304 
HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
time of planting, and the other about the time of ingather¬ 
ing. The whole field is seldom gathered at once, but is 
collected by the family as required for use or for sale. The 
roots are usually from eight to twelve inches in length, and 
three inches in diameter. They are prepared for use by 
scraping off the outer rind, washing them, and boiling them 
well. Occasionally, the roots are baked in hot embers. 
Manioc-roots are also sold in the markets, cut into small 
pieces, and dried in the sun, in which state they are more 
easily preserved, and require less cooking, than when first 
taken from the ground. The roots are sometimes eaten 
without cooking, as raw turnips are eaten in our own coun¬ 
try, by persons passing through the fields; and a custom 
similar to ours prevails in Madagascar, of permitting a per¬ 
son to gather and eat in such circumstances, as if by force 
of hunger; but to gather and carry out of the field, would 
be considered theft, and be punished accordingly. The 
natives are extremely fond of manioc; and though they 
prefer rice, the former is extensively cultivated, especially 
as it grows well on the sides of hills, and on ground higher 
than is suitable for rice. Its appearance, when cooked, 
resembles that of parsneps, to which vegetable it is not 
altogether dissimilar in flavour. 
In the Mauritius, the manioc is scraped, dried, and after¬ 
wards made into cakes, in which form it is extensively used 
on most of the sugar plantations. 
To these, the chief departments of native agriculture, the 
growth of wheat and oats were added by the late Mr. Hastie, 
and by some of the Missionaries, who taught the natives 
how to sow and use them. These, especially oats, grow 
well in Imerina, where crops have been seen to equal those 
of England. The plough and harrow were also introduced, 
and oxen broken in, to cultivate the ground, to the great 
