Chapter III: Front Matter (3)

McPHERSON, JAMES BIRDSEYE (1828-1864), American soldier, was born at Sandusky, Ohio, on the 14th of November 1828. He entered West Point at the age of twenty-one, and graduated (1853) at the head of his class, which included Sheridan, Schofield and Hood. He was employed at the military academy as instructor of practical military engineering (1853). A year later he was sent to engineer duty at New York, and in 1857, after constructing Fort Delaware, he was sent as superintending engineer to San Francisco, becoming 1st lieutenant in 1858. He was promoted captain during the first year of the Civil War, and towards the close of 1861 became lieutenant-colonel and aide-de-camp to General Halleck, who in the spring of 1862 sent him to General Grant as chief engineer. He remained with Grant during the Shiloh campaign, and acted as engineer adviser to Halleck during the siege operations against Corinth in the summer of 1862. In October he distinguished himself in command of an infantry brigade at the battle of Corinth, and on the 8th of this month was made major-general of volunteers and commander of a division. In the second advance on Vicksburg (1863) McPherson commanded the XVII. corps, fought at Port Gibson, Raymond and Jackson, and after the fall of Vicksburg was strongly recommended by Grant for the rank of brigadier-general in the regular army, to which he was promoted on the 1st of August 1863. He commanded at Vicksburg until the following spring. He was about to go on leave of absence in order to be married in Baltimore when he received his nomination to the command of the Army of the Tennessee, Grant's and Sherman's old army, which was to take part under Sherman's supreme command in the campaign against Atlanta (1864). This nomination was made by Sherman and entirely approved by Grant, who had the highest opinion of McPherson's military and personal qualities. He was in command of his army at the actions of Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain and the battles about Atlanta. On the 22nd of July, when the Confederates under his old classmate Hood made a sudden and violent attack on the lines held by the Army of the Tennessee, McPherson rode up, in the woods, to the enemy's firing line and was killed. He was one of the most heroic figures of the American Civil War, and Grant is reported to have said when he heard of McPherson's death, "The country has lost one of its best soldiers, and I have lost my best friend."

MACQUARIE, a British island in the South Pacific Ocean, in 54° 49´ S. and 159° 49´ E. It is about 20 m. long, and covered with a grassy vegetation, with some trees or shrubs in the sheltered places which afford food to a parrot of the genus _Cyanorhamphus_, allied to those of the Auckland Islands. Although it has no settled population, Macquarie is constantly visited by sailors in quest of the seals which abound in its waters.

MACRAUCHENIA, a long-necked and long-limbed, three-toed South American ungulate mammal, typifying the suborder _Litopterna_ (q.v.).

MACREADY, WILLIAM CHARLES (1793-1873), English actor, was born in London on the 3rd of March 1793, and educated at Rugby. It was his intention to go up to Oxford, but in 1809 the embarrassed affairs of his father, the lessee of several provincial theatres, called him to share the responsibilities of theatrical management. On the 7th of June 1810 he made a successful first appearance as Romeo at Birmingham. Other Shakespearian parts followed, but a serious rupture between father and son resulted in the young man's departure for Bath in 1814. Here he remained for two years, with occasional professional visits to other provincial towns. On the 16th of September 1816, Macready made his first London appearance at Covent Garden as Orestes in _The Distressed Mother_, a translation of Racine's _Andromaque_ by Ambrose Philips. Macready's choice of characters was at first confined chiefly to the romantic drama. In 1818 he won a permanent success in Isaac Pocock's (1782-1835) adaptation of Scott's _Rob Roy_. He showed his capacity for the highest tragedy when he played Richard III. at Covent Garden on the 25th of October 1819. Transferring his services to Drury Lane, he gradually rose in public favour, his most conspicuous success being in the title-rôle of Sheridan Knowles's _William Tell_ (May 11, 1825). In 1826 he completed a successful engagement in America, and in 1828 his performances met with a very flattering reception in Paris. On the 15th of December 1830 he appeared at Drury Lane as Werner, one of his most powerful impersonations. In 1833 he played in _Antony and Cleopatra_, in Byron's _Sardanapalus_, and in _King Lear_. Already Macready had done something to encourage the creation of a modern English drama, and after entering on the management of Covent Garden in 1837 he introduced Robert Browning's _Strafford_, and in the following year Bulwer's _Lady of Lyons_ and _Richelieu_, the principal characters in which were among his most effective parts. On the 10th of June 1838 he gave a memorable performance of _Henry V._, for which Stanfield prepared sketches, and the mounting was superintended by Bulwer, Dickens, Forster, Maclise, W. J. Fox and other friends. The first production of Bulwer's _Money_ took place under the artistic direction of Count d'Orsay on the 8th of December 1840, Macready winning unmistakable success in the character of Alfred Evelyn. Both in his management of Covent Garden, which he resigned in 1839, and of Drury Lane, which he held from 1841 to 1843, he found his designs for the elevation of the stage frustrated by the absence of adequate public support. In 1843-1844 he made a prosperous tour in the United States, but his last visit to that country, in 1849, was marred by a riot at the Astor Opera House, New York, arising from the jealousy of the actor Edwin Forrest, and resulting in the death of seventeen persons, who were shot by the military called out to quell the disturbance. Macready took leave of the stage in a farewell performance of _Macbeth_ at Drury Lane on the 26th of February 1851. The remainder of his life was spent in happy retirement, and he died at Cheltenham on the 27th of April 1873. He had married, in 1823, Catherine Frances Atkins (d. 1852). Of a numerous family of children only one son and one daughter survived. In 1860 he married Cecile Louise Frederica Spencer (1827-1908), by whom he had a son.

Macready's performances always displayed fine artistic perceptions developed to a high degree of perfection by very comprehensive culture, and even his least successful personations had the interest resulting from thorough intellectual study. He belonged to the school of Kean rather than of Kemble; but, if his tastes were better disciplined and in some respects more refined than those of Kean, his natural temperament did not permit him to give proper effect to the great tragic parts of Shakespeare, _King Lear_ perhaps excepted, which afforded scope for his pathos and tenderness, the qualities in which he specially excelled. With the exception of a voice of good compass and capable of very varied expression, Macready had no especial physical gifts for acting, but the defects of his face and figure cannot be said to have materially affected his success.

