GRANDIDIER'S MAP. 19 



tance that the maps of Madagascar have to the present day- 

 been constnicted upon the topographical data taken from his 

 work." * 



To a French traveller, however, we owe the most accurate 

 general map of the island yet produced. M. Alfred Gran- 

 didier, who explored the country from 1865 to 1870, pub- 

 lished in 1 8 7 1 a sketch-map {Esquisse d'tcn Carte de Vile de 

 Madagascar). It is somewhat roughly lithographed, and was 

 merely intended to illustrate the brief summary of his travels 

 and explorations read before the Paris Geographical Society ; 

 but from the prospectus of his magnificent work on the island 

 and its natural history, botany, ethnology, &c., now in process 

 of publication in twenty-eight quarto volumes, a much more 

 complete map may be expected. Meanwhile, this preliminary 

 map has already done much to clear away some traditional 

 mistakes, and to establish two or three facts of great 

 interest in the physical geography of the country, namely, 

 the existence in the island of two strongly contrasted 

 regions : the elevated granitic district, and the low mari- 

 time plains region to the west and south, of Secondary 

 and Tertiary formation ; f and also the existence of a belt 

 of forest surrounding the whole island. On this map most 

 of the Hova military stations and the more important places 

 in the interior are laid down ; and having had opportunities 

 of testing its accuracy in more than one direction, I feel 

 confident that it is by far the most trustworthy map of the 

 island yet published. Indeed, no previous traveller has been 

 so thoroughly prepared by scientific knowledge and with full 

 appliances to make an accurate survey of the country; and 

 as many hundreds of principal points were fixed astronomi- 

 cally, a reliable basis has been formed for future work. It 

 must, however, be remembered that M. Grandidier has not 

 traversed the island in every direction, and, as already 

 remarked, extensive portions of it have still to be explored, 



* Bulletin de la Fociete de GeograpJtie, Aout 1S71, p. 82. 



t M. Grandidier says : " Je vais maintenant taclier de tracer en quelques mots 

 la physionomie generals que presente Madagascar. Cette ilc coniprend deux 

 parties bien distinctes : la partie nord et est qui est toute montagneuses, et la 

 partie sud et ouest qui est relativement plate." — Bull, dc la JSoc. de Gtog., Aout 

 187 1, p 100. 



