SOUTHERN AFRICA.

The Zambesi may be regarded as the natural limit on the north of this, the most important of all the great divisions of Africa. With the exception of the Algeria-Tunis region, in the extreme north, it is the only part of the continent suitable for permanent European colonization.

Generally speaking, however, Temperate South Africa includes not only the vast region south of the Zambesi, but also the Nyassa Highlands to the north of that river and the adjoining uplands westward as far as the water-parting between the Zambesi and the Congo. On the other hand, the low-lying coastal zone on the east, from the Delta of the Zambesi as far south even as Delagoa Bay, belongs to tropical rather than to temperate Africa.

The whole of Southern Africa is not only ruled, directly or indirectly, by Europeans, but the richest and most productive lands are occupied by Europeans-mainly of Dutch or British originalthough, in all the South African States, the native races greatly outnumber the white population.

Politically and commercially, the British are the dominant people in Southern Africa, and, with the exception of German South-West Africa, and part of Portuguese East Africa, the vast regions stretching from the Cape of Good Hope northward to the Zambesi and Lake Tanganyika, are included within the British Empire either as colonies or protectorates. The two former South African Republics are now British Colonies, and they will certainly be included in any federation or union of the South African States.

BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA.

BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA includes the great self-governing colony of the Cape-the wealthiest and most important part of all South Africa-the colony of Natal, with which the former Crown Colony of Zululand is now incorporated, the Crown Colony of Basutoland, the Transvaal Colony, the Orange River Colony, and the Protectorates of Bechuanaland and Rhodesia.

British South Africa, south of the Zambesi, including the Transvaal and Orange River Colony, is estimated to cover an area of not less than a million and a quarter square miles, and to contain a population of not more than 5 millions, an average of only 4 persons per square mile.

THE CAPE COLONY.

THE CAPE COLONY', which derives its distinguishing naine from the Cape of Good Hope, is bounded on the north and north-east by

1. The Cape of Good Hope is important, both from its geographical position and from its place in the annals of discovery. It was discovered, in 1457, by Bartholomew Diaz, a Portuguese mivi getur, towards the close of a century which had Leon devoted by the Portuguese to the prosecution of marine discovery along the western side of the African consent. Diaz succeeded in doubling the Cape ia tas voyage, and landed on the coat at some distance beyond. This feat was justly rerded as preparing the way for a passage to India by a martine route. Ten years later, in

1497, Vasco da Gama (also a Portuguese) condicted the first flect of ships to India by way of the Atuntic and In lin O cans, passing, of course, round th funous headind,

Diaz had called this long-sought headland (which he erroneously believed to be the extreme southern point of the African cadient) by the name of "El Cibo Tormentoso," or the Sto my Cape; but the king of Portugal, on the return of Disz, changed this name to Cabo de Boa Esperanza - the Cape of Good Hope-the name which it has ever since borde.

the Orange River, Bechuanaland Protectorate, the Orange River Colony, Basutoland, and Natal; on the west, by the Atlantic; and on the south, by the Indian Ocean.

The first settlement was formed by the Dutch in 1652, in the immediate neighbourhood of Table Mountain. The Dutch colonists gradually pushed inland to the Great Fish River on the east, and to the Roggeveld range on the north. In 1796, the colony was occupied by the British, but was given back in 1803, at the Peace of Amiens. Three years later it was again taken by the British, and has since remained British territory. But it was not until the year 1847 that the northern frontier of the Cape Colony was extended to the Orange River, an artificial line, drawn considerably to the southward of that stream, having previously marked its limits. The area of country under British rule was gradually enlarged by the annexation of British Kaffraria in 1866, Basutoland in 1868, Griqualand East in 1875, Griqualand West in 1876, and subsequently the Transkeian Territories and British Bechuanaland; so that Natal and the Cape Colony are conterminous, the boundary being the River Umtamfuna. Walfish Bay, on the coast of Damaraland, in German South-West Africa, also belongs to the Cape Colony.

EXTENT: The total area of the Cape Colony is about 280,000 square miles, or about 5 times that of England and Wales. The extreme length of the colony is 800 miles, and the breadth about 600 miles.

Griqualand West (area, 15,200 square miles) and British Bechuanaland (area, 51,500 square miles), to the north of the Orange River, and the whole region south of the Orange and west of the Kei River, are included in Cape Colony proper-the Transkeian Territories, between the Kei River and Natal (the Transkei, comprising Fingoland, the Idutywa Reserve, and Gcalekaland, Tembuland, Pondoland, and Griqualand East), are dependencies of the Cape Colony, as also is the district of Walfish Bay, along with several small islands, on the West Coast. The Transkeian Territories have an area of 15,283 square miles, and Walfish Bay 430 square miles, while the area of Cape Colony proper is about 206,900 square miles. Basutoland, formerly attached to Cape Colony, is now a British Crown Colony. See p. 488.

COASTS: The coast-line of the Cape Colony is of the same regular and unbroken character as that of the African continent generally, and embraces but few harbours, although it is upwards of 1,300 miles in length.

Cape Agulhas and the Cape of Good Hope-the two most important headlands of South Africa-are both within the coast-line of the Cape Colony, The former is the most southerly point of the African continent and of the Old World.

INLETS: The most considerable inlets are St. Helena, Saldanha, and Table Bays, on the west coast; False Bay with Simon's Bay, and Mossel and Algoa Bays, on the south coast.