See _Macready's Reminiscences_, edited by Sir Frederick Pollock, 2
vols. (1875); _William Charles Macready_, by William Archer (1890).

MACROBIUS, AMBROSIUS THEODOSIUS, Roman grammarian and philosopher, flourished during the reigns of Honorius and Arcadius (395-423). He himself states that he was not a Roman, but there is no certain evidence whether he was of Greek or perhaps African descent. He is generally supposed to have been praetorian praefect in Spain (399), proconsul of Africa (410), and lord chamberlain (422). But the tenure of high office at that date was limited to Christians, and there is no evidence in the writings of Macrobius that he was a Christian. Hence the identification is more than doubtful, unless it be assumed that his conversion to Christianity was subsequent to the composition of his books. It is possible, but by no means certain, that he was the Theodosius to whom Avianus dedicates his fables.

The most important of his works is the _Saturnalia_, containing an account of the discussions held at the house of Vettius Praetextatus (c. 325-385) during the holiday of the Saturnalia. It was written by the author for the benefit of his son Eustathius (or Eustachius), and contains a great variety of curious historical, mythological, critical and grammatical disquisitions. There is but little attempt to give any dramatic character to the dialogue; in each book some one of the personages takes the leading part, and the remarks of the others serve only as occasions for calling forth fresh displays of erudition. The first book is devoted to an inquiry as to the origin of the Saturnalia and the festivals of Janus, which leads to a history and discussion of the Roman calendar, and to an attempt to derive all forms of worship from that of the sun. The second book begins with a collection of _bons mots_, to which all present make their contributions, many of them being ascribed to Cicero and Augustus; a discussion of various pleasures, especially of the senses, then seems to have taken place, but almost the whole of this is lost. The third, fourth, fifth and sixth books are devoted to Virgil, dwelling respectively on his learning in religious matters, his rhetorical skill, his debt to Homer (with a comparison of the art of the two) and to other Greek writers, and the nature and extent of his borrowings from the earlier Latin poets. The latter part of the third book is taken up with a dissertation upon luxury and the sumptuary laws intended to check it, which is probably a dislocated portion of the second book. The seventh book consists largely of the discussion of various physiological questions. The value of the work consists solely in the facts and opinions quoted from earlier writers, for it is purely a compilation, and has little in its literary form to recommend it. The form of the _Saturnalia_ is copied from Plato's _Symposium_ and Gellius's _Noctes atticae_; the chief authorities (whose names, however, are not quoted) are Gellius, Seneca the philosopher, Plutarch (_Quaestiones conviviales_), Athenaeus and the commentaries of Servius (excluded by some) and others on Virgil. We have also two books of a commentary on the _Somnium Scipionis_ narrated by Cicero in his _De republica_. The nature of the dream, in which the elder Scipio appears to his (adopted) grandson, and describes the life of the good after death and the constitution of the universe from the Stoic point of view, gives occasion for Macrobius to discourse upon many points of physics in a series of essays interesting as showing the astronomical notions then current. The moral elevation of the fragment of Cicero thus preserved to us gave the work a popularity in the middle ages to which its own merits have little claim. Of a third work, _De differentiis et societatibus graeci latinique verbi_, we only possess an abstract by a certain Johannes, identified with Johannes Scotus Erigena (9th century).

See editions by L. von Jan (1848-1852, with bibliog. of previous
editions, and commentary) and F. Eyssenhardt (1893, Teubner text); on
the sources of the _Saturnalia_ see H. Linke (1880) and G. Wissowa
(1880). The grammatical treatise will be found in Jan's edition and H.
Keil's _Grammatici latini_, v.; see also G. F. Schömann, _Commentatio
macrobiana_ (1871).

MACROOM, a market town in the western part of county Cork, Ireland, on the river Sullane, an affluent of the Lee, 24½ m. W. of Cork by the Cork & Macroom railway, of which it is the terminus. Pop. (1901), 3016. Besides a fine Roman Catholic church, a court house and barracks, Macroom possesses a modernized castle, which is said to have been founded by King John, though it is more probably attributable to Norman invaders. It was besieged more than once in the 17th century, and is said to have been the birthplace of Admiral Sir William Penn, whose more famous son founded Pennsylvania. Here some rebels of 1798 were executed and their heads exhibited on the spikes of the castle gate. Macroom has trade in corn-milling, leather-work and dairy produce, and is a good centre for salmon and trout fishing. It is governed by an urban district council.

MACUGNAGA, a village of Piedmont, Italy, in the province of Novara, 20 m. W.S.W. of Piedimulera, which is 7 m. S. of Domodossola by rail. Pop. (1901), 798. It is situated 4047 ft. above sea-level, and is 10 m. N.E. of the highest summit of Monte Rosa. It is frequented as a summer resort.

MacVEAGH, WAYNE (1833- ), American lawyer and diplomatist, was born near Phoenixville, Chester county, Pa., on the 19th of April 1833. He graduated at Yale in 1853, was admitted to the bar in 1856, and was district attorney of Chester county in 1859-1864. He held commands in militia forces raised to meet threatened Confederate invasions of Pennsylvania (1862-63). He became a leader in the Republican party, and was a prominent opponent of his father-in-law, Simon Cameron, in the fight within the party in 1871. MacVeagh was minister to Turkey in 1870-1871; was a member of the state constitutional convention of 1872-1873; was chairman of the "MacVeagh Commission," sent in 1877 by President Hayes to Louisiana, which secured the settlement of the contest between the two existing state governments and thus made possible the withdrawal of Federal troops from the state; and was attorney-general of the United States in 1881 under President Garfield, but resigned immediately after Garfield's death. In 1892 he supported Grover Cleveland, the Democratic nominee for the presidency, and from 1893 to 1897 was ambassador to Italy. He returned to the Republican party in 1896. In 1903 he was chief counsel of the United States before the Hague tribunal in the case regarding the claims of Germany, Great Britain and Italy against the republic of Venezuela.

