includes Griquas and Hottentots and non-aboriginal negroes, was only 6686.
Chief Towns.—The seat of the provincial government is Pietermaritzburg (q.v.), commonly called Maritzburg (or P.M.B.), with a population (1904) of 31,199. It is 71 m. by rail N.N.W. of Durban (q.v.), the seaport and only large city in Natal, pop. 67,842. Ladysmith (q.v.), pop. 5568, ranks next in size. It is in the north-west of the province, is famous for its investment by the Boers in 1899–1900 and is an important railway junction. North-east of Ladysmith are Dundee (2811) and Newcastle (2950). Dundee is the centre of the coal-mining district. Newcastle is also a mining town, but depends chiefly on its large trade in wool. It is named after the duke of Newcastle who was secretary for the colonies in 1852 and 1859. Vryheid (2287) is in the centre of a highly mineralized district. Utrecht (860) lies between Newcastle and Vryheid, and was one of the first towns founded by the Transvaal Boers. There are coal-mines on the town lands. Greytown (2436), a wool and wattle trading centre, is in central Natal. Verulam (1325), 19 m. along the coast north of Durban, serves as centre for sugar, tobacco and fruit plantations. It was founded by emigrants from St Albans, England–whence the name. Port Shepstone, at the mouth of the Umzimkulu river, is the natural outlet for south-west Natal. Estcourt is a trading centre, 75 m. by rail N.N.W. of Pietermaritzburg and is 29 m. distant from the village of Weenen (“Weeping”), so named by the first Boer settlers in memory of a Zulu raid. Another village, Colenso, on the south bank of the Tugela, 16 m. by rail south of Ladysmith, was the headquarters of Sir Redvers Buller at the battle of Colenso on the 15th of December 1899.
Communications.—Durban (Port Natal) is in regular communication with Europe via Cape Town and via Suez by several lines of steamers, the chief being the boats of the Union-Castle line, which sail from Southampton and follow the west coast route, those of the German East Africa line, which sail from Hamburg and go via the east coast route and those of the Austrian Lloyd from Trieste, also by the east coast route. By the Union-Castle boats there is a weekly mail service to England. There are also two direct lines of steamers between London and Durban (a distance of 6993 nautical miles), average passage about twenty-six days; the mail route taking twenty to twenty-two days. Durban is also in regular and frequent communication by passenger steamers with the other South African ports, as well as Mauritius, Zanzibar, &c., and with India, Australia, the United States and South America. The works which have made Port Natal the finest harbour in South Africa are described under Durban.
The first railway built in South Africa was a 2-m. line from The Point (or harbour) to the town of Durban. It was opened for traffic in 1860 and in 1874 was extended some 4 m. to the Umgeni river. This line was of 4 ft. 812 in. gauge and was privately owned, but, when in 1876 the Natal government determined to build and own a railway system which should in time cover the country, the existing line was bought out and the gauge altered to 3 ft. 6 in. On this, the normal South African gauge, all the Natal railways, save a few 2-ft. branch lines, are built. The main line starts from Durban, and passing through Pietermaritzburg (71 m.), Ladysmith (190 m.) and Newcastle (268 m.) pierces the Drakensberg at Laing’s Nek by a tunnel 2213 ft. long, and 3 m. beyond Charlestown reaches the Transvaal frontier at mile 307. Thence the railway is continued to Johannesburg, &c. The distances from Durban to the places mentioned by this route are: Johannesburg, 483 m.; Pretoria 511 m.; Kimberley, 793 m.; Bulawayo, 1508 m.; Delagoa Bay, 860 m.
From Ladysmith a branch line runs north-west into the Orange Free State, crossing the Drakensberg at Van Reenen’s Pass. This line is continued via Harrismith and Bethlehem to Kroonstad (393 m. from Durban) on the main Cape Town, Bloemfontein and Johannesburg railway and is the shortest route between Durban and Cape Town (1271 m.). It also affords via Bloemfontein the shortest route (622 m.) between Durban and Kimberley. From Glencoe Junction, 42 m. north of Ladysmith on the direct line to Johannesburg, a branch railway goes N.E. to the Dundee coalfields, Vryheid (59 m.) and Hlobane (76 m.). Two lines branch off from Pietermaritzburg. One (62 m. long) goes N.E. to Greytown, serving the east-central part of the province; the other line (108 m. long) goes S.W. to Riverside Station, forming a link in the scheme for direct communication between Natal and East London and Port Elizabeth.
Durban is the starting-point of two coast lines. The south coast line, which runs close to the sea, goes to Port Shepstone (79 m.). A 2-ft. gauge railway (102 m.), which leaves the south coast line at Alexandra Junction (44 m. from Durban), runs N.W. by Stuartstown and joins the Pietermaritzburg-Riverside line. The north coast railway (167 m. long) crosses the Tugela 70 m. from Durban and continued through Zululand to Somkele, the centre of the Santa Lucia coal-fields.
