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of the cocoa-nuts has led to a revival of the old spice industry
which, under the early French settlers, was at one time deemed
likely to v.e with that of the Moluccas. On looking over the
Blue Book Report, I find that in the year iSSo there were
12,000 acres of land planted with cocoa-nuts, which in spite of
the recent blight continue to be the staple product of the Group
In the same year there were one hundred and fifty acres devoted
to the growth of vanilla; a hundred acres were planted with
cacao bnshes, and a hundred and fifty were producing cloves ■
besides a large extent of land bearing coffee plantations. Both the’
Liberian and the common coffee plants have been introduced and
found to grow remarkably well. Vanilla, in particular, seems to
find a congenial home in the Seychelle Islands, and, during our
sliort visit to the colony, we gathered that the future hopes of the
settlers were mainly centred upon the successful cultivation of this
plant. It grows rapidly, and although the flowers require to be
ertihzcd by hand, yet this process is so readily performed that
beans of large size and excellent quality are produced. It is as
,vet only grown in a small way. most of the vanilleries, as these
plantations are called, covering only an extent of about five acres
It IS estimated that each plantation of this size represents an
annual produce of two hundred and fifty pounds' weight of vanilla
beans. We inspected some plants in the garden of Dr. Brookes
an old resident, and noticed that the beans averaged eight inches’
m length, and were otherwise well formed. He told us that he
had been most successful in the curing of these beans, and
expected that when they became well known they would com-
mand a large price ,n the Eutopean markets, and that eventually
vanilla wou d became the staple produce of the Seychelle Islands
The method employed at Seychelles for the expression of the
oil from the internal white lining of the cocoa-nut struck me as
being novel and primitive ; and as it is said to be very effieient,
'• intelligible description of a crushing mill
and Its mode of construction. In principle it is a sort of gigantic
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pestle and mortar, in which the pestle is made to perform a movement
of circumduction, and whilst doing so to rotate against the
sides of the mortar, where the crushing process is effected. A
large-stemmed tree of very hard wood having been cut down, so
as to leave about three feet of the trunk projecting above the
ground, a bucket-shaped cavity is excavated in the stump. A
heavy round spar about ten feet in length is stepped into this
cavity, and is made to incline forcibly to one side by means of
a wooden outrigger, which is supported by a rope attached to the
head of the spar, and is weighted with heavy stones placed at its
outer extremity. The inner end of the outrigger is fitted with
wide U-shaped jaws, which engage in a collar scored in the tree
stump just above its point of emergence from the ground, while
the rope-lift which supports its outer extremity is so attached to
the head of the upright spar that the outrigger may be free to
move radially about the stump at the same time that the upright
spar rolls round on its long axis, as it presses heavily against the
sides of the trough. Finally a small hole is bored laterally, so as
to reach the bottom of the cavity in the tree stump, and into this
is thrust a short bamboo tube to act as an oil-tap. The broken-
up copra is thrown in around the lower extremity of the upright
spar, and a bullock is set to work to drag round the outrigger
arrangement. The only attendance required is that of a sn^all
boy to feed the wooden trough with copra, and occasionally to
thiow stones so as to accelerate the otherwise lazy motion of the
bullock. In the mill which I examined the oil was flowing
steadily from the bamboo tap in a clear limpid stream.
We dredged several times with the steam cutter in the channel
between Mahe and St. Anne’s Island, and also in St. Anne’s
Channel. The depth of water in these channels ranged from
four to twelve fathoms, and the bottom consisted of sand and
coral. The fauna was abundant, and comprised Shells of the
genera Murex, Area ; large grey Holothurians ; Fchinoderms of
four or five species ; Crustacea of the genera Thalainites, Galathea,