MADÁCH, IMRE (1829-1864), Hungarian dramatist, was born at Alsó-Sztregova. He took part in the great revolution of 1848-49 and was imprisoned; on his return to his small estate in the county of Nógrád, he found that his family life had meanwhile been completely wrecked. This only increased his natural tendency to melancholy, and he withdrew from public life till 1861, devoting his time mainly to the composition of his chief work, _Az ember tragoediája_ ("The Tragedy of Man"). John Arany, then at the height of his fame as a poet, at once recognized the great merits of that peculiar drama, and Madách enjoyed a short spell of fame before his untimely death of heart-disease in 1864. In _The Tragedy of Man_ Madách takes us from the hour when Adam and Eve were innocently walking in the Garden of Eden to the times of the Pharaohs; then to the Athens of Miltiades; to declining Rome; to the period of the crusades; into the study of the astronomer Kepler; thence into the horrors of the French Revolution; into greed-eaten and commerce-ridden modern London; nay, into the ultra-Socialist state of the future, when all the former ideals of man will by scientific formulae be shown up in their hollowness; still further, the poet shows the future of ice-clad earth, when man will be reduced to a degraded brute dragging on the misery of his existence in a cave. In all these scenes, or rather anticipatory dreams, Adam, Eve and the arch-fiend Lucifer are the chief and constantly recurring _personae dramatis_. In the end, Adam, despairing of his race, wants to commit suicide, when at the critical moment Eve tells him that she is going to be a mother. Adam then prostrates himself before God, who encourages him to hope and trust. The diction of the drama is elevated and pure, and although not meant for the stage, it has proved very effective at several public performances.

Concerning Madách there is an ample literature, consisting mostly of
elaborate articles by Charles Szász (1862), Augustus Greguss (1872),
B. Alexander (1871), M. Palágyi (1890), and others.

MADAGASCAR, an island in the Indian Ocean, and after New Guinea and Borneo the largest island in the world, about 260 m. distant, at the nearest point, from the S.E. coast of Africa, from which it is separated by the Mozambique Channel. Since 1896 Madagascar has been a French colony. It is 995 m. in length from N. to S., and about 250 m. in average breadth, although near the centre it is nearly 360 m. across; its area is about 228,000 sq. m., or not quite four times the extent of England and Wales. It lies mainly between 44° and 50° E. Its northernmost point, Cape Ambro, in 12° S., inclines 16° to the E. from the longitude of Cape St Mary, the southernmost point, in 25° 35´ S., so that the main axis of the island runs from N.N.E. to S.S.W. In its broad structure Madagascar consists of an elevated mountainous region, from 3000 to 5000 ft. in altitude, occupying from two-fifths to a half of the centre and the eastern side of the island, around which are extensive plains at a much less elevation above the sea, and most developed on the western and north-west sides. But this lower region is broken up by masses of hills, with several elevated plateaus, especially in the south-west and south.

_Physical Features._--Madagascar has a very regular and compact form,
with few indentations considering its great extent of shore-line. In
general outline it has a strong resemblance to the impression of a
human foot--the left side. Along two-thirds of its eastern side the
coast is almost a straight line, without any inlet, Tamatàve, the
chief port on this side of the island, being only protected by coral
reefs. North of this line, however, is Antongil Bay, a deep and wide
inlet running northwards for about 50 m.; farther north is Port
Louquez, and at almost the extreme point of the island is Diégo-Suarez
Bay, one of the finest harbours in the world. But the north-western
side of Madagascar is broken up by a number of inlets, some of them
land-locked and of considerable size. South of Cape St Andrew, the
north-west angle of the island, the coast-line is unbroken until the
estuary of the river Onilàhy, or St Augustine's Bay, is reached.
Rounding the southern end of the island, there is no other inlet save
the small bay north of Fort Dauphin, at the southern end of the
straight line of coast already mentioned.

The islands around Madagascar are few and unimportant. The largest are
Ste Marie, near the eastern coast, a narrow island about 35 m. long,
and Nossi-bé (q.v.), larger and more compact in form, opposite
Ampàsindàva Bay on the N.W. coast. Except the Minnow group, north of
Nossi-bé, the rest are merely rocky islets, chiefly of coral.

The shores of the greater portion of the southern half of the island
are low and flat, but in the northern half the coast is often bold and
precipitous, the high land occasionally approaching the sea. On the
eastern side the plains vary from 10 to 50 m. in breadth, but on the
western side they exceed in some localities 100 m. From these
coast-plains the ground rises by successive ranges of hills to the
high interior land. This elevated region is broken in all directions
by mountains, from which the crystalline rocks show most frequently as
huge bosses, and in certain regions present very varied and
picturesque outlines, resembling Titanic castles, cathedrals, domes,
pyramids and spires. The highest mountain mass is centrally situated
as regards the length of the island, but more to the eastern side.
This is the ancient extinct volcano Ankàratra, three of the highest
points varying in elevation from 7284 to 8635 ft. above the sea, and
from 4000 to 5000 ft. above the general level of the surrounding
country. The loftiest of these is named Tsi-àfa-jàvona, i.e. "That
which the mists cannot climb." It had been supposed that Ankàratra was
the highest point in the island, but in 1903 it was found that Ambòro,
in the northern province of Antankàrana, is about 9490 ft. in
altitude. Besides these highest points there are a considerable number
of mountains in the central provinces of Imèrina and Bétsiléo and the
intervening and surrounding districts; and in the Bàra country the
Isàlo range has been compared to the "Church Buttes" and other
striking features of the scenery of Utah. One of the finest of the
Madagascar mountains is an isolated mass near the northern point of
the island called Ambòhitra. This is 4460 ft. high, and rising from
land little above the sea-level, is well seen far out to sea.

In the elevated region of Madagascar are many fertile plains and
valleys, the former being the dried-up beds of ancient lakes. Among
these are Bètsimitàtatra in Imèrina, and Tsiènimparìhy in Bétsiléo,
supplying a large proportion of the rice required for the capitals of
these two provinces. Still more spacious valleys are the Antsihànaka
country and the Ankày district, between the two eastern lines of
forest. The extensive coast plains on the western side of the island
are chiefly in Ibòina (N.W.) and in Ménabé (S. of the Tsìribìhina
River); those on the east are widest in the Taifàsy country (S.E.).
The water-parting for six-sevenths of the whole length of the island
is much nearer the eastern than the western side, averaging from 80 to
90 m. from the sea. There are no arid districts, except in the extreme
south-west and towards the southern point of the island. The general
surface of the interior highland consists of bare rolling moor-like
country, with a great amount of red clay-like soil, while the valleys
have a rich humus of bluish-black alluvium.

