Travels in the interior of South Africa, comprising fifteen years' hunting and trading; with journeys across the continent from Natal to Walvis Bay, and visits to Lake Ngami and the Victoria Falls . absence of vegetation, but more par-ticularly, perhaps, to the winds. These always blow withgreater violence from the sea during the rainy season, justafter mid-day, and with sufficient force to check and driveback the thunder-clouds, which, as a rule, generally come fromthe east in the afternoon, dispelling them in circles over andaround Otjimbengue, and back again into the interior. THAI*. XVI.]
Travels in the interior of South Africa, comprising fifteen years' hunting and trading; with journeys across the continent from Natal to Walvis Bay, and visits to Lake Ngami and the Victoria Falls . absence of vegetation, but more par-ticularly, perhaps, to the winds. These always blow withgreater violence from the sea during the rainy season, justafter mid-day, and with sufficient force to check and driveback the thunder-clouds, which, as a rule, generally come fromthe east in the afternoon, dispelling them in circles over andaround Otjimbengue, and back again into the interior. THAI*. XVI.] A NEW BULB. 377 During the dry season the grass seeds which are blownabout the plains remain in a dormant state, the dew notbeing sufficient to effect germination ; but when a shower ortwo, in some favourable season, does fall, the plains speedilyexhibit the appearance of an immense corn-field, and becomeclothed with a profusion of wild flowers which can scarcely beexcelled. I have noticed in the neighbourhood of Hykam-goub some very large bulbs of the amaryllis and others,as well as another large woody root or stem, something like;i bulb,* having a rough bark like the oak, with long, broad,. AMARTLLIS SP. wavv coils of fibrous leaves, fifteen or twenty feet lono\with scarlet flowers, and seed pods like small plants, which have a very long tap root, weigh some-times upwards of two hundred-weight. I observe it has buttwo leaves, which, however, are often split up, impartingthe appearance of there being several. The top of the plantis flat, of an oblong form, and one leaf springs near eachedge out of a longitudinal rent, and the cones or flowers This plant is tailed by the Damaras, otjetumbo Otjehooro. 378 CHAPMANS TRAVELS. [chap. xvi. grow on branching stems along the margin and sometimesunder the leaves. The circumference of some of these root-stems is from six to eight feet at least. From Davikip, three and a half hours the next day broughtus to the Reed, where
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