268 REV. R. BARON ON THE 
Ipomea, with 9 each; Erythroxylon, Gertnera, Solanum, Vites, 
Macaranga, Pandanus, Bulbophyllum, Pteris, and Lomaria, with 
8 each; Symphonia, Impatiens, Evodia, Helichrysum, Peperomia, 
Tambourissa, Croton, Panicum, Pilea, and Selaginella, 7 each; 
Garcinia, Toddalia, Gomphia, Crotalaria, Aéschynomene, Olden- 
landia, Psychotria, Senecio, Justicia, Plectranthus, Dypsis, Poly- 
stachya, Mystacidium, and Trichomanes, 6 each ; Sida, Eleoden- 
dron, Cassia, Embelia, Polygonum, Piper, Habenaria, Cynorchis, 
Hymenophyllum, and Pellea, 5 each. 
The narrow littoral belt contains perhaps the most attractive 
scenery in the whole island, its soft green sward and numerous 
elumps of trees and shrubs giving quite a park-like aspect to the 
country. It might almost be said to constitute a botanical sub- 
region in itself, so many are the forms of vegetable life found 
here which do not occur elsewhere in the island. Not only so, 
but even the very coast-line possesses numerous trees and shrubs 
peculiar to itself; and any one coming from the interior of the 
eountry must be struck with the great and sudden change in the 
flora when he gets within about a hundred yards of the sea. 
Here is to be found the tall fir-like Casuarina equisetifolia, or 
beef-wood tree; the beautiful-leaved Calophyllum Inophyllum, 
which yields the oil known in India as Pinnay oil; the Sarco- 
lena grandiflora, one of the finest of the Chlenads; Afzelia 
bijuga, known to the natives as“ Hintsina;" and affording a useful 
wood ; Trachylobium verrucosum, which supplies the Gum Copal 
exported from the island (the east coast of Madagascar probably 
being its original home, from whence it has spread to Africa and 
other places); Breia madagascariensis; Terminalia Catappa, the 
Indian almond, with its large leaves reddening in their decay on 
the remarkably horizontal branches; Terminalia Fatrea ; Bar- 
ringtonia speciosa and B. apiculata; Fetidia obliqua; Ixora 
odorata, with its beautiful clusters of delicate white fragrant 
flowers; Scevola Kenigii and S. Plumieri ; Tanghinia veneni- 
Jera, the celebrated Tangena shrub, the juice of whose apple-like 
fruit or nut was formerly, and doubtless in some places still is, 
used in the Tangena ordeal as a means of testing the innocence 
or guilt of accused persons ; Cesalpinia Bondueella ; Stephanotis 
Jloribunda, with its well-known lovely large white flowers; the 
beautiful endemie fern-palm, Cycas Thouarsii, from which I 
believe the natives obtain a kind of false sago. Among herbs 
may be mentioned Vinca trichophylla, Tachiadenus carinatus, and 
