SMALLER ISLANDS NEAR MADAGASCAR 165 
oak-like Msahnini, with its great broad leaves. Cocoa- 
nut palms have been planted here and there; a great 
Adansonia is held sacred by the Sakalava. The doom 
palm {^HypJicene) only occurs in a few stunted specimens; 
on the other hand, euphorbias of tree-like dimensions are 
common. The sandy dunes are covered with a broom¬ 
like shrub [^Pemphis acidzilo). The animal world is poor, 
and the numerous cats which have escaped from stranded 
ships and have run wild have apparently greatly thinned 
the ranks of the birds. Rats are obtrusive in their num¬ 
bers. Besides crows {Co 7 ^vus scapiilatus) and kites [Milvus 
parasiticus)^ but few of the feathered tribe are seen. A 
small gecko [Hemidactylus jnabuid) has apparently made 
its way into the island from Madagascar in the ships of 
the Sakalava. 
The island is not continuously inhabited. Every year, 
at the commencement of the rainy season, there arrive 
Sakalava from Maintirano, a haven of the opposite west 
coast of Madagascar. These spend seven months in 
Juan de Nova, plant maize and melons in sheltered 
places^ for their subsistence, and employ themselves in 
catching the turtle {Chelone imbricata) whose horny scales 
furnish our tortoise-shell. The heads of the captur¬ 
ed turtles are looked upon by the natives as fady'\ 
they are stuck on poles or frames in the same manner 
as the heads of sacrificial animals. At the beginning 
of the dry season, when the turtles cease to lay eggs 
and return to the deep sea, the Sakalava leave the island 
and CTO back to their native coasts. 
O 
