1896.] ON A ZOOLOGICAL EXPEDITION TO MADAGASOAB. 971 



7. On the General Results of a Zoological Expedition to 

 Madagascar in 1894r-96. By C. I. Foksyth Major." 



[Received December 1, 1896.] 



I arrived at Mananjary, on the east coast of Madagascar, at the 

 end of August 1894, and embarked at the same place almost two 

 years later, on July lltli, 1896. My original intention had been 

 to hurry on at once, by the most direct route, to Sirabe, situated on 

 the central plateau, at about 12 days' journey to the N.W., in 

 order to proHt of what remained of the dry season for the intended 

 excavations in the marshes. The impossibility of finding bearers 

 for the little- known and difficult direct route obliged me, however, 

 to travel first to Eianarantsoa, the capital of the Betsileo, situated 

 in a S.S.W. direction, at 7 days' distant from Mananjary. At 

 Fianarantsoa I had to wait 22 days for the bulk of my luggage, 

 which, according to previous arrangements, ought to have arrived 

 before myself. I employed the time in doing such collecting 

 worlc as the circumstances would allow. In the meantime, the 

 news arrived of sudden complications in the political situation, 

 and all the frenchmen residing in the interior left for the coast, 

 with the exception of my young assistant, whom, a little too late 

 in the day, I tried to give out as a British subject. 



As there was still some hope left that the Hovas would yield 

 to the French ultimatum, I decided to leave for what I thought 

 would prove a quiet corner in the forest of the Tanala, N.E. of 

 Fianarantsoa, and there to await the events, and eventually the end 

 of the war, which it was supposed would be of very short duration. 

 My subsequent difficulties with the Tanala Governor were of a 

 somewhat more serious nature than I wished to describe in my 

 letters ; I have to mention it here, as it considerably interfered 

 with my work. The collecting work in the forest extended from 

 October 1894 to the beginning of February 1895, interrupted iu 

 December by a journey to the Betsileo town of Ambositra, in 

 order to communicate with the few Englishmen residing there, 

 and by their help with the British Vice-Consul in Antananarivo. 



The first six weeks of my stay in this district we were encamped 

 in the midst of the forest, near Ivohimanitra, at from 1000 to 

 1 100 metres above the sea. The second stay was at Ambohimitombo, 

 a short day's journey N.W. from the latter place and some 400 

 metres higher up. As I then supposed that later on I would have 

 no more opportunity to visit the forest-region, I determined to 

 collect everything that would come in my way. From this sj^stem 

 I had completely to depart in the sequel. Being much dependent 

 on the cooperation of the natives, I soon found out that it was 

 very difficult to train them for a manifold collecting work. 

 Besides, I had after a while to convince myself that I was only 

 able to do fruitful work in what I was best acquainted with. In 

 my subsequent stays in the forest therefore, without leaving 

 ' Communicated by the President. 



