831. The only indigenous fruits of the Cape. Those that have been introduced into the colony are the grape, apple, cherry, plum, peach, nectarine, apricot, fig, orange, lemon, citron, pomegranate, almond, mulberry, guava, melon, and, in short, all the fruits esteemed by Europeans. No grapes of Europe are considered preferable to those of this colony. The colony of Capetown consists chiefly of vine-growers. They are, however, of Dutch extraction; possess farms of about 120 English acres; and the culture of the grape, with an elegant garden, generally occupies the whole. The lands are surrounded and divided by oak and quince hedges; and the vines, cultivated as in France and Germany, have the appearance of plantations of raspberries. The Cape market is richly supplied from these gardens. Between Table Bay and False Bay are the two farms producing the Constantia wine. Here most of the above fruits thrive; but gooseberries, currants, plums, and cherries do not succeed at all.
