OLXVIL—ECONOMIC PLANTS OF MADAGASCAR. 
là a valuable paper by the Rev. Richard Baron, F. L.S, on the Flora 
of Madagascar (Journ. Linn. Soc., vol. xxv., pp. 246-294), it is stated 
that the “ oak productions of Madagascar have been very extensively 
and that the majority of the plants inhabiting the island are 
** known to science." - The flora of the um lands of the southern part 
of the island 1 is still, however, the least known. Our knowledge of the 
flora of M t is due to the Ero. of numerous botanists from 
rt, Dupetit Thouars, and Commerson to Grevé, Bojer, Grandi- 
dier, and Ellis. Within the last few years this knowledge has been 
pes inereased through the very successful labours of Mr. Baron 
imself, and his collections, received at Kew, have been determined and 
described by Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R. S. It is estimated that whereas 
until recently less than 2,000 species of plants were m E Mada- 
gascar, there are now named and described about 4,100 s 
- Mr. Baron 
has been j 
Flora of Madagascar by preparing for the Kew Bulletin some brief but 
are of considerable interest and importane e. One of the earliest notices 
of Madagasear economie plants is contained in Rochon's Voyage to 
Madagascar and the East Indies (English translation, 1793, pp. 280- 
297). In this work plants from the north of Madagascar, “ now trans- 
. * planted in the Royal Botanical Garden at the Isle de France” 
: Wises are given under their native names. The Ravensara 
ansara aromatica), the Tanguem or Tangéna (Tanghinia vene- 
— and the Filao (a species Sot Casuarina) and many others are 
T ter tree is = ely and not unappropriately described 
e “Equisetum arboresce 
Dr. G. W. Parker, a medical Missionary sent out to Madagascar, bas 
recently prepared a Malagasy Materia Medica, a special reference to 
the use of native gen This, with determinations made at Kew, was 
CONSE to the Pharmaceutical Journal, 1881, vol. xi., pp. 853- 
There are S EA notes respecting the economic plants 
be found in other works, but the above appear to 
include. the. Bie petia attempts to describe them. It may not be 
mention here that there are still some very valuable 
plants of ) Madagascar about which E Lib gia we know vety little. As 
shown in the Kew Bulletin for May i: P. 135, we are not acquainted 
with the source of Ls no Madagascar Sandal wood. 
There is also the phan which yields Stacia Piassava. This is 
no more pore stimulate others to follow his example and 
t of plants growing beyond the special districts covered by his 
investigations 
â iis to give a general idea of the character of the Madagascar 
ora and the regions adopted in Mr. Baron's notes the following extracts 
are taken gae his paper published ^ the Linnean Society 
