110 
HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
consequences. The vicinity of Tananarivo is almost as 
destitute of trees and shrubs as the capital itself, which 
certainly does not stand, as has been represented, in 
a beautifully wooded country. 
Tananarivo, like most towns in Ankova, and some of the 
other provinces, was formerly surrounded, or intersected, 
by immense ditches or moats. These were cut in the 
earth with incredible labour, and constituted, in former 
times, one of the principal means of defence against the 
attacks of an enemy. Of these, six still remain at the 
capital, and are crossed in passing through the town 
from north to south. There are, also, a few ancient gates 
left standing, but to these little value is now attached. 
The modern system of attack and defence, by means of 
cannon, and a disciplined army, renders comparatively 
useless the gates and moats of ancient times. 
The houses at the capital, and in its immediate vicinity, 
are superior to all the rest in the island. On leaving the 
capital, the houses become inferior in proportion to their 
distance from it, excepting those in each village belong¬ 
ing to the chiefs of the village or district. 
The best houses in the province of Ankova, are con¬ 
structed of wood, others are built of bamboo, some of 
rushes, and others of mud; the poorest kind are merely 
excavations in the earth, thatched with reeds or long 
grass. 
This general description will probably suffice for the 
dwellings of the natives throughout the country, as it is 
difficult to give any account equally applicable to the habi¬ 
tations of all the people, who, in consequence of their 
intestine wars, have been so much separated in their social 
habits, as to have adopted, in each province or district, 
some peculiarity, either in the material of which their 
