ch and afterwards of both Dutch and English, has been the keeping
of cattle and sheep. So it remains to-day. Nearly all the land that is
not rough mountain or waterless desert, and much that to the
inexperienced eye seems a waterless desert, is in the hands of
stock-farmers, whose ranges are often of enormous size, from six
thousand acres upward. In 1893 there were in Cape Colony about 2,000,000
cattle, in Natal 725,000, in the Orange Free State 900,000, and in
Bechuanaland the Bamangwato (Khama's tribe) alone had 800,000. Of these
last only some 5,000 are said to have survived the murrain, which worked
havoc in the other three first-mentioned territories also. In 1896 there
were in Cape Colony alone 14,400,000 sheep and 5,000,000 Angora and
other goats. The number of sheep might be largely increased were more
effective measures against the diseases that affect them carried out.
All the country, even the Kalahari desert, which used to be thought
hopelessly sterile, is now deemed fit to put some sort of live stock
upon, though, of course, the more arid the soil, the greater the area
required to feed one sheep. To the traveller who crosses its weary
stretches in the train, the Karroo seems a barren waste; but it produces
small succulent shrubs much relished by sheep, and every here and there
a well or a stagnant pool may be found which supplies water enough to
keep the creatures alive. Here six acres is the average allowed for one
sheep. Tracts of rough ground, covered with patches of thick scrubby
bushes, are turned to account as ostrich farms, whence large quantities
of feathers are exported to Europe and America. In 1896 the number of
ostriches in Cape Colony was returned as 225,000. The merino sheep,
introduced about seventy years ago, thrives in Cape Colony, and its wool
has become one of the most valuable products of the country. In the Free
State both it and the Angora goat do well, and the pasture lands of that
territory support also great numbers of cattle and some horses. The Free
State and Bechuanaland are deemed to be among the very best ranching
grounds in all South Africa.

Although, as I have said, nearly all the country is more or less fit for
live stock, it must be remembered that this does not imply either great
pecuniary returns or a large population. In most districts a
comparatively wide area of ground is required to feed what would be
deemed in western America a moderate herd or flock, because the pas