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292 MAURITIUS nor in 1768, are remarkable for their varied productions, and contain the richest and rarest plants of the East. With a view to improving the culture of the cane, an agricultural society was formed in 1853 by the principal planters. The surface of the ground being to a great ex- tent covered with stones, renders the use of the plough impracticable, and cultivation is chiefly carried on by the hoe. Guano is extensively used as a manure. Its power in increasing the product of the cane is at first almost incredi- ble, but in a few years it exhausts the land. Deer and wild hogs and goats are abundant in the mountains, and short-legged hares are nu- merous in the plains. Apes are to be found in the forests, and are frequently used as food by the negroes. The tenrec, a species of hedge- hog, is common, and with the moutouck, an insect which eats into the heart of trees, is delicate food in the dry season for the wood cutters of the Plaines Wilhelms. There are great numbers of rats, which are exceedingly destructive, and mice are common. The birds of the island are not numerous, and are mostly of the smaller tribes, with partridges, wood pigeons, and doves, and in the marshy spots a kind of water hen. The only bird of prey is a species of hawk. Mauritius was once the home of the dodo and of a number of other birds of species now supposed to be extinct. Among these were the " giant " (Leguatia gigantea), a kind of water hen, 6 ft. high, and a red bird of the rail family, with a bill like a snipe (apJianapteryx imperialis). The martin, introduced from Asia, has checked the increase of insects. There is still, how- ever, a considerable variety of beautiful insects on the island, among which are butterflies, moths, great numbers of grasshoppers, wasps, and wild bees. A most destructive insect, called the Jcakerlac (blatta Americana ferru- ginea), is one of the greatest pests of the isl- and, attacking every kind of substance, leath- er, binding of books, and provisions. Ants in- fest every place, and one kind occasions great damage to trees and wood work. There are no serpents, nor any venomous insects, except small species of scorpion and centipede. The fish on the coast are abundant and excellent ; and there is a great variety of crabs and mol- lusks. The lobster attains a prodigious size. The sea slug so highly esteemed in China is found within the reefs. Horses, mules, don- keys, horned cattle, sheep, and hogs are im- ported. In 1870 there were on the island 18,- 894 horned cattle and 18,059 sheep. Sugar was exported in 1863 to the amount of 296,512,877 Ibs., the largest quantity ever exported in any one year ; in 1868, 221,760,000 Ibs. ; in 1869, 239,680,000 Ibs. ; in 1870, 228,480,000 Ibs. ; in 1871, 275,520,000 Ibs.; and in 1872, 284,480,- 000 Ibs. The average price per pound since 1867 has been 2$d. The total value of the ex- ports to Great Britain for the five years 1868- '7-2 was as follows : 1868, 1,055,419 ; 1869, 667,515; 1870, 871,387; 1871, 833,386; 1872, 1,539,565. The total value of the ex- ports to all countries in 1871 was, by official re- turns, 3,053,054, or including specie 3,120,- 528; and in 1872, 3,177,301, or including specie 3,243,112; "but the true exports," says the government administrator, " undoubt- edly far exceeded the amount declared." The value of the imports from Great Britain in the same period was as follows: 1868, 404,425; 1869, 399,879 ; 1870, 499,975 ; 1871, 538,- 909; 1872, 5,911,712. The total value of the imports from all countries in 1871 was 1,807,382, or including specie 2,044,386; and in 1872, 2,437,512, or including specie 2,677,974. The only home product of note- worthy amount exported, besides sugar, is rum. Mauritius is mostly dependent upon imported provisions and manufactures. In 1870, 574 ships arrived, of which 322 were British, 39 French, and 3 from the United States. In 1872 the total tonnage of vessels entered and cleared was 543,452. The main roads of the island are good, being mostly macadamized and kept in order by the government. There are two lines of railway : the North line, from Port Louis to Grande Riviere S. E., and the Midland, from Port Louis to Mahebourg, each of which has short branch lines. The scenery upon the latter line is very fine. Telegraphs are established along the lines. There are at Port Louis a convent with a large boarding school attached for young ladies, and a con- vent with a hospital attached under the charge of the sisters of charity. There is also a royal college, in connection with which a new ele- mentary school was opened in 1872 ; a branch school at Curepipe, and numerous other public schools, are in a very flourishing condition. The total number of pupils on the rolls of the government schools in 1872 was 5,040 ; and the annual grant for schools voted by the legis- lature is about 5,000. The Roman Catholic is the prevailing religion, presided over by a bishop. There are 17 Catholic churches and 32 chapels. The church of England is repre- sented by a bishop with the title " Lord Bishop of Mauritius and its Dependencies." Both the Protestant and Catholic clergy are paid out of the colonial treasury. Mohammedanism is pro- fessed by some of the inhabitants, and a mosque is in course of building. Several newspapers are published at Port Louis, only one of which is in the English language. The government of the island is vested in a governor aided by an executive council, and a legislative council con- sisting of seven official members and ten non- official members chosen from the chief landed proprietors of the island, and confirmed in their appointment by the crown. There is a supreme court of civil and criminal justice, presided over by three judges; and a petty court for the trial of trivial crimes and offences. The revenue of the island, chiefly derived from customs and licenses, was for 1871 and 1872 468,851 and 528,689; and the expenditure, 445,111 and 464,149 respectively. The gross