Evening star., 1932-02-21

br1ght-eyed little boys attracteo ~
tention. :,
"They are our sons" Mrs. Louw said
proudly. But there was a little eaten
in her voice, for Martin. aged Z, with
dark hair and eyes, and blonde Jan, who
is II, are thousands of miles away IN
the Louws' home city in Africa.
I'VE thought 1t best to send them
back" the mother explained. They
have been in this country for so long
since Martin was 18 months old. In
fact, they were becoming typical Amer
ican boys. But South Africa Is their
home and they must live there, SO we
think it best that they should be given
an opportunity to grow up there, TOO.
Jan is in boarding school and Martin
stays with relatives.
There is another reason why we
sent them back" she went on. OH
cial life gives one very little time 10
spend with ones family. Life under
such circumstances is artiflclal. over
there they can have more natural
life.
TT was very hard for my husband
and me at Christmas time We could
not bear to look at any toys. We had
sent the boys their gifts from London
two months before Christmas so they
would reach their destination in time.
But the boys are having wonder
full time. Jan writes me of the things
they do Last week he shot about l6
birds. When he first went back his
letters were full of references to the
other guys at school,, which showed
the American influence on his vocabu-
larry. Now he is getting into the South
African way of speaking, for his letters
talk about the other chaps at school, "
Southwestern California in all its
glory can scarcely outdo the Union OF
South Africa in scenic beauty and cli-
matte wonder.
THE Cape Province is one of the
most delightful parts Of the entire
country" she said 1T fronts on two
oceans and a broad highway 80 miles
long has been built along the water
so that is beauty can be seen to better
advantage. Sometimes the highway
runs on level ground close to the tide;
at other times it climbs high along the
jagged mountain sides so that you can
look far down to the moving sea.
The flowers can scarcely be de-
scribed Pink heather stretches in
every direction. Gala lilies and daisies
cover the valleys like great white
snowy blossoms in every available patch
of ground"
AS Mrs. .Louw spoke of the latter
blooms she pointed to a fiat bowl which
was fairly spilling over with satiny
white flowers not unlike narcissi, ex-
cept that a large cluster of them grew
on one stem.
These are the chincherinchees."
she said These particular blooms
were sent from the Union, and must
have been picked at least six weeks
ago."
This was amazing, in view of the
fact that their freshness was SO ap-
parent. Mrs. Louw had them stand
ing in moist sand instead of water
which, she declared was an excellent
means of preserving them.
Wild flowers grow in profusion and
are very popular with my people" she
said. Each year there is a contest
to determine the most beautiful bouquet
of wild flowers In preparation for
the event, many women spend hours
climbing over rocks and going through
weld to get rare specimens that they
may be in line for the prize"
II have never tasted any fruit any
there she continued There are all
varieties Of citrus fruits, as well as
those which are found in the colder
climates, such as grapes. peaches. ap-
piles, pears and plums. About 5000, 900
boxes of fruit are sent annually out Of
my country"
Mrs. LouW told Of the unusual care
which is given to shipping these prod
ucts Experts have pronounced the re-
frigeration system in use there to be
among the most efficient found any
where. The fruits are preceded be-
fore they are put aboard refrigerated
sections of trains and boats to be sent
to all parts of the world
There is a big wine industry in the
Union. begun there years ago by the
French Huguenot settlers. according to
Mrs. Louw. Sheep raising, grain, to-
bacco. and cotton farming. too. occupy
many of the people.
Johannesburg is little New York" I"
she continued "Of course I do not
mean that there is any comparison be-
tween the sizes of the two or the
height of the buildings-but here are
the same modern up-to-date facilities,
and there Is the hustle and hurry
which reminds you of New York. All
South African cities are modern and
up-to-date.
In the Karoo, which is midway be-
tween Cape Town and Johannesburg, one
sees the most wonderful sunsets imag-
Unable. This area is like Arizona and
New Mexico, for when my husband
and I went West we became terribly
homesick in that region and In Cali
fOrnia"
Fancy planning a picnic a month
ahead without being afraid that Old
Man Weather will come in to upset
your plans at the last moment! Mrs
Louw declares that the usual procedure
in the Union is to schedule outdoor
events a long time in advance for
scarcely ever is there possibility of
rain.
The sun shines almost all the time
she said. I'm fact we have so much
sun that there is sometimes discom-
fort from drought. But drought and
depression. while they do affect our
country, are not SO serious as elsewhere.
for the climate gives us plenty of foods
and warmth"
The California of Africa! 1t would
seem. then, that the title Dark CONT
nent" is a gross misnomer, especially
when applied to this Union in the
south.
Eighty thousand additional houses are
needed in Scotland.