A VALLEY OF FLOWERS FOR LEPERS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 5802, 20 January 1906, Page 12

A VALLEY OF FLOWERS FOR LEPERS

Interviewed by a "Daily Nows” representative. a lady who has «]>cnt some years at ono of tho leper settlements in Cape Colony—apparently Kmjinyana—mad otho following observations: "Our settlement is a large reservation provided by tho Government, about sixteen square miles in extent. It i» a beautiful country, hilly and well watered, and with plenty of trees. Tho asylums for men and boys on the ono hand, and women and girls on tho other, ore on opposite elopes of a charming little valley. a stream bordered by maidenhair ferns and arum lilies flowing down the centre. There aro many other beautiful ferns and flowers, including the agapanthus. tho largo blue umbrellashaped lily, for a single bulb of which at one time several pounds would he paid at Covent Garden. Tho trees and shrubs on the hillside are richlv clothed with flowers in tho spring and summer, tho wild jessamine, the clematis, and manv other kinds. - ' “How many lepers aro there in this little paradiseT" "iVo hundred and sixty men and hoys, and about two hundred and forty girls and women. Each of tho asylums consists of a largo quadrangle of one-storey rooms, occupied by three, six. or ten patients, according to the air space as laid down hr the medical authorities. There are no beds, os the natives have no use for such contrivances, and prefer to sleep on mats and nigs. Most of them aro in a low state of vitality owing to the disease, and even a healthy Kaffir is not fond of work. Bnt every room has it« own allotment of land, which is jointly cultivated by tho occupants. They grow such vegetables as cabbages, beans, pumpkins, lettuces, and mealies or maize, which thev tire as extras over and above- their Government allowance. Thev fake great pleasure in cultivation, and if thev have a surplus of provisions fretn their allotment fhe Government buys it for use on the Colony.”