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196 VISITS TO MADAGASCAR. CIIAP. VIII. beyond which the waters of the ocean faintly reflected the rays of the morning sun. In one part of our journey we saw numbers of small tortoises, at another place partridges ran along the road for a considerable distance before us; but the great variety of plants, especially bulbs, gladiolus, or Watsonia, stretching along for miles on either side, were par ticularly attractive. On the second night, when we stopped at a farm house, I walked into the garden or orchard, and was truly astonished at the abundance of the produce. The fig-trees were covered with large well-formed fruit, apples were equally abundant, but the pear-trees were literally loaded, and the branches of the peach-trees hung straight down from the weight of the fruit, which studded the boughs as thickly as gooseberries hang on their bushes in England. The peach-trees were not trained against any railing or other support, but were growing as standards. Some of the fruit-trees appeared not to have had the least pruning, but were growing in all the rank luxuriance of nature. The fruit was small, and, as compared with the same kinds in England, rather woolly and insipid. The vegetables in the same garden comprised maize, French beans, carrots, beet, cucumbers, and pumpkins. Amongst the flowers were the common monthly rose, the larkspur, the old-fashioned purple stock, Valeria, and some curious cactuses. On the following morning we resumed our journey, and in the afternoon reached the missionary station of Zurbraak, having travelled, since leaving Cape Town, 175 miles in less than four days. Zurbraak is situated in a somewhat con tracted valley, and occupies the sides of a small river, from which a portion of the land is irrigated. There are about 1600 people connected with this station, but many were absent in service, or at work in Swellendum and the neigh bourhood. Mr. Helm, the resident missionary, received us