THE GREAT NORTH-EAST. 
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capital, in large numbers. A plant also grows 
in these marshes which, when burnt, supplies a 
kind of potash, much used in the place of salt. 
But the most striking physical feature of the 
Sihanaka country is the Lake Alaotra, which 
is a noble expanse of perfectly clear water, 
spreading twenty miles in length from north to 
south, and about four miles broad, perhaps, from 
east to west. It is bordered with mango, citron, 
and other trees, in rich profusion; and on a 
bright day, as the traveller climbs the side of 
one of the neighbouring hills and looks for the 
first time across the placid bosom of Alaotra, 
the view is enchanting, for the limpid surface 
glimmers in the light of the bright sunshine 
like an enormous and beautifully polished mirror 
of burnished gold, while the tiny towns built 
along its shores stand up from the lake and are 
thrown into a bold relief, which, reflected in the 
clear water, is very pretty in its effect. The 
shores are further enlivened by the herds of 
cattle grazing amongst the luxuriant tropical 
foliage; flocks of birds skim the surface of the 
lake; the children laugh and play with their toy 
boats on the edge of the water ; and the constant 
passage to and fro of parties of men and women 
in their canoes, completes a most attractive and 
agreeable picture of life in Madagascar. At the 
northern end of the lake is a small island, which 