The chief rivers flow to the west and north-west sides of the island.
The eastern streams are all less in size, except the Mangòro, which
flows parallel with the coast. Few of them therefore are of much
service for navigation, except for the light-draught native canoes;
and all of them are more or less closed at their outlets by sand-bars.
Beginning at the south-eastern point and going northwards, the
principal rivers are the Mànanàra, Mànampàtrana, Màtitànana,
Mànanjàry, Mangòro, with its great affluent Onivé, Vòhitra, Màningòry,
and the Antànambàlana at the head of Antongil Bay. On the N.W. coast,
going southwards, are the Sofià and Màhajàmba, falling into Màhajàmba
Bay, the Bétsiboka with the Ikòpa--the great drains of the northern
central provinces, forming unitedly the second largest river of the
island and falling into Bèmbatòka Bay--the Màhavàry, Mànambòlo,
Tsìribìhina or Onimàinty, the third largest river, with its
tributaries the Kìtsàmby, Màhajìlo and Manìa, the Mòrondàva, Mangòky,
probably the largest river in the country, with its important
tributaries the Matsìatra, Mànantànana and Rànomàitso, the Fiherènana
and Onilàhy. On the south coast are four considerable streams, the
largest of which is the Mènaràndra. Of the western rivers the
Bètsibòka can be ascended by small steamers for about 100 m., and the
Tsìribìhina is also navigable for a considerable distance. The former
is about 300 m. long; the latter somewhat less, but by its affluents
spreads over a greater extent of country, as also does the Mangòky.
The rivers are all crossed frequently by rocky bars, which often form
grand waterfalls. The eastern rivers cut their way through the
ramparts of the high land by magnificent gorges amidst dense forest,
and descend by a succession of rapids and cataracts. The Màtitànana,
whose falls were first seen by the writer in 1876, descends at one
plunge some 400 ft.; and on the Vòhitra River, whose valley is
followed by the railway, there are also many fine waterfalls.

On the eastern side of Madagascar the contest between the fresh water
of the rivers and the sea has caused the formation of a chain of
lagoons for nearly 300 m. In many places these look like a river
following the coast-line, but frequently they spread out into
extensive sheets of water. By cutting about 30 m. of canal to connect
them, a continuous waterway could be formed for 270 m. along the
coast. This has already been done for about 55 m. between Ivòndrona
and Andòvorànto, a service of small steamers forming part of the
communication between the coast and the capital. Besides these
lagoons, there are few lakes of any size in Madagascar, although there
were some very extensive lakes in a recent geological epoch. Of the
largest of these, the Alàotra Lake in the Antsihànaka plain is the
relic; it is about 25 m. long. Next comes Kinkòny, near Maròambitsy
Bay (N.W. coast), about 16 m. long, and then Itàsy, in western
Imèrina, about half as large. There is also a salt lake,
Tsimànampetsòtsa (S.W. coast), about as large as Alàotra.

There is now no active volcano in Madagascar, but a large number of
extinct cones are found, some apparently of very recent formation.
Some miles south of Diégo-Suarez is a huge volcanic mountain,
Ambòhitra, with scores of subsidiary cones on its slopes and around
its base. About 40 m. south-west of Antanànarìvo there is a still
larger extinct volcano, Ankàratra, with an extensive lava field
surrounding it; while near Lake Itàsy are some 200 volcanic cones.
Another group of extinct volcanoes is in the Vàkinankàratra district,
S.W. of Ankàratra. Many others exist in other parts of the island (see
§ _Geology_). Slight shocks of earthquake are felt every year, and hot
springs occur at many places. Several of these are sulphurous and
medicinal, and have been found efficacious in skin diseases and in
internal complaints.

_Geology._--Madagascar may be divided into two very distinct
geological regions, viz. (I.) the Archean Region, which extends over
the central and eastern portions of the island and occupies about
two-thirds of its whole area, and is composed of crystalline schists;
and (II.) the Western Region, of sedimentary rocks, including the
remaining third of the island, in the centre of which, however, is an
isolated patch of Archean rocks, near Cape St Andrew. There are also
found in both regions numerous masses of igneous rocks, both plutonic
and volcanic, in some places of considerable extent, which pierce
through and overflow the earlier formations.

I. _The Archean Region._[1]--This region, nearly coincident with the
mountainous upper portion of the island, is chiefly composed of the
following crystalline rocks: gneiss, which is the most common of them
all, quartzite and quartz-schist, with occasional beds of crystalline
limestone and mica-schist, although this latter rock is very rare. The
gneiss is mostly grey, but occasionally pinkish, its essential
constituents (felspar and quartz) being almost always associated with
dark mica (biotite) and hornblende in variable quantity. The rock is
therefore a hornblende-granitite-gneiss. Granite--more frequently
granitite--occurs in several places, as well as pyroxene-granulite,
serpentine, argillate, &c.; and gold is found widely disseminated, as
well as other metals, but these latter, as far as at present known,
except iron, are not abundant. The general strike of the rocks is the
same as that of the trend of the island itself (N.N.E. to S.S.W.),
but in its western portion the strike is frequently from N.N.W. to
S.S.E. In both cases the strike of the rocks is coincident with the
direction of several large valleys, which mark huge faults in the
crystalline rocks. Almost the whole of this region is covered by a red
soil, often of great thickness, which resembles and is often described
as "clay," but is really decomposed rock, chiefly gneiss, reddened
with oxidized magnetite.

