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sugar than those of the West Indies ; but the natives 
do not understand how to manufacture them to ad¬ 
vantage, and the chief benefit they derive from them 
is to extract the toupare, or wine. 
Voanata is the fruit of a large tree that grows by 
the sea-side; its meat, though clammy and viscous, 
is nourishing, and it is eaten with milk or salt; the 
wood is very solid, extremely smooth and clean, and 
is very proper for building, being not subject to rot 
or to be worm-eaten. 
Vontaca (Cydonium Bengalense ) is a fruit the size 
of a quince, full of flat seeds. The juice and pulp, 
when ripe, are of an exquisite flavour, and cast the 
most fragrant sm ell: the fruit is however hurtful to 
the stomach, if not perfectly ripe; it is called the 
Bengal quince. A wine is made from it which has 
the taste of beer, a nd is very laxative; the hogs are 
very fond of the fruit when ripe, and soon get fat 
on it. 
Vua-honda bears a fruit like a cucumber, with the 
flavour of a quince. 
Vua-Rha is a species of fig-tree : the fruit is pleasant. 
Diti-azou bears a fruit like a small pear. 
The Fenguiera (Ignatica Elastica), is a kind of 
wild fig-tree: it rises to the height of twenty feet, and 
its leaf is nine inches long and four broad; its fruit is 
round and full of granulary seeds. The natives are 
very fond of it, but it is acetous and caustic. This 
is the Gummiphora Madagascariensis , and yields the 
gum-elastic. 
