Generally the horns are of oxen killed at the funeral] [Illustration: BLACKSMITH AT WORK Note the feather-piston bellows, and the man playing a single-stringed gourd guitar] Several of the paths in the forest lead down into ravines of considerable depth and also of great beauty; the combinations of luxuriant foliage, rushing water and lichen-embroidered rocks, ferns and mosses are very varied, and one valley especially reminds one of the celebrated “Fairy Glen” in North Wales. But there are occasionally certain drawbacks even in this natural loveliness, for if you are not very careful you may find yourself attacked by the small leeches which lie in wait on the grass and bushes, and transfer themselves to you as you brush by them. Before you feel any annoyance, you may find yourself streaming with blood from the punctures made by these little pests, which have got under your clothing and are feeding at your expense. Happily, they do not cause any pain worth speaking of, nor are there any unpleasant after-effects, the only discomfort is the blood you lose and having it outside instead of inside your skin. [Sidenote: CRAYFISH] While staying near the upper forest we had frequently brought to us for sale a basketful of crayfish, which seems fairly plentiful in the streams. This species (_Astacoides madagascariensis_), with its genus, is endemic in Madagascar, and in the interior is of small size, averaging about three inches in length; the flavour, however, is excellent, and it makes a very good curry. In the south-east provinces, and probably in other coast districts as well, it attains larger dimensions than the above, being about six inches long. It is a curious fact that crustaceans are entirely absent in the African continent, and that the Madagascar species is much like the kind found in Australia, except that the latter is about twice the size of _Astacoides_. There is a great variety of ferns to be found in every damp place in the valleys, from the minute hymenophyllums on the tree trunks to the larger species of Asplenium, Osmunda, Nephrodium and many others, up to the tree-ferns, of which there are about twenty different kinds, and which give a special charm to the vegetation in many places. On the eastern side of Madagascar the ferns occupy a prominent place in the flora, there being above two hundred species already known, and comprising no less than above thirteen per cent. of the whole flora of that region. Among the Filici are the beautiful gold ferns and silver ferns, the seed-vessels on the under side of the fronds having quite the effect of the two precious metals. The young leaves of a tree found in the forest (_Eleocarpus sericeus_), when dried and pressed, form the beautiful objects known as “gold leaves.” [Sidenote: VALUABLE TREES]