In the neighborhood of Walfish Bay man and beast live upon this gourd almost exclusively for three months in the year.
The seeds of this plant look and taste something like an almond. When the season of the fruit is over, the seeds, which have been carefully gathered, dried, and preserved, are used for food.
Geologists are of the opinion that by boring deep enough in almost any section of this semi-desert territory of South Africa water might be found.
The rainfall in the wet season is very great. Scarcely any of this rainfall finds an outlet through the rivers.
Much of it must sink down through the sand till it reaches beds of clay or strata of rock. Here the water would be held as in a basin, and man, by digging, could obtain it.
Wherever subterranean supplies of water are to be found there are possibilities for the fertilization of the soil.
The perforating of the arid plains of South Africa with artesian wells would soon transform them into luxuriant gardens.
In the Kalahari, pits of slight depth are not unfrequently found. These contain water throughout the year, unless there have been two successive years of drought.
The natives hide these pits with the utmost precaution. Sometimes they fill them with loose sand and build a fire over them. This is to mislead any one searching for water. One would scarcely expect to find water under a heap of ashes.
When the natives build their huts, they are careful to locate them at some distance from these hidden mines of liquid treasure.