180 
MADAGASCAR. 
for consideration into (1) The forest district; 
(2) The open country; (3) The marshes. 
Of the forest district the most interesting pro¬ 
ducts worthy of notice are the magnificent tim¬ 
ber woods to be found on all sides. One of the 
trees is called the voamatahobaratra (the fruit 
afraid of the thunderbolt), because the tree is 
said to shed its leaves at the approach of a 
thunder-storm. Mahogany, rosewood, and ebony 
are represented by various close-grained woods 
of the same family, which are capable of taking 
a very high polish, and of being worked up into 
beautiful articles of useful and ornamental fur¬ 
niture. There are also white and yellow woods, 
resembling maple and box, and numerous speci¬ 
mens of the 'pandanus and the palm, which latter 
are not however of much value as timber. 
India-rubber is also obtained in the forests 
around Antsihanaka, from what appears, by its 
name, to be a kind of creeper or climbing plant 
rather than a tree. Honey is very plentiful; 
and there are some wild animals which are the 
largest known in the island. Of these the most 
notable are the forest dog, the baibay , the fosa , 
and several species of the lemur. The baibay 
is a kind of wild cat, very savage ; and the fosa 
is a kind of dog with black fur, strong muscular 
claws, and with the contracting pupil of the 
eye seen in the felidse. There is also a mythical 
