36 
HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
dent from the fact, that of the four hundred plants, collected 
by two botanists from Germany who visited the island some 
years ago, one hundred are reported to be new or unde¬ 
scribed species, and two hundred new varieties. An account 
of many of these was given in a description of plants in 
Mauritius, published by order of His Excellency the gover¬ 
nor, the late Sir R.T.Farquhar. Speaking of the botany of 
the island, after their visit in 1822 and 1823, Messrs. Hilsen- 
berg and Bojer observe, “ An exact enumeration of all the 
indigenous Madagascar plants , is, and will long remain, a 
desideratum in botany. Centuries must previously elapse, 
and the knowledge can only be obtained through the exer¬ 
tions of the sons of the north, who will render the climate 
of Madagascar less prejudicial, by extending the limits of 
its cultivation, and exploring the hitherto unexplored dis¬ 
tricts. The productions of the west, north, and southern 
coasts, and of all the interior, remain entirely unknown, 
and the slender documents that have been furnished as to 
the vegetation of the north-east by the French naturalists, 
most of whom have perished from the effects of the climate, 
serve rather to stimulate than to satisfy a botanist’s curio¬ 
sity. We were so fortunate as to be the first botanists who 
penetrated the interior of the island with a view to study 
its vegetable resources, which, though possessing some 
points in common with other maritime countries, yet pre¬ 
sent many singular features; and of which we propose, at 
some future period, to publish scientific descriptions. Still 
we must frankly confess, that we but traced a slender path 
towards the approaches of those immense and inexhaustible 
natural riches, of which the most creative fancy can hardly 
pencil a sketch.” 
Without, in the present work, attempting a description 
of the greater part of the plants and trees of Madagascar; 