II. _The Sedimentary Region._--The sedimentary rocks extend
continuously along the western side of Madagascar, following the
coast-line; in the north these series of strata are only from 20 to 30
m. across, but farther south they reach a breadth of nearly 100 m.,
while opposite the Bétsiléo province they extend nearly half across
the island. A narrow band, of Cretaceous age, occurs also on the east
coast, for about 120 m., between Vàtomàndry and Mànanjàry. The
following formations are represented:--

1. _Primary._ It is thought that certain beds of slaty rocks, which
have been recognized at different places, may belong to some of the
Primary strata. Some siliceous schists of the Permian age were
discovered in 1908 in the valley of the Sàkamèira, south of the
Onilàhy, or Augustine river. (S.W. coast). These contain reptilian
remains, and also clear imprints of leaves of the _Glossopteris
indica_, as well as other indications of an ancient vegetation. In the
same region conglomerates have been found containing enormous blocks,
apparently brought by glacial action, and said to be identical in
character with those described as existing in the Transvaal. True coal
has also been obtained in the same district, the deposits varying from
a third to half a metre in thickness.

2. _Secondary._ The lowest members of these rest directly upon the
central mass of crystalline rocks, and consist of sandstones,
conglomerates and shales, which have been supposed by some to belong
to the Trias, without, however, the discovery of any fossil necessary
to confirm this supposition, except some silicified trunks of trees.
These beds are most probably lower members of the Jurassic series.
Westward of and above these strata, the Middle and Upper Jurassic
formations are found (Lias, Lower Oolite, Oxfordian, &c.), with
well-marked and numerous fossils (_Ammonites_, _Nerinaea_, _Natica_,
_Astarte_, _Rhynchonella_, _Echinodermata_, &c.); then the Cretaceous
rocks, both these and the Jurassic series being largely developed, the
Cretaceous fossils including _Nautilus_, _Belemnites_, _Ostrea_,
_Gryphaea_, &c., and some very large Ammonites (_Pachydiscus_). The
Secondary strata show generally a very slight dip westwards and are
consequently almost horizontal. They do not seem to have been greatly
disturbed, although faults occur here and there.

3. _Tertiary._ A small strip of coast of Eocene age is known near
Tullear (S.W. coast), and rocks of the same period occur in Nòssi-bé,
at Màhajamba Bay, and at Diégo-Suarez, with Nummulites and other
foraminifera. Near the latter locality, beds of Oligocene age have
been noticed, consisting of coarse limestones.

4. _Quaternary and Recent._ A narrow band of these deposits extends
along the west coast, from north of Cape St Andrew nearly to the
extreme southern point of the island. But the most noticeable of these
are those in the ancient bed of the Alàotra Lake, which formerly
extended far southwards along the valley of the Mangòro; also those in
the marshes of Antsìrabè and of Ifànja, in the Ikòpa valley (the great
rice plain west of the capital), and also in the plain of
Tsiénimpàrìhy in Bétsiléo, and especially the recent deposits of
Ampàsambazìmba, north-west of Lake Itàsy, discovered in 1902. These
beds, rich in subfossil remains, have yielded important additions to
our knowledge of the extinct fauna of the island. (See §
_Palaeontology_.)

_Igneous Rocks._ (1) _Plutonic rocks._--The ancient or plutonic
igneous rocks (including granite, syenite, diorite, gabbro, porphyry,
porphyrite, norite and retinite) appear at various points of the two
previously described regions. In the Archean region the gneiss is very
often found passing into granite, but certain granitic masses have a
sufficiently distinct character. In the midst of the sedimentary
region are two well-recognized masses of plutonic rocks, belonging to
the syenites, sometimes quartziferous in structure. (2) _Volcanic
rocks._--Recent volcanic eruptive rocks (including rhyolite, trachyte,
phonolite, andesite and basalt) have been examined at a number of
points throughout both the geological regions of the island. In the
Archean region these are very noticeable near Lake Itàsy, in the
_massif_ of Ankàratra (an ancient volcano) and in Vàkinankàratra (at
Bètàfo, Antsìrabé, &c.); while there are numerous outflows of
doleritic rocks, probably from faults, along the eastern side of the
island and almost parallel with the coast line. In the sedimentary
region volcanic rocks are very numerous; the most extensive of these
is a tract of country, more than 80 m. long, on the west coast, where
the basalt has overflowed the Cretaceous strata. It must be remembered
that the geology of Madagascar is still only known in its broad
features.[2]

_Minerals and Metals._--The country has considerable mineral wealth.
Gold is found almost all over the region of crystalline rocks, except
in and around the Antsihànaka province, the richest auriferous
districts being a band of country parallel with the east coast and
spreading at its southern end into the interior; and another tract,
whose centre is about 100 m. N. of the capital (see § _Industries_,
&c.). Silver has been detected in certain galenas, and also platinum;
copper has been found in various localities, as well as zinc, lead,
nickel, antimony and manganese, but none of these metals has yet been
discovered in sufficient quantities for profitable working. Iron, on
the contrary, especially magnetite, is found abundantly and has for
long been worked by the Malagasy with the simple appliances brought by
their ancestors from their original home in the Far East. The
principal seats of the native industry are on the edge of the upper
forest, where charcoal is easily procured. The following precious
stones are reported: corundum (rubies and sapphires), beryl, topaz,
zircon, garnet, amazon-stone, tourmaline, often in large crystals, and
variously coloured quartz, also often found in crystals of great size.
Bitumen and petroleum have been found; graphite is plentiful, and
sulphur, salt, saltpetre and lime are also procured. On the north-west
coast thin beds of lignite occur, and coal has been found in the
valley of the Sàkamèira.

_Palaeontology._--Researches in various parts of the island have
revealed the existence, in a subfossil state, of the bones of numerous
birds of the family _Struthidae_. These have been arranged in twelve
species, belonging to two genera, _Aepyornis_ and _Mullerornis_, which
varied in size from that of a bustard to birds much exceeding an
ostrich, and rivalling the recently extinct moa of New Zealand, the
largest species being about 10 ft. in height. One species of these
great wingless birds laid an egg which is the largest known, being 12½
in. by 9½ in. Associated with these remains there have been found
those of many other birds, including a hawk, a duck, a darter, a
spoonbill, a heron, a rail and a wild-goose, some of these being much
larger than any now inhabiting Madagascar. In the same beds the
remains of two, if not three, species of hippopotamus have been found,
about two-thirds the size of the living South African species; also
the bones and carapace, &c., of gigantic tortoises, and the bones of a
crocodile, now extinct on the coast and rivers, but still living in
the two chief lakes; also the remains of a river-hog, of a species of
swine, and of a slender-legged form of zebu-ox. Near the south-west
coast the skull of a large lemuroid animal was discovered in 1893,
much longer than that of any living lemur, the animal being probably
three times the size of any previously known Madagascar lemuroid.
Later still, in 1899 and subsequently, the bones of two other
creatures of the same suborder have been discovered, one of them
indicating an animal much larger than a man. Many of these birds and
animals were probably contemporaneous with the earliest human
inhabitants of Madagascar. The remains of two species of Edentata have
been found, as well as those of several species of small Rodents, also
of a Carnivore (_Cryptoprocta_), a larger variety of the species still
living in the island.

