THE ROFIA PALM. 



75 



sea, it is found in profusion in every valley, until one reaches 

 the upper plateaux of the interior, where it also grows, but 

 more sparingly, in sheltered positions. The rofia has a 

 trunk of from thirty to fifty feet in height, and at the head 

 divides into seven or eight immensely long leaves. The 

 midrib of these leaves is a very strong but extremely light 

 and straight pole, being at the base about the size of the 

 calf of a man's leg, and tapering to half those dimensions at 

 the extremity. These poles are often twenty feet or more in 

 length, and the leaves proper consist of a great number of fine 

 and long pinnate leaflets, set at right angles to the midrib, 

 from eighteen inches to two feet long, and about one and a 

 half inch broad. From the way in which the leaf-stalks break 

 off, leaving an irregular patch attached to the trunk, this latter 

 has a rough appearance, very different from the smooth 

 circular shaft of most of the palms. Prom the extreme 

 strength and lightness of the midribs of the rofia leaves they 

 are used for a variety of purposes. They form the frame- 

 work of the roof of the houses on the eastern coast, and are 

 also used for rafters and joists. They are most useful for 

 ladders, being so very light and easily carried, and they are 

 also fixed to ladies' palanquins as carrying-poles. But the 

 fine pinnate leaves are yet more serviceable to the people. 

 From the inner fibre the women weave a variety of strong 

 cloths ; the majority of these are coarse, for the use of the 

 slaves and the lower class of the people ; but a very fine and 

 beautiful fabric, mixed with cotton, and of a light straw 

 colour, is also manufactured to be worn by the more wealthy 

 classes. The coarser cloths, under the name of rdbannas, 

 form an important article of export from the eastern ports. 



During a journey made in 1876 in the south-eastern 

 provinces of Madagascar, I was much interested to find that 

 the people of that part of the island make a kind of cloth 

 from the inner bark of certain trees. This cloth is reddish 

 brown in colour and of no great strength ; it is made by the 

 women, who beat it out with a mallet, the head of which is 

 lined and grooved in a particular way. Almost every one 

 wears a girdle of this coarse cloth, by which the sack of rush 

 matting which forms their only clothing is kept in its place. 



