TOWNS AND VILLAGES 
149 
are extremely few and far between. The primeval 
forest, imposing as it is, is an element hostile to man, 
for it denies him the barest necessaries of life. 
Whatever serviceable thing the forest produces is at an 
inaccessible height. The ravenala, whose foliage is in 
such demand for the roofs of dwelling-houses, can never 
be got at, and recourse is had to the langozy plant, a 
species of ammonum, for covering the huts. 
In the lower region as far as the coast, lives the oldest 
stratum of population. This consists of negro tribes of 
African origin, though intermixed locally with foreign 
blood. The somewhat fair Betsimisaraka of the east 
coast cannot be reckoned among the Asiatic immigrants, 
as is sometimes done. 
Contrasts of climate bring about differences of econo¬ 
mic conditions and thus have led to marked differences 
between the eastern and western sides of the island in 
the mode of settlement of the people. 
The west coast bears the stamp of steppe land. In 
the south it passes here and there into a barren waste 
of sand. By this the only suitable occupation is indicated 
beforehand, and nature itself prompts to cattle-raising 
and a nomadic life. According to existing information, 
which is still very imperfect, the population is of small 
density, though Menabe appears to be somewhat more 
populous. 
The places on the coast are unimportant, in spite of 
the numerous bays, some of which offer excellent pro¬ 
tection. The propensity of the Sakalava for shifting 
their place of abode may have been the chief reason 
that this western side, facing the African coast and easily 
accessible, has given rise to no towns of any large size. 
It is known that about the middle of this century 
Sakalava migrated in numbers to Nossi-Be in order to 
be politically free. Even the Comoro Isles and Zanzibar 
served as goals to this emigration. Every year the whole 