As might be expected in a country possessing the physical features of Natal, the gradients and curves are exceptionally severe. Not less than 43 m. are upon grades of 1 in 30 and 1 in 35, and curves of 300 to 350 ft. radius, while on over 100 m. more there are grades under 1 in 60 and curves of less than 450 ft. radius. The main trunk line reaches an altitude of 3054 ft. at a point 58 m. distant from Durban; after falling 1000 ft. in its farther progress to Pietermaritzburg, it again rises, 12 m. after leaving that city, to a height of 3700 ft. above the sea; at a point 134 m. from Durban it has reached an altitude of 5152 ft., but on reaching Ladysmith, 191 m. from Durban, the altitude has decreased to 3284 ft. The summit of the Biggarsberg chain is crossed at a point 233 m. from the port, at a height of 4800 ft., and at Laing’s Nek the altitude is 5399 ft. The Orange Free State line, after leaving Ladysmith, ascends by steep gradients the whole of its own course in Natal territory, and when it gains the summit at Van Reenen’s Pass it is 5500 ft. above the sea. The mileage open in 1910 was 1173. The cost of construction, to the same year, exceeded £14,000,000, the interest earned per cent since 1895 not being less than £3, 12s. in any one year. In outlying districts post carts and ox wagons are the usual means of conveyance. There are about 5000 m. of high roads kept in repair by the government.
There is a well-organized postal and telegraphic service. Land lines connect Natal with every part of South Africa and with Nyasaland and Ujiji. A submarine cable from Durban goes to Zanzibar and Aden, whence there is communication with every quarter of the globe. The first telegraph line in Natal was opened in 1873; in 1878 communication was established with Cape Town and in the following year with Delagoa Bay.
Agriculture and Allied Industries.—The diversity of soil and climate leads to a great diversity in the agricultural produce. The chief drawback to farming in the midland and upper districts is the considerable proportion of stony ground, and, in some cases, the lack of running water. The area of land under tillage is less than a twentieth of the whole surface, the crop most extensively grown being maize or “mealies.” This is universally grown by the natives and forms their staple food; it is also grown by the Indians, and by the white farmers for export. Besides maize the crops cultivated by the natives are Kaffir corn or amabele (Sorghum caffrorum)—used in the manufacture of utyuala, native beer—imfi (Sorghum saccharatum), tobacco, pumpkins and sweet potatoes. The chief wealth of the natives consists, however, in their large herds of cattle (see infra). While maize thrives in every part of the country, wheat, barley and oats—cultivated by the white farmers—flourish only in the midlands and uplands. More important than the cereal crops are the tropical and sub-tropical products of the coast zone. Besides fruits of nearly all kinds there are cultivated in the low moist regions the sugar-cane, the tea, coffee and tobacco plants, arrowroot, cayenne pepper, cotton, &c. The area under sugar in 1905 was 45,840 acres and the produce 532,067 cwt. (a large quantity of sugar-cane is grown for feeding stock). In the same year the production of tea was 1,633,178 ℔; of coffee, 24,859 ℔; of maize, 2,101,470 bushels; of potatoes, 419,946 bushels; and of sweet potatoes, 181,195 bushels. The tea plant was first introduced in Natal in 1850, but little attention was paid to it until the failure of the coffee plantations about 1875, since when only small quantities of coffee have been produced. In 1877 renewed efforts were made to induce tea cultivation, and by 1881 it had become an established industry. The variety chiefly grown is the Assam indigenous. Most of the tea estates are situated in the coast belt north of Durban. The sugar cane, like tea, was first introduced in 1850, the first canes being brought from Mauritius. The industry is steadily growing, as are the dependent manufactures of molasses and rum. The fruit industry is of considerable importance and by 1905 had reached a turnover of over £100,000 a year.
Extensive areas in the midland and upland districts are devoted to the raising of stock. Horse-breeding is successfully carried on in the upper districts. The higher the altitude the healthier the animals and the greater their immunity from disease. Horse-sickness, a kind of malarial fever, which takes an epidemic form in very wet seasons, causes considerable loss. The Natal horse is small, wiry, and has great powers of endurance. Cattle-breeding is probably the most lucrative branch of stock-farming, the country being pre-eminently adapted for horned cattle. Rinderpest in 1896–1897 swept through South Africa, and probably carried off in Natal from 30 to 40% of the stock of Europeans, while the natives’ losses were even heavier. Serum and bile inoculation were the means of saving a considerable percentage of the herds. The farmers soon began to recover from their losses, but in 1908–1909 another serious loss of stock resulted from the ravages of East Coast fever. The cattle consist chiefly of the Zulu and Africander breeds, but attention has been given to improving the breed by the introduction of Shorthorn, Devon and Holstein (or Friesland) stock. The chief market for cattle is Johannesburg. The principal breed of sheep is the merino, which does well in the higher altitudes. A Scab Act is in force, and is stringently carried out by government inspectors with most satisfactory results. The Angora goat thrives well in certain districts. Ostriches do well in the dry, arid valleys of the Tugela and Mooi rivers. In 1908 Europeans were returned as owning 32,000 horses, 220,000 horned cattle, 765,000 sheep, 68,000 goats, 25,000 pigs, 960 ostriches and 384,000 poultry. Large herds of cattle—over 500,000 in the aggregate—are owned by the natives, who also possess vast flocks of goats and sheep. The dairy industry is well established, and Natal butter commands a ready sale.