In the deposits of a much more remote era than those already spoken
of--the Jurassic--the bones of some enormous terrestrial lizards have
been brought to light, belonging to Sauropodous Dinosaurs of the
genera _Bothriospondylus_ and _Titanosaurus_, and to a Theropod of the
genus _Megalosaurus_. In the beds of the Lower Oolite portions of the
skull of a reptile resembling the gavial of the Ganges had been
previously discovered, from which a new genus called _Steneosaurus_
has been founded. Since the French occupation (1895) considerable
additions have been made to our knowledge of the fossil fauna of
Madagascar from researches made both on the west and south-west coast
(at Bèlo and Ambòlisatrana) and in the interior (at Antsìrabè),
especially in the rich deposits near Tsàrazàza (Ampàsambazimba), to
the north-west of Lake Itàsy. From these various localities the
subfossil remains of thirteen or fourteen extinct species of lemuroid
animals (including the gigantic species already mentioned) have been
obtained, and have been classified under five new genera: viz.
_Megaladapis_ (3 sp.), _Palaeopropithecus_ (3 sp.), _Archaeolemur_ (2
sp.), _Bradylemur_ (1 sp.) and _Hadropithecus_ (1 sp.), together with
three new species of lemur. Of these, the _Archaeolemurs_ seem to have
combined the characteristics of lemuroid animals with those of the
monkeys, while _Hadropithecus_ is pronounced to be the nearest known
link with them. A list of all the fossils of the island known in 1895,
but omitting the vertebrates above mentioned, included 140
species,[3] belonging to the Mollusca, Foraminifera, Echinodermata,
Actinozoa and Plantae; but the researches of French geologists made
the total number of Madagascar fossils known in 1907 to be not fewer
than 280 species.

_Climate._--In the high interior the climate resembles that of the
temperate zones, although six-sevenths of the island are within the
tropics; there is no intense heat, and it is quite cold, occasionally
touching freezing point, during the nights of the cool season. These
parts of the country are tolerably healthy for Europeans. But the
coasts are much hotter, especially on the western side, as is also the
interior west of the highland region; and from the large amount of
marsh and lagoon on the coasts, malarial fever is common and
frequently fatal, both to Europeans and to natives from the interior.
Epidemics of influenza and fever have been very prevalent of late
years in the central provinces. The seasons are two--the hot and rainy
season from November to April, and the cool and dry season during the
rest of the year; this remark applies chiefly to the interior, for
rain falls throughout the year on the eastern coast, which is exposed
to the vapour-laden south-east trade winds. The rainfall diminishes as
one goes westward and especially south-westward, there being very
little rain in the south-west corner of the island. No snow is known,
even on the loftiest mountains, but thin ice is occasionally seen; and
hail-showers, often very destructive, are frequent in the rainy
season. Terrific thunderstorms are also common at that period;
waterspouts are sometimes seen; and as the Indian Ocean cyclone region
touches the eastern coast, hurricanes occur every few years, at rare
intervals ascending into the interior highland. The yearly rainfall of
the Imèrina province (Antanànarìvo) averages about 54½ in.; accurate
statistics as to that of other parts of the island are not available;
but on the east coast it appears to be about double that of the
interior; in the south-east considerably more than that amount; while
at Mòrondàva (west coast) it is given as about 21 in. annually, and at
Tullear (south-west coast) as only 10 in. At Tamatàve (east coast) the
mean annual temperature is given as 76.5°, while at the capital it is
about 66°; the temperature of Antanànarìvo resembles that of Naples or
Palermo.[4] The following table gives the mean of two different sets
of government returns of mean rainfall: Antanànarìvo, 1369 mm.;
Tamatàve, E. coast, 1863 mm.; Fàrafangàna, S.E. coast, 2803 mm.;
Diégo-Suarez, N. end of island, 1196 mm.; Mòrondàva, W. coast, 543
mm.; Tullear, S.W. coast, 273 mm.; Màrovoày, W. interior, 1413 mm.

_Fauna._--The fauna of Madagascar, while deficient in most of the
characteristic tropical forms of life, is one of great interest to the
naturalist from its remote affinities, much of its animal life having
Asiatic rather than African relationships. The central portions of the
island, from their generally bare and treeless character, are poor in
living creatures; but the lower country, and especially the forests
and coast plains, are fairly well stocked. But it is noticeable that
many species have a very limited range. Although a continental island,
it possesses no large quadrupeds--none of the larger carnivorous,
ungulate, proboscoid or quadrumanous animals; but it is the
headquarters of the _Lemuroidea_, no fewer than thirty-nine species of
which are found in its forests and wooded plains. Some of these
creatures are highly specialized, while the curious aye-aye (_Chiromys
madagascariensis_), an allied form, is one of the most remarkable
animals known, forming a genus and family by itself. Its whole
structure is strangely modified to enable it to procure the
wood-boring larvae which form its food. Other peculiar animals are
twenty-three species of the _Centetidae_, a family of the Insectivora
almost confined to Madagascar; while of the _Carnivora_ there are
several small creatures belonging to the civets (_Viverridae_). The
largest of these ferocious animals, also forming a genus and family by
itself, is the _Cryptoprocta ferox_; it is a plantigrade animal, 3 ft.
long, but very like an enormous weasel, and attacks other animals with
the greatest ferocity. The island contains twenty-five species of
bats, mostly of African, but some of Indian, affinities. African
humped cattle were introduced several hundred years ago and now exist
in large herds all over the country. The fat-tailed sheep, goats and
swine have also been naturalized, as well as all kinds of domestic
poultry.

