288 
believe) Commerson, who accompanied M. Bougain¬ 
ville in his voyage round the world. That gentleman 
visited Madagascar in the year 1769, and spent a 
considerable time in collecting, arranging, and de¬ 
scribing the various plants and vegetables that he 
met with. His cabinet of preserved plants was 
carried to the Isle of France; but his exertions, 
however praiseworthy and laborious, were not valued 
so highly as they deserved. After his death, the 
collection he had made was suffered to fall into 
decay; and of the manuscripts he had written on 
the subject, which would have been an acquisition to 
future naturalists, nothing now remains but a few 
remarks on the plants described by Flacourt*. 
Since that period, several other naturalists have 
written on the subject; amongst whom the most con¬ 
siderable was M. Aubert du Petit Thouars. This 
gentleman visited the Mauritius; and although he 
did not pass over to Madagascar, yet, as a great 
number of plants and trees from the latter place 
had been imported into the former, his accounts 
comprehended them. His work was begun to be 
published upon his return to France, but owing 
to unforeseen circumstances, it was sent into the 
world in an unfinished state; therefore the natural 
history of Madagascar has not at present been exhi¬ 
bited in a complete form. 
The field for such enquiries is indeed of an exten¬ 
sive description; for Nature has made ample provision 
* Rochon, p. 162 . 