Of the above inlets Saldanha Bay forms naturally the best harbour. At Table Bay, which is somewhat unsafe during the north-west winds, extensive harbour works are in progress which will render the harbour permanently secure and accessible at all times. Simon's Bay, which is entered through False Bay, is well sheltered and commodious, and is the principal South African

Station of the British fleet. Table Bay is so named from its vicinity to Table Mountain-an elongated mass of hill, with a flat top, which rises above its southern shore, and in the immediate vicinity of Cape Town. Table Mountain reaches 3,582 feet in height.

RELIEF: The surface of the colony rises from the sea-board to the interior, not regularly, but by a series of terraces or steps, the seaward edges of which are marked by the long ranges of mountains and hills that extend across the country from west to

east.

The first high barrier between the coast region and the inland districts is formed by the Drakenstein and other ranges which extend from False Bay to the Orange River. Behind this range is another irregular series of elevations which bend eastwards parallel to the south coast, under the name of the Lange Berge. The land then rises another step to the lofty range known as the Zwarte Berge, which marks the seaward edge of the Great Karroo plateau-a vast plain of some 20,000 square miles-the clayey soil of which is parched and arid in summer, but covered with luxuriant vegetation whenever the scanty rains fall. It then affords excellent pasture for sheep, cattle, and horses, which thrive wonderfully on the aromatic herbage. The Karroo plateau is about 70 to 90 miles in width and between 2,500 and 3,500 feet in height, and is cut off from the scantily watered uplands which slope to the Orange River by the long and comparatively lofty range which, under various names, extends from the hills of Namaqualand on the west, to the still loftier range of the Drakensberg on the east. The central range, the Nieuwveld, is flanked by the Roggeveld on the west, and by the Winterberge, Sneeuwberge, and Stormberge on the east -the culminating point of this bold escarpment of flat-topped hills being Compass Berg, in the Sneeuwberge range, which rises to a height of nearly 7,800 feet. This long range forms the central water-parting of the colonythe drainage on one side running north to the Orange River, and on the other dowing south-eastward to the Indian Ocean.

RIVERS: Most of the numerous rivers of the Cape Colony are periodical streams, flooded to excess after the rains, and speedily drying up, or forming a mere chain of pools, in the dry season. Not one of them is of any considerable value for navigation.

The principal rivers are the Orange and the Olifants, flowing into the Atlantic; and the Breede, Gauritz, Gamtoos, Great Fish, Keiskamma, and the Kei, flowing into the Indian Ocean.

The Orange River, which partly forms the northern border of the Cape Colon, is about 1.200 miles 1 ng, but it has comparatively little volume of water, and is not navigable, except for small craft for about 30 miles above the bar at its mouth. The Olifants R ver is a Nile in miniature, and the coastland, which it overflows and covers with the rich Karroo mud, produces splendid crops of grain.

The lower course of the Breede is navigable for small vessels for a short distance inland, but the Gauritz, Gamtoos, and Great Fish River are subject to sudden and violent floods, the water rising sometimes 20 or 30 feet in an hour or two after a heavy thunderstorm. The smaller streams further east have a more permanent flow.

1. There is another Great Fish River, a tributary of the Orange, in Namaqualand,

CLIMATE: The climate of the Cape is temperate, dry, and healthy. The occasional prevalence of droughts is its chief drawback. In the eastern province rain falls in summer, but in the western districts in winter,

The climate of the Cape Colony is very healthy, the air being buoyant, clear and dry. At the same time, it varies much in different districts. The coast climate is warm, moist, and equable; the midland is colder and drier in winter and hotter in summer; the mountain climate is drier still and more bracing, but with extremes of heat by day and cold by night. The hottest month is generally January (the average maximum temperature at Cape Town is 83° F.), July is usually the coldest month (the average minimum temperature at Cape Town is about 45° F.).

In the north-west province of the Great Karroo less than 6 inches of rain fall in the year. At Cape Town, the rainfall amounts to 30 inches; at Kimberley, 16; and at Port Elizabeth, 25, as against 26 inches in London.

PRODUCTIONS: The extensive open plains of the interior are admirably suited for pastoral pursuits; and the millions of live-stock reared upon them supply the most valuable products of the Colony.

The sheep, goats, cattle, and horses, supply the wool, mohair, skins, and hides, which, with diamonds, copper, and ostrich feathers, form the staple ex ports. The colony also produces excellent wheat and other cereals, with large quantities of grapes (principally used for making wine), oranges and other fruits. The heaths and other native plants are peculiar to this part of the world. The chief mineral products are diamonds from the famous Kimberley mines, and copper from Little Namaqualand. But there are also rich deposits of iron ore and coal, and some gold has been found in the Knysna district.

INHABITANTS: The Cape Colony and its dependencies contain about 23 million inhabitants (87 per square mile), one-fourth of whom are Europeans-mainly of Dutch, British, and German origin. The rest are Kaffirs and other coloured races.

A large number of the white population is of British descent, but the bulk of the people in the western provinces are of Dutch origin, owing to the fact that the colony was originally established by the Dutch, and only came into the possession of Britain in the early part of the last century. The coloured races number 1 millions, and include Hottentots and Kaffirs-the two native races of this portion of the African continent. The pure Hottentots are now few in number; the people of the Kaffir race are much more numerous, and perhaps amount to a third of the entire population of the colony. Malays are numerous in the larger coast towns.

INDUSTRIES: The chief pursuit is sheep and cattle rearing, for which the colony generally is better suited than for agricultural operations. Mining, especially for diamonds and copper, is an im portant industry, and furnishes by far the most valuable export.

The sheep farms are very large, but those in tillage are comparatively small. There are over 12 million sheep, 7 million goats, nearly a million cattle, and 420,000 horses in the colony. Large quantities of maize, wheat, millet, and other grains are grown. but the cultivable area is limited, owing to the deficient rainfall, and,