27 
hatched and brought up; great numbers of hogs, also, 
are fattened in some of the districts, but very few are 
eaten on the island, except by the lowest classes. The 
quantity of grain produced in Madagascar, is always 
in proportion (as near as they can guess) to the con¬ 
sumption : and, when the frequent arrival of ships 
makes it probable that a demand, greater than that of 
the general average of years, will be made in future, 
more ground is instantly brought into cultivation. 
The plenty or scarcity, however, depends, in a great 
measure, on the internal state of the island. When 
the natives are at peace, agriculture goes on well, the 
crops flourish, and the herds graze in security. But 
civil discord so frequently reigns amongst these hardy 
warriors, that, instead of a plentiful crop just ready 
for harvest, it is no unusual thing to find devastated 
fields, towns and houses in ruins, the inhabitants 
sculking in the woods, and the cattle driven to some 
secret recess, or slaughtered and left to putrefy on the 
plains. Such are the dreadful effects of ambition, 
avarice, and revenge; and whether in half savage 
Madagascar, or civilized Europe, the causes and effects 
remain the same, though differences may exist in 
their mode of warfare, or the circumstances of their 
in vain for the reward of his toil. But the fact is, that in this 
country, the proportion of naturally good land is very small, a 
proof of which is found in the quantity of artificial manure, 
which is annually required to keep up the fertility of the 
generality of lands, independent of that which they produce 
within themselves. 
