96 
HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
lierana, a rush, of which abundance is found in the neigh- 
bourhood of the capital. The Malagasy mode of thatching- 
bears a strong resemblance to that practised by the South 
Sea Islanders. The rush is folded over a slender cane, to 
which it is tied down by a small reed. The cane is about 
live or six feet in length, and, when filled with rushes, is 
fastened to bamboo rafters placed on the principal tim¬ 
bers. The folice of prepared rushes are placed one over 
another, at two or three inches’ distance from the margin. 
Roofs thus constructed look remarkably neat, and gene¬ 
rally last from seven to ten years. The two palaces lately 
erected by Radama, and one or two other houses, have 
shingled roofs similar to those used in the Isle of France. 
Many of the poorer houses are constructed of the 
zozoro, a species of rush, formed, by means of small canes 
passing through them, into a sort of mat. These, fast¬ 
ened to a few upright poles driven into the earth, complete 
the houses of great numbers of the inhabitants of Mada¬ 
gascar. Some are also built of bamboos split and beaten 
flat. These are all much colder than the wooden houses. 
Three or four dollars will be sufficient to complete a 
moderate - sized residence of this kind. No mud-wall 
houses are built in the capital, but many in the immediate 
vicinity. Some of these are coloured with different kinds 
of earths, as yellow or light pink, and give a pleasing 
variety to the scenery in which they appear. 
The number of houses in Tananarivo has greatly in¬ 
creased within the last few years. There has been also 
an augmentation in the amount of population; though not, 
perhaps, in proportion to the increase of buildings. About 
the year 1820 , the number of inhabitants was computed 
at from ten to twelve thousand. At present the population 
is supposed to exceed twenty thousand. 
