Of the western part of Madagascar we know very little; though from the breadth and richness of its provinces we should like to know a great deal. Mr. Boothby in the time of Charles I. and Drury, in the days of Queen Anne, give us information respecting St. Augustine’s Bay. Captain Owen and the officers of the English navy, who in 1824 laid down so much of the coast line, have dwelt upon the great harbours of the north-west. To M. Guillain we are indebted for information respecting the same quarter, the island of Nosibé, the Hova settlements near Pasandava Bay, the town and port of Mojangá, and the Sákaláva districts as far as Morondáva; and we owe much to Mr. Lyons Macleod, formerly Consul at Mozambique, and still more to Mr. Ellis’s History, for giving us a summary of this information. During his visits to the island, Mr. Ellis scarcely touched the question of its geography; he took no observations and prepared no maps: though to the botany of the island and to the facts connected with the moral condition of the people he added greatly. The traveller who has seen most of Madagascar previous to our visit is M. Grandidier. This gentleman spent several years in the island between 1865 and 1870; and devoted much time and strength to the examination of several of its districts. He lived for a considerable time on the north-east and the west coasts: he travelled up from Mojangá to the Capital; crossed the island through the Betsileo province; and visited the almost unknown district of the Sihánaka tribe. His observations have not yet been given to the world; he has read to the Geographical Society of Paris, and has published, a sketch of his travels; and has published a general map of the island on a moderate scale, far more correct than anything which has preceded it. But the geographical world yet waits for the complete story, which he promises them in ten or twelve volumes. He was well known to our missionaries and respected by them. All recent maps of Madagascar (except Grandidier’s) are traceable to two sources. The coast line was laid down by Capt. Owen and his companions in 1824. The detail of the interior is derived from the map of Colonel Lloyd, published in 1849 by Mr. Arrowsmith: and Colonel Lloyd’s memoir on the geography of the island will be found in vol. xx. of the Royal Geographical Society’s Journal. In regard to this map Colonel Lloyd says: “The coast line may be depended on as tolerably exact, having been reduced from the various nautical surveys. For the detail of the interior I cannot claim the slightest pretensions to correctness. It is only an attempt to form approximately some foundation for future inquiries, and more correct and extensive research.” Notwithstanding this frank disclaimer, editors and writers have gone on copying this map down to the present time.