CRAYFISH 157 



Several of the paths in the forest lead down into ravines of 

 considerable depth and also of great beauty ; the combinations 

 of luxuriant foliage, rushing water and lichen-embroidered 

 rocks, ferns and mosses are very varied, and one valley especi- 

 ally reminds one of the celebrated " Fairy Glen " in North 

 Wales. But there are occasionally certain drawbacks even in 

 this natural loveliness, for if you are not very careful you may 

 find yourself attacked by the small leeches which lie in wait on 

 the grass and bushes, and transfer themselves to you as you 

 brush by them. Before you feel any annoyance, you may find 

 yourself streaming with blood from the punctures made by 

 these little pests, which have got under your clothing and are 

 feeding at your expense. Happily, they do not cause any pain 

 worth speaking of, nor are there any unpleasant after-effects, the 

 only discomfort is the blood you lose and having it outside 

 instead of inside your skin. 



While staying near the upper forest we had frequently 

 brought to us for sale a basketful of crayfish, which seems 

 fairly plentiful in the streams. This species (Astacoides mada- 

 gascariensis), with its genus, is endemic in Madagascar, and 

 in the interior is of small size, averaging about three inches in 

 length ; the flavour, however, is excellent, and it makes a very 

 good curry. In the south-east provinces, and probably in other 

 coast districts as well, it attains larger dimensions than the 

 above, being about six inches long. It is a curious fact that 

 crustaceans are entirely absent in the African continent, and 

 that the Madagascar species is much like the kind found in 

 Australia, except that the latter is about twice the size of 

 Astacoides. 



There is a great variety of ferns to be found in every damp 

 place in the valleys, from the minute hymenophyllums on the 

 tree trunks to the larger species of Asplenium, Osmunda, Nephro- 

 dium and many others, up to the tree-ferns, of which there are 

 about twenty different kinds, and which give a special charm to 

 the vegetation in many places. On the eastern side of Mada- 

 gascar the ferns occupy a prominent place in the flora, there 

 being above two hundred species already known, and comprising 

 no less than above thirteen per cent, of the whole flora of that 

 region. Among the Filici are the beautiful gold ferns and silver 

 ferns, the seed-vessels on the under side of the fronds having 