The avi-fauna is much richer than the mammalian, and, although wanting
the largest birds as well as the most brilliantly coloured, comprises
two hundred and sixty species, half of which are endemic. Many of the
birds are remarkable not so much for their shape or colouring as for
their distant relationships; many belong to peculiar genera, and some
are so isolated that new families have had to be formed for their
reception. There is a large variety of perching birds, including
several species of brilliant plumage--sun-birds, kingfishers, rollers
and flycatchers, &c.; kites, hawks and owls are numerous, and the
lakes and marshes abound with water-fowl and herons, ibises, &c.

The island is free from deadly serpents, but contains two or three
small species of boa; crocodiles abound in the rivers and lakes; and
numerous species of lizard, chameleon and tree-frog inhabit the woods.
Madagascar may be considered as one of the headquarters of the
_Chamaeleonidae_, for of the fifty known species no fewer than
twenty-five have already been described from the island. Many of these
are of curious form, with remarkable developments of the plates of the
head and projecting horns and spines. There are several peculiar
tortoises, but the gigantic species are now found alive only on the
little island of Aldabra, to the north. The insect life comprises many
brilliantly-coloured beetles, butterflies (about eight hundred species
of which are known), moths, locusts, spiders and flies, and also
noxious spiders, with scorpions and centipedes. The river fishes
belong chiefly to the family _Chromididae_; many of them are of
brilliant and bizarre appearance, with strongly contrasted colours in
bands and spots. Those found in the coast waters do not differ
materially from the widely spread Indian Ocean species.

As a whole, the Madagascar fauna is marked by a strong individuality,
which would appear to be the result of long isolation from the other
zoological "regions." The Asiatic and Malayan affinities of many of
its animals, as well as the physical conditions of the bed of the
Indian Ocean, make it highly probable that Madagascar, while once
forming part of Africa, is the chief relic of a considerable
archipelago formerly connecting that continent with Asia, its other
portions being shown by groups of small islands, and by coral atolls
and shoals, which are gradually disappearing beneath the waves. These
questions have been fully treated by Dr A. R. Wallace in his
_Geographical Distribution of Animals_ (vol. i. ch. ix., 1876) and
_Island Life_, ch. xix. (1880).

_Flora._--The flora of Madagascar is one of great interest. One of its
most prominent features is the belt of forest round a large part of
the island at no great distance from the sea, and generally following
the coast-line. This forest is densest on the east side, and for about
120 m. forms a double line, the lower one being much the broader and
averaging 30 m. across, but attaining a breadth of 60 or 70 m. on the
north-east, near Antongil Bay. The vegetation on the western side of
the island is much less dense, often appearing as scattered clumps of
trees on savannah-like plains rather than continuous forest; while in
the south-west, where the rainfall is very scanty, the vegetation is
largely of fleshy-leaved and spiny plants--aloes and cacti (the latter
introduced), with several species of Euphorbia, as well as numerous
lianas, one of which (_Intisy_) yields india-rubber. It is estimated
that there are about 30,000 sq. m. of forest-covered country in
Madagascar, or about one-eighth of its whole surface. The vegetation
of the forests, the abundant epiphytes, the tree-mosses, the filmy
ferns and the viviparous character of many of the ferns, show clearly
how abundant the rainfall is in the eastern forest region. This
contains a large variety of hard-wooded and valuable timber trees,
including species of _Weinmannia_ (_Lalòna_[5]), _Elaeocarpus_
(_Voànana_), _Dalbergia_ (_Vòambòana_), _Nuxia_ (_Vàlanìrana_),
_Podocarpus_, a pine, the sole species in the island (_Hètatra_),
_Tambourissa_ (_Ambòra_), _Neobaronia_ (_Hàrahàra_), _Ocotea_
(_Varòngy_) and probably ebony, _Diospyros_ sp., &c. The following
trees are characteristic of Madagascar vegetation, some of them being
endemic, and others very prominent features in the landscape: the
traveller's-tree (_Urania speciosa_), with its graceful crown of
plantain-like leaves growing like an enormous fan at the top of a tall
trunk, and affording a supply of pure cool water, every part of the
tree being of some service in building; the Raphia (rofia) palm
(_Sagus ruffia_); the tall fir-like _Casuarina equisetifolia_ or
beefwood tree, very prominent on the eastern coast, as well as several
species of screw-pine (_Pandanus_); the Madagascar spice (_Ravintsara
madagascariensis_), a large forest tree, with fragrant fruit, leaves
and bark; a beautiful-leaved species of _Calophyllum_; and the Tangèna
(_Tanghinia veneniflua_), formerly employed as a poison ordeal. On the
lagoons and lower reaches of the rivers the Vìha (_Typhonodorum
lindleyanum_), an arum endemic to Madagascar, grows in great profusion
to a height of 12 or 13 ft. and has a white spathe more than a foot in
length; and on the western coast dense thickets of mangrove line the
creeks and rivers. In the interior rivers is found the curious and
beautiful lace-leaf plant (_Ouvirandra fenestralis_), with an edible
tuberous root. On the western side of the island the baobab, the
tamarind, the ròtra (_Eugenia_ sp.), the rofia palm, and several
species of fan-palm (_Hyphaene_) and of _Ficus_ are prominent; and the
mango (introduced) grows to a large tree. In the generally bare
interior highlands, large trees, species of _Ficus_ (_Amòntana_,
_Aviàvy_, _Nònoka_, _Adàbo_, &c.), often mark the position of the old
towns; and some of these, as Ambòhimànga, Vòhilèna, &c., are
surrounded by remnants of the original forest, which formerly covered
large portions of the interior. The most prominent tree in the central
province is now the Cape-lilac (_Melia azederach_) introduced about
1825; and since the French conquest several species of eucalyptus have
been planted in vast numbers by the road sides. These have given quite
a new aspect to the vegetation, while bright colour is imparted by
species of _Bougainvillea_ and _Poinsettia_. In the eastern forests
palms, bamboos, lianas and tree-ferns, as well as species of
_Dracaena_, are found.

