Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/729

* MADAGASCAR. 647 MADAGASCAR. highlands, and the rivers have excavated numer- ous valleys, so that the west of the island is, for the most part, a deeplj' dissected plain. The coasts are in the main comparatively straight with no deep indentations. The northwest coast, however, is broken up by great inlets, some of them landlocked, so that ilojanga and a. few other baj's are among the largest and finest of natural harbors. Elsewhere the island is poorly supplied with good ports for shipping. Hydrography. Naturally, the rivers that are most important in an economic sense flow down the western slope across the plains to Mozam- bique Channel. The largest of these western rivers are the Betsiboka, the Tsiribihina, the Mangoka, and the Onilahy, all navigable for some distance by small vessels, and the Betsiboka for about 100 miles. The eastern rivers are tor- rential streams making their short course to the sea through gloomy but magnificent gorges under the shade of the densest forest growths. The largest of these rivers is the Jlangoro. The only lake of importance is the Alaotra, among the mountains of the northeast. South of Tamatave, on the east coast, is a series of lagoons which the French have connected by .30 miles of canals, making an inland waterway about 100 miles long. Climate. Owing to its geographical position and the considerable elevation of a large part of the island. JIadagascar has both the temperate and tropical climates. The centre, with a mean elevation of about 4000 feet, has a temperate climate with a dry and wet season and a tem- perature rarely rising above 72°. Here white men can best live and labor. The east has a warm and humid climate with rain nearly every day in the year, the precipitation at Tamatave, for example, being over 90 inches in a year. The hot west coast has a dry and a wet season. All the coast regions are very unhealthful. The south of the island is marked by long periods of drought. Sometimes not a drop of rain falls in a year. Flora. The flora is very rich and varied ; three-fourths of the species are endemic and there are almost 4000 indigenous species ; but from a botanical point of view the east, west, centre, and south differ greatly. The east, receiving the larger rainfall, has extensive forests of tropical timber including many valuable species. A large part of the centre, on the contrary, being comparatively dry, is almost destitute of vege- tation. It is only around the villages and along the rivers that trees and cultivated lands are found. The reason is that the moisture-laden winds from the Indian Ocean part with their water vapor on the eastern slopes of the moun- tains and west of the crests there is much smaller rainfall. In the west are found large expanses of prairies adapted for extensive cattle-raising, with here and there clumps of timber and isolated trees. A belt of forest parallels the west coast at some distance from it. but it is by no means so luxuriant as the eastern forests. Cacti and euphorbias are foimd in the dry south, where the botanical aspects of the country resemble those of the dry plateaus of Mexico. Fauna. See Malagasy Subregion. Economic Condition. In spite of its size and abundance of natural wealth, iladagascar is only beginning to be turned to important economic account. Agriculture and cattle-raising are the chief industries, and are capable of large ex- pansion. The chief products are rice (318,000 hectares in 1901), manioc (constantly growing in area), sugar, coffee, cotton, cacao, vanilla, and sweet potatoe,s. Madagascar has about 1.000.000 head of cattle, and the herds increased, by 300,000 head in 1901. Gold, copper, iron, lead,' sulphur, and a few other minerals exist. Gold was obtained in 1898 to the amount of $00,000; 1899, $215,000; 1900, .$098,000; the exhaustion of some of the placer diggings reduced the out- put in 1901. The manufacturing industries are confined chiefly to the weaving of silk, cotton, and palm fibres, which is done exclusively on hand looms. Commerce. While the oversea trade of Jlada- gascar is increasing every year, most of it is with France. The preferential tarift' in favor of France reduces the trade with other countries. In 1901, 13,440 vessels of 2,458,9,52 tons visited the ports. The value of the total external com- merce of the colony was 55,000,000 francs in 1901, as against 51.000,000 in 1900. The imports were valued at 40,000,000, and the exports at 9,000,- 000 francs, four-fifths of the trade being in com- modities brought into the country. Tlie most important import is French cotton cloth. The ilalagasv as well as Europeans regard the amount of their purchases of cotton cloth as the criterion of the island's prosperity. Rice has the second place among the iiniiorts, though Madagascar should be a rice-exporting country. The apath,v and indolence of the natives are re- sponsible for the insufficiency of the rice crop, but the stimulus the French authorities are giving to this industrv is expected soon to make the crop at least sufficient for the home needs. The chief articles of export are gold, rajihia (fibre), and beef cattle. The chief ports in order of importance are Tamatave, Mojanga, and Ant- seranana. Tlie French are expending large sums to improve interior communications, and business was stimulated in 1002 b,v the completion of the wagon road from Antananarivo (q.v.) to the east coast, where there is a water route through the lagoons to Tamatave. A railroad between the east coast and Antananarivo is also building. There is regular steamship service between Mada- gascar and Marseilles. The administration of the island has been since 1897 in the hands of a Governor-General, assisted bv an administrative council. The interior part of the island is administered bv residents and vice-residents under the supervision of the Governor-General. The French Government main- tains here (1903) a militarv force of about 16,- 000 men, of which over 8.000 are natives. The expenditures of France on Madagascar for 1903 amounted to over 27.000.000 francs. The revenue of the colonv shows an increase from a little over 9.000,000 francs in 1897 to about 22.000,000 francs in 1902. The revenue is obtained from taxation, which is ver,v heavv. Madagascar has a considerable debt. It has three banks, two of them branch institutions. The system of using forced native labor is still practiced. There are clementarv schools provided b.v the Government, in which the French and Malagasy languages are taught, as well as agricultural and industrial schools. There are four normal schools, a school of medicine, and a professional school. The col- on,y has a system of courts.