t the neighbourhood of Graham's Town,
three large kinds of aloe are very abundant, which form striking and
characteristic features of the scenery; they grow irregularly
scattered over the parched and naked faces of the hills, but most
abundantly among the low broken ledges and knolls of sandstone rock,
and are often seen spiring up above the evergreen bushes in the
ravines, and crowning the cliffs. One kind grows to the height of a
man. They are plants of a strange, rigid, and ungraceful appearance,
but with very handsome flowers, which form tall and dense spikes, of a
fine coral-red color in two of the species _(A. arborescens_ and
_lineata?_), and of an orange scarlet in the third _(A.
glaucescens?_). When in blossom they are conspicuous at a great
distance, and might easily be mistaken, when seen from far off, for
soldiers in red uniforms.

The importance of this indigenous plant to the Cape Colony, may be
estimated from the following figures:--

AMOUNT OF ALOES, THE PRODUCE OF THE COLONY, AND VALUE THEREOF,
EXPORTED IN THE YEARS ENDING 5TH JANUARY 1841, 1842, AND 1846.
lbs L
1841 485,574 8,821
1842 602,620 11,877
1846 266,725 3,018

EXPORTS AND VALUE FROM THE EASTERN PROVINCE.
lbs. L
1835 68,042 474
1836 30,808 285
1837 13,400 115
1838 28,867 306
1839 75,500 918
1840 82,478 1,145
1841 220,214 4,271
1842 283,305 5,003
1844 318,035 3,225

EXPORTS AND VALUE FROM THE WESTERN PROVINCE.
lbs. L
1841 242,860 4,175
1842 379,315 6,874
1844 506,796 6,586

ASAFOETIDA.---This drug of commerce is procured from the milky juice
of _Ferula asafoetida_, a plant recently described by Dr. Falconer,
under the name of _Narthex asafoetida_. It is found in Persia, the
mountains of Chorasan, the central table land of Affghanistan, and
some seeds of it, sent to this country by Dr. Falconer, germinated in
the Botanical Garden at Edinburgh, and are now vigorous thriving
plants of six years growth. Its leaves have a resemblance to those of
a paeony; the fruit is distinguished by divided and interrupted vittae,
which form a network on the surface. The per