[Footnote 86:  “The most remarkable thing in the Cape sheep, is the length and thickness of their tails, which weigh from fifteen to twenty pounds.  The fat is not so tallowish as that of European mutton, and the poorer sort use it for butter.”—­Kolben’s Cape of Good Hope (English translation), vol. ii. p. 65.  De la Caille, who finds every thing wrong in Kolben, says, the weight of the tails of the Cape sheep is not above five or six pounds.—­Voyage de la Caille, p. 343.  If the information given to Captain Cook may be depended upon, it will prove, that, in this instance at least, Kolben is unjustly accused of exaggeration.—­D.

According to Mr Bingley and others, the tail of this sheep sometimes weighs nearly one-third of the whole carcase, and consists of a substance intermediate betwixt fat and marrow, which is often used instead of butter.  The fleeces are very fine, long and beautiful; and, in Thibet, where the breed is also found, are worked into shawls.  A similar breed is said to be found in other countries, as Barbary, Ethiopia, the vicinity of Aleppo, Persia, and Asiatic Russia.  Kolben’s account is conceived to be perfectly credible.—­E.]

While the ships were getting ready for the prosecution of our voyage, some of our officers made an excursion to take a view of the neighbouring country.  Mr Anderson, my surgeon, who was one of the party, gave me the following relation of their proceedings.[87]

[Footnote 87:  In the Philosophical Transactions, vol. lxvi. p. 268 to 319, is an Account of Three Journies from the Cape Town into the Southern Parts of Africa, in 1772, 1773, and 1774; by Mr Francis Masson, who had been sent from England for the discovery of new plants, towards the improvement of the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew.  Much curious information is contained in Mr Masson’s account of these journies.  M. de Pages, who was at the Cape in 1773, gives some remarks on the state of that settlement, and also the particulars of his journey from False Bay to the Cape Town.—­Voyage vers le Pole du Sud, p. 17 to 32.—­D.

It is unnecessary to apprise the reader, that our acquaintance with the Cape has been most materially increased since the date of this publication, and that several travellers have devoted their labours to the illustration of its natural history.—­E.]

“On the 16th, in the forenoon, I set out in a waggon, with five more, to take a view of some part of the country.  We crossed the large plain that lies to the eastward of the town, which is entirely a white sand, like that commonly found on beaches, and produces only heath, and other small plants of various sorts.  At five in the afternoon we passed a large farm-house, with some corn-fields, and pretty considerable vineyards, situated beyond the plain, near the foot of some low hills, where the soil becomes worth cultivating.  Between six and seven we arrived at Stellenbosh, the colony next to that of the Cape for its importance.