66 JOURNAL OF AN EXPEDITION TO MADAGASCAR. 
give one no idea of its extent. It is built on the four sides of a 
hump-shaped hill; the houses rise tier over tier, each house en- 
closed in its square of mud or stone wall; and the whole town 
surmounted by the great white palace, and that again by the big 
bronze eagle and the national flag. It is difficult to estimate the 
population ; an old resident said 70,000, others 100,000 and 150,000. 
It is densely populated. We found that the King’s coronation 
was put off till the 23rd of September. 
The seasons of Madagascar and the Zambesi country seem al- 
most identical. The bad season in both is between November 
and March. The difference in the fever seems to be, that that of 
the Zambesi, from being at first a sthenie intermittent, resolves 
into remittent; that of the Malagasy is intermittent, with the 
stages irregular, and persisting in periodie return until full per- 
spiration has been excited. The Embassy passed through the 
country during the healthiest time, and we had no fever; nor is 
there any heard of after leaving the coast, except at very marshy 
and naturally unhealthy situations. Antananarivo, though ill- 
drained, is healthy all the year round. The climate of the whole 
road was to all of us most bracing and invigorating. The maxi- 
mum of the thermometer was 88? (at noon), and minimum 49? 
(between 4 and 6 a.m.), being almost the same as that observed 
last year (August) when I was at the Mission station at Mago- 
mero, Shiré River. 
There are few diseases amongst the Malagasy. Small-pox is 
common, but seldom destroys, insomuch that the people refuse 
to be vaccinated, having little fear of it. "There are several skin- 
diseases. Eczema and impetigo are very common. I saw a few 
cases of lepra, and two of elephantiasis. The skin-diseases are 
very bad. There is only one medicine used for them—the Mene- 
rara; and it seems to do good in some cases, especially the ulcer- 
ated. I think some forms of skin-diseases must be mistaken for 
syphilitic eruption, as I found far less evidence of the universal 
existence of this disease than I was led to suppose, though some 
of the cases seen were frightful; but then it must be recollected 
they have no remedies to check its ravages. 
Believe me to be very faithfully yours, 
CHARLES MELLER. 
