Beyond the farther end of the bay there is a vaſt plain of ſand, on which one is ſurpriſed to ſee a prodigious number of plants vegetating. The moſt frequent are various ſpecies of the dioſma, polygala, and borbonia. Theſe plants, however, would not be able to ſupport themſelves in ſo barren a ſoil, if they did not ſhoot their roots to a great depth into the ground, ſo as there to imbibe the moiſture neceſſary for their vegetation.
I had to croſs ſeveral brooks, which take their riſe from the neighbouring mountains, and ſome of which are loſt in the ſands before they diſcharge themſelves into the ſea. In theſe moiſt ſituations I found the beautiful ſhrub, genthyllis ſpiralis.
The fiſſures in the ſand ſerve as places of ſhelter for the ſnakes, which one frequently finds ſleeping upon their borders; but as ſoon as one approaches them they immediately fly to their lurking-places for refuge.
27th. I reſolved to make a ſecond viſit to the Table Mountain. I went a little off from the common path, and enriched my collection with ſeveral plants which I had not ſeen before. Indeed it required a conſiderable length of time to exhauſt all the botanical ſtores of a country which produces ſuch an abundance of vegetables.
A thick
