io DR. MULLENS 'S MAP. 



so that tliere is still much to he added to this map of the 

 French traveller and savaut. 



Far surpassing everything else previously attempted as a 

 delineation of the interior must be mentioned the map of The 

 Central Provinces of Madagascar, by the Eev. Dr. Mullens,'" 

 published, together with his book entitled Twelve Months in 

 Madagascar, in 1875. Stretching over five degrees of lati- 

 tude, from the Antsihanaka province in the north to Imaha- 

 zony in Southern Betsileo, it depicts on a scale of twelve 

 miles to the inch the physical features of the central portion 

 of the island and the sites of the chief towns and most impor- 

 tant villages. The late Mr. James Cameron had previously 

 fixed astronomically some of the chief points in Imerina, and 

 measured a base-line from which the triangulation was con- 

 structed, so that a reliable foundation for the map was pro- 

 vided, and the series of angles was extended right down into 

 the Betsileo province. This map is a great gain to our know- 

 ledge of the interior, and is full of detail ; it is, however, im- 

 perfect in many directions, and plenty of room is still left for 

 additions and improvements. 



Since Dr. MuUens's ^'isit several important contributions 

 have been made towards a fuller geographical knowledge of 

 various portions of the island not previously mapped. Among 

 these are sketch-maps illustrating journeys, made chiefly by 

 members of the London Missionary Society and the Friends' 

 Mission Association, into the Sakalava country, the Bara 

 province in the south, to the Southern Tanala or forest tribes, 

 and the south-east coast, the north-east coast, and northern 

 central portions of the island, and to the north-west and 

 extreme north.t The results of these journeys are embodied 

 in a map prepared by Mr. W. Johnson of the Friends' 

 Mission, and lithographed at their press in Antananarivo, the 

 work being done by native lads. The same gentleman has 



* Since the above was written, I deeply regret to add that Dr. iluUens's 

 name .must now be prefixed by the word "late." He died at Mpwapwa on July 

 10, 1879, having nobly volunteered to head a pai-ty to relieve the Central 

 African Mission of the London Missionary Society. Had his life been si)ared, 

 he would doubtless have done something in Africa, as in Madagascar, to add to 

 our geographical knowledge of the country he traversed. 



t See Proc. Roy. Geog. Soc, January 17, 1877. 



