Demorest's Family Magazine. April 1888. Vol. 24, No. 6
DEMOREST’S MONTHLY MAGAZINE. No. CCXCVII. APRIL, 1888. Vol. X X IV ., No. 6. MADAGASCAR. TANANARIVOO. countries would be more interesting to the ex which induces the Malagasy fever, in hot and rainy weather plorer and naturalist than the ‘‘Great Britain ofoften proving fatal, and, like all malarial affections, difficult Africa,” as the island of Madagascar has been to eradicate wholly from the system ; and this no doubt has termed. Its area somewhat exceeds that of the Britishdiscouraged Isles; many travelers. Madame Ida Pfeiffer, who F but as yet so little of the interior has been visited byvisited Euro Madagascar in 1857, although she reached Europe peans that we have but scant information regarding the again, died, shortly after her return, from the debilitating geological and physical features of the country, or its re effects of the fever and the hardships of her terrible journey markable treasures of natural history. to the coast with other Europeans who became objects of The luxuriance of its tropical vegetation is extraordinary; the late queen’s anger because of their knowledge of a tree-ferns, palms, plantains and bamboos, in masses, over plot to dethrone her in favor of her son. Madame Pfeiffer’s hanging the myriad rushing streams, everywhere, compose visit to Madagascar proved thus to be the last of that re scenes to delight the artistic eye. Among the curiosities of markable woman’s adventurous travels. plant-life are the lace-leaf plants, or water-yam, the pitcher- At some distance from the shore the surface of Madagas plants (Nepenthes), and the quantities of parasitical orchids car rises into ranges of hills, increasing in eight toward with curious waxy blossoms of pink and white, clinging in the interior until the backbone of mountains is reached exquisite clusters to fallen trees and decaying trunks.
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