracts to the sea. The largest is the Tugela. Cl.lM.TK. The warm Jlozaiubiquo current flowing along the southeast coast of .Africa gives off considerable amounts of moisture, which is blown up the mountain slopes, giving the whole of Natal a snllicient rainfall. The annual precip- itation along the coast is about 44 inches, while in the elevated interior it is much heavier. In regard to temperature. Natal presents a series of climatic zones, from the subtropical coastal region with a mean temperature of 08° to the frigid highland region. The former, however, is tempered by cool southeast storms, and the latter by the hot winds from the interior. Flora. The flora is characterized in general by richness and variety. In the coastal region we find the tropical euphorbias, bamboo, cotton, in- digo, sugar-cane, cofTec, fig, and eocoanut: in the middle zone the common European cereals, fruits, and vegetables flourish, while higher up are gooil pasture-lands. Fai'Na. Nearly all the large wild animals which formerly overran the country have disap- peared. Snakes are still found near the coast, including the python, the jiuff-ailder, and the venomous cobra. Minerals. There are extensive coal meas- ures, es[)ecially around the headstreams of the Tugela, the out]iut being considerable. Iron ore abounds in iiiaiiy localities, and valuable deposits of argentiferous lead and copper ores, as well as gold, have been found. Ar.Rinr.TrHE. The interior of the colony is well adapted for agricultural and pastoral pur- poses. The total area under cultivation in 1900 was over 000,000 acres. The principal cereal is corn, which constitutes the staple food of the natives. Tea is extensively cultivated, the annual crop exceeding 1,000.000 pounds. Sugar is also increasing in importance, and tropical fruits are cultivated with success. The live stock of the colony consisted in 1!)00 of 54,485 horses, 349,007 horned cattle, and 580,489 .sheep. Commerce. Natal is as yet without manufac- turing industries. Its maritime position in close proximity to the two interior colonies of Orange River and Transvaal, with which it is connected by rail, naturally gives Natal a considerable transit trade, llie chief exports are w'ool. sugar, coal, hides and skins, and gold; principal im- ports are haberdashery and articles of apparel, metals and metal prorlucts, machinery, bever- ages, and textiles. The total value of the imports and exports amounted in 1901 to $45,855,920 and .$23,337,512. respectively. This was somewhat above the normal. The sea-borne trade passes entirely through Durban (q.v.). The transportation facilities are adequate. The railway lines, all owned, with one exception, by the Government and operated by it, had a total length of over 000 miles in 1901. The cost of the lines up to tlie end of 1900 was .$38,026,012. Tlie net earnings of the Govern- ment roads e.xceed 4 per cent, on the capital in- vested. In accordance with the jn'ovisiims of the pres- ent Constitution, dating from 1893, Natal is ad- ministered by a Governor, who is appointed by the Crown, and is a.ssisted by a Cabinet of six ministers and a legislative council of twelve members, appointed by the Governor for two years with the advice of the Cabinet. The Legis- lative .Assembly consists of thirty-nine members (including two for Zululand), elected for four years by a restricted sullrage. In 1899-1900 the revenue and the expenditures of the colony amounted to $9,188,278 and .$9,093,843, respect- ively. The chief item of revenue is customs duties. The ]uiblie debt ;iniounted in 1900 to $43,023,220. Education is neither cominilsory nor free, and a eonsiclerablc proportion of the European chil- dren are educated ill private schools. The school attendance of the Euro|icaii cliildren amounts to about 90 per cent, of the total school population. In 1900 there were 18li schools for native chil- dren, with a total attendance of over 10.000. and 30 schools for Indian children, with an attend- ance of about 2900. The population of the eolonv increased from 301, .'>87 in 1879 to 543.913 in 1.S91. and to 929.970 in 1900. the bitter gain being due partly to the annexation of Zululand in IS97. The Kuropean population increased from 22.054 in 1879 to 04.051 in 1000. Capital, Pietermaritzburg (q.v.). IIi.sTORY. The coast of Natal was first sighted on Christmas Day. 1497. b.v Vasco da Oama, who named the country in honor of the day