90 SPICES AND FRUITS. 



freshly-expressed juice makes a pleasant drink ; after a day 

 or two it ferments, and is then still more agreeable, much 

 like fresh cider ; but it rapidly becomes too heady. The 

 native still is as rude a contrivance as the press : an earthen 

 pot with its cover fixed on with a luting of clay for boiling 

 the juice, from which a piece of iron piping conveys the 

 vapour through an old rum cask filled with cold water. In 

 the central province there is, happily, a very stringent law 

 against the manufacture or importation of spirits ; but drink- 

 ing habits have a fearful hold upon the ignorant coast tribes, 

 further aggravated by the quantity of foreign rum imported 

 by Mauritius merchants. There are said to be fourteen 

 varieties of sugar-cane known in Madagascar. 



Spirits are also made from a plant which grows plentifully 

 in the country, the s4va or Buddleia Madagascar iensis (order 

 Solanacece), which has long spikes of orange-coloured flowers ; 

 these are made use of in dyeing the coarser rofia fibre-cloths. 



Of condiments there are quite sufficient to supply the needs 

 of the Malagasy, who, however, do not use hot spices so 

 largely as do many of the inhabitants of the tropics. Chillies 

 (salcdy) grow abundantly in many places, and their small 

 brilliant scarlet pods contrasting with the glossy green leaves 

 make them quite an ornamental shrub. Ginger (sdkamaldo) 

 is also cultivated to some extent. In the warmer parts of 

 the island a spice, which is said to combine the virtues of 

 nutmegs, cloves, and cinnamon, is procured from a tree called 

 rdvintsdra (" excellent leaf "). The leaves, as well as the 

 fruits and seeds, are fragrant, and are the produce of a 

 magnificent tree. 



In the interior of Madagascar a good variety of fruit is 

 procurable, although many of them have been introduced into 

 the island at a. very recent period. Of the juicy sub-acid 

 fruits we have oranges, citrons, lemons, and limes. These 

 last grow wild and abundantly in the warmer parts of the 

 country, and are most refreshing and wholesome. Mangoes 

 are among the finest Malagasy fruits, and the tree on which 

 they grow is one of the most ornamental. The mango-tree 

 attains a great size on the north-western coast, some of the 

 finest specimens being found at Mojanga. Besides these we 