Although flowers growing on the ground or on shrubs are not
conspicuous for number or beauty, there are many fine flowering trees,
such as _Poinciana regia_, presenting a mass of scarlet flowers;
_Colvillia racemosa_, with yellow flowers; _Astrapaea Wallichii_,
striking attention from its abundant flowers; and species of
_Cryptostegia_, a purple-flowered creeper, and _Strongylodon_, another
creeper with cream-coloured blossoms. Among attractive plants are
species of _Hibiscus, Euphorbia, Buddleia, Ixora, Kitchingia,
Clematis_, &c. On the east coast two orchids, species of _Angraecum_,
with large white waxy flowers, one with an extraordinarily long spur
or nectary, attract the attention of every traveller during June and
July by their abundance and beauty. Some 320 species o£ fern have been
collected, and there are large numbers of spiny and prickly plants, as
well as numerous grasses, reeds and rushes, many of them of great
service in the native manufactures of mats, hats, baskets, &c.

The Rev R. Baron divides the flora into three distinctly marked
"regions," which run in a longitudinal direction, following
approximately the longer axis of the island, and are termed
respectively eastern, western and central. The central includes the
elevated highland of the interior, while the eastern and western
include the forest belts and most of the wooded country and coast
plains. Of the 4100 known plants--of which about three-fourths are
endemic--composing the Madagascar flora, there are 3492 Dicotyledons,
248 Monocotyledons and 360 Acotyledons. Of these, the orders most
largely represented (together with their species) are: Leguminosae,
346; Filices, 318; Compositae, 281; Euphorbiaceae, 228; Orchideae,
170; Cyperaceae, 160; Rubiaceae, 147; Acanthaceae, 131; Gramineae,
130. The number of endemic genera now known is 148. Of the 3178
species of plants whose localities have been determined, 35% are
peculiar to the eastern region, 27.5% to the central, and 22% to the
western. One natural order, Chlaenaceae, is strictly confined to
Madagascar. "A small proportion of the species are Asian, but not
African; and the flora of the mountains corresponds closely with that
of the great ranges of the tropical zone of Africa." "The general plan
of the flora follows thoroughly the same lines as that of the tropical
regions of the Old World."

Among the food-giving plants are rice--the staff of life to the
majority of the Malagasy--in many varieties, maize, millet, manioc,
yams, sweet-potatoes, arrowroot, which is largely used by the western
tribes--as well as numerous vegetables, many of them of foreign
introduction. The fruits--the majority of which are introduced--are
the banana, peach, loquat, pineapple, mango, melon, grape, quince,
plum, apple, mulberry, orange, lemon, citron, guava, Chinese-guava,
Cape-gooseberry, fig, raspberry, tomato, &c. Several spices are grown,
including ginger, capsicum, &c.; sugar-cane, coffee, indigo, vanilla,
tobacco, cotton, hemp, gourds, dye-woods, gums, mulberry and other
trees and plants for silk-culture, are also among the vegetable
productions; gum-copal was formerly, and india-rubber is still, an
important article of export.

_Provinces and Towns._--The island may be divided into districts or provinces, which in the main indicate tribal divisions. Of these tribal territories the following may be distinguished, taking them in three main divisions, from north to south: (1) _Eastern_: Antankàrana, occupying the northern peninsula; the country of the Bétsimisàraka, who inhabit a long extent of the coast plains, about 500 m. in length; parallel with this for about a third of it, and between the two lines of forest, is the Bézànozàno country. South again are the districts of the Taimbahòaka, the Taimòro, the Taifàsy and the Taisàka; and at the south-eastern corner are the Tanòsy. (2) _Central_: the districts of Tsimihèty and the Sihànaka; Imèrina, the Hòva province; the Bétsiléo; the Tanàla or foresters; the Bàra; and the emigrant Tanòsy. (3) _Western_: the people from almost the northern to the southern extremities of the island are known as Sàkalàva, but consist of a number of distinct tribes--the Tibòina, the Màilaka, the Taménabé, and the Fiherènana, &c. South of these last are the Màhafàly, with the Tandròy at the extreme south. There are no distinctly marked boundaries between any of these tribal territories; and west of Imèrina and Bétsiléo there is a considerable extent of country with hardly any population, a kind of "no-man's-land." There are numerous subdivisions of most of the tribes.

The capital, Antanànarìvo (pop. 69,000), in the highlands of Imèrina, and Tamatàve (pop. 4600), on the east coast and the chief seaport, are separately described. Majunga (properly Mojangà, pop. 5300) on the north-west coast, just north of 16° S., and Diégo-Suarez, are important ports for foreign trade, the latter being also a fortified naval and military station. Other ports and towns are Màhanòro, Mànanjàry (S.E. coast, pop. 4500), Tullear (S.W. coast), and Fianàrantsòa (pop. 6200), the chief town of the Bétsiléo. There are very few places besides these with as many as 2000 people.

_Inhabitants._--The population is somewhat under two and three-quarter millions,[6] including some 10,000 or 11,000 Europeans, and a smaller number of Indian, Arab, and other Asiatics, mostly small traders found in the seaports, the Chinese being found in every town of any size. The island, it will be seen, is very sparsely inhabited; the most densely peopled province is that of Imèrina with (1905) 388,000 inhabitants. The natives, collectively known as Malagasy, are divided into a considerable number of tribes, each having its distinct customs. Although geographically an African island, the majority of its inhabitants are derived, the lighter portion of them from the Malayo-Polynesian stock, and the darker races from the Melanesian. This is inferred from their similarity to the peoples of the Indian and Pacific archipelagoes in their physical appearance, mental habits, customs, and, above all, in their language. Their traditions also point in the same direction. There is, however, an undoubted African mixture in the western and some other tribes. There is also an Arab element both on the north-west and south-east coasts; and it appears that most of the families of the ruling classes in all parts of the island are descended from Arabs, who married native women. It is believed that there are traces of an aboriginal people (the Vazimba), who occupied portions of the interior before the advent of the present inhabitants, and these appear to have been a somewhat dwarfish race, and lighter-coloured than the Malagasy generally. The Hòva became the dominant tribe from the beginning of the 19th century; they appear to be the latest immigrants, and are the lightest in colour; and they are also the most intelligent and civilized of all the peoples inhabiting the island.