134 
Madagascar 
thicknesses. These lamina of horn are pressed into 
wooden moulds in which they take the desired shapes 
—spoons, bowls and the like. The articles are brought 
to the market by Hova dealers. 
Pottery and brick-making are more local, being 
chiefly practised in the central province. The goods 
produced are of somewhat indifferent quality. In Saka- 
lava-land I found singular water-pitchers of rather tasteful 
workmanship, not unlike the Egyptian water-jars, but 
with a shining black covering of graphite. 
There is yet to be mentioned the tobacco industry, 
the produce of which, however, is cheap and of very in¬ 
different quality. The Hova is a passionate lover of 
tobacco, which he generally chews, carrying it about 
with him in a bamboo box. As he spits out the chewed 
mass on the floor of his dwelling without any ceremony, 
it is the custom on the arrival of a European guest, 
immediately to spread a clean mat on the ground—a 
real kindness. 
The native has learned to smoke from the Europeans, 
and produces an exceedingly cheap kind of cigar. 
Wood-carving with some idea of decorative art is 
most remarkable among the Betsileo, whose graves and 
memorial stakes exhibit ornamentations in a style of their 
own. Among the Sakalava I found carved wooden 
o 
spoons with richly decorative additions, angular or round 
figures in which an African character could be recognized. 
The Hova are also making attempts at painting, for 
they adorn the walls of their village churches with 
representations of plants and animals, with a certain 
clumsiness, however, which often produces a comical effect. 
The chase plays no part worth mentioning among the 
Malagasy, for whom a sufficiency of nourishment is afforded 
by cultivation of plants and raising of domestic animals. 
Larger game is not in general to be found on the island; 
the superstitious reverence for certain species prevents 
