8vo, presentation inscription on front free endpaper "Presented to His Excellency Sir W. Gomm, by his most obedient humble servant L. Bouton, Sect. to the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences.", 2 folding lithograph plates at end of Mr. Carie's pump, 99, [1], xxiv, 100-187, xxv-lxx1, [1] pp., contemporary red morocco, gilt, hinges slightly rubbed, the upper cover with presentation inscription in gilt, with the armorial bookplate of Sir James Gomer Berry, a nice copy. Field Marshall Sir William M. Gomm was Governor of Mauritius, 1842-49. The text which is part in French and part in English includes a letter from the Hon. Mr. G. C. Cuninghame on the Dodo being on the islands of Mauritius, Bourbon, and Rodrigues, about 200 years previously (pp.91-93), and a fascinating discussion on how people and boats could have reached Madagascar from the Malays, with further interesting comments on the Malayan language (pp.136-148). Other interesting topics include the cultivation of canes at Bourbon Island, a new mode of preserving and cutting canes, the diseases of canes, preservation of the roots of the manioc, and electricity applied to the growth of plants.
