d have become acclimatized. Of sea fish there are more than forty
edible varieties. The snock, the steenbrass and geelbeck are common in
the estuaries and bays. Seals and sharks are also common in the waters
of the Cape. Whales visit the coast for the purpose of calving.

Of the domestic animals, sheep, cattle and dogs were possessed by the
natives when the country was discovered by Europeans. The various farm
animals introduced by the whites have thriven well (see below,
_Agriculture_).

_Flora_.--The flora is rich and remarkably varied in the coast
districts. On the Karroo and the interior plateau there is less variety.
In all, some 10,000 different species have been noted in the colony,
about 450 genera being peculiar to the Cape. The bush of the coast
districts and lower hills consists largely of heaths, of which there are
over 400 species. The heaths and the rhenoster or rhinoceros wood, a
plant 1 to 2 ft. high resembling heather, form the characteristic
features of the flora of the districts indicated. The prevailing bloom
is pink coloured. The deciduous plants lose their foliage in the dry
season but revive with the winter rains. Notable among the flowers are
the arum lily and the iris. The pelargonium group, including many
varieties of geranium, is widely represented. In the eastern
coast-lands the vegetation becomes distinctly sub-tropical. Of
pod-bearing plants there are upwards of eighty genera: Cape
"everlasting" flowers (generally species of _Helichrysum_) are in great
numbers. Several species of aloe are indigenous to the Cape. The
so-called American aloe has also been naturalized. The castor-oil plant
and many other plants of great value in medicine are indigenous in great
abundance. Among plants remarkable in their appearance and structure may
be noted the cactus-like Euphorbiae or spurge plants, the _Stapelia_ or
carrion flower, and the elephant's foot or Hottentots' bread, a plant of
the same order as the yam. Hooks, thorns and prickles are characteristic
of many South African plants.

Forests are confined to the seaward slopes of the coast ranges facing
south. They cover between 500 and 600 sq. m. The forests contain a great
variety of useful woods, affording excellent timber; among the commonest
trees are the yellow wood, which is also one of the largest, belonging
to the yew species; black iron wood; heavy, close-grained and durable
stinkhout; melkhout, a white wood used for wheel work; nieshout;