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The vegetation of the forests, the abundant epi- 

 phytes, the tree mosses, the filmy forms put on, show 

 clearly that they get an abundant supply of moisture. 

 The dry season which is rather colder, lasts from May 

 to October, where the wind blows from South West 

 and as the summer advances the vegetation of all the 

 exposed places turns very dry and brown, and burns 

 readily if set on fire. Dr. Parker writes : 



" The flowering season of most plants in Mada- 

 gascar, whether in the Forest or out of it is from 

 October to May, i. e. during the rainy season ; but by 

 far the great majority of them wait until December is 

 nearly or quite over until they flower ; whilst the 

 majority of grasses and cy peracea wait for the approach 

 of the colder dry season, flowering best between March 

 and May." 



Zoology. — The fauna of Madagascar is a very 

 remarkable one, and exhibits an extraordinary amount 

 of pecularities both in its positive and negative cha- 

 racteristics. Of the mammals there are sixty one 

 species known in the island, and they are harmless 

 timid animals, often of small size and noctural habits, 

 of a kind that could only maintain their existence in 

 the struggle for life either by being protected by 

 isolation or their facility for hiding themselves from 

 the notice of their predatory brethren. Although 

 monkeys, apes and baboons are numerous and wide- 

 spread in the tropical and subtropical regions of the 

 adjacent continent, there are none of them in Mada- 



