296 
MADAGASCAR. 
of order, and get them repaired by experienced 
hands.” 
I found that the natives could make very good 
wood furniture, such as tables, cupboards, and 
ordinary chairs, &c.; but the well-finished and 
at the same time portable bedsteads supplied by 
Oetzmann & Co., were essential for comfort and 
health. Cheap articles, as a rule, should be put 
aside for quality and finish, especially where 
things have to be repeatedly taken to pieces and 
put together again. An iron folding portable 
bedstead, with good joints, I found they supplied 
to us which could easily be carried, with mattress, 
&c., by one man. A good spring mattress is far 
better than a feather or flock bed in the tropics. 
The patent wire-wove spring mattress is the 
thing for repose and cleanliness. Cutlery in 
Madagascar is very valuable. The local supply 
is inferior in quality and limited in quantity; 
and no one should leave home without a good 
stock of real English made table cutlery, &c. 
One or two well made lamps, to burn vegetable 
or mineral oils, should also be taken, with short 
and strong chimnies, and a good box of spare 
ones, as these simple adjuncts to comfort are ex¬ 
ceedingly difficult to replenish in distant places. 
Of course, no sensible traveller will think of leav¬ 
ing home without an approved filter, the size to 
suit circumstances, and a pocket filterer to use 
