164 



THE AGKIUULTUKAL NEWb 



May 31, 1919. 



SEYCHELLES: ANNUAL REPORT ON 

 AGRICULTURE AND CROWN LANDS EOR THE 

 YEAR rgjj. 



This report by Mr. ?. B. Dupont, Curator of the 

 Botanic Station in the island of Mahe, the chief island of 

 the group, has recently been rece'ved- As usual it contains 

 matter of con^'iderable interest, especially to West Indian 

 agricultutists, seeing that the climatic and soil conditions of 

 that group of islands are very similar to those in the West 

 Indies : especially, does the comparifon hold good between 

 Mahe and the more mountainous islands, such as Dominica 

 and St. Lucia. 



It seems that, as has been found to be the case in Domin- 

 ica, the mangosteen (G'arnnia maiifjostana) and the durian 

 (Durio zibethinus) the well known East Indian fruit trees, are 

 more at home on the hills than in the low country, though 

 both of these trees have fruited in the year under report. 

 Another interesting tree, the seeds of which were introduc- 

 ed from Java in 19 12, has also produced ripe fruit at the 

 Botanic Station in 1917. This is Sandericum radiat/n», 

 belonging to the same order of plants, Meliaceae, to which the 

 mahogany also belongs, but unlike the latter it bears a 

 large fruit of the diameter of nearly 3 incbe.«, which contains 

 a sweet pulp inside, arranged somewhat like that ot the 

 mangosteen or the West Indian star apple (Chrf/.wpht//l>iiii. 

 cainito). Besides producing an edible fruit, Mr. Dupont 

 states that it is an excellent shade tree, with a dense head, 

 and very ornamental, owing to the fact that the old leave,-* 

 turn red before falling. It may be mentioned that another 

 species of the same genu.», the fruit of which is also edible, 

 although reported to 1 e of a somewhat un|)leasant odour, 

 is grown in the Botanic Gardens at Dominica. 



Another tree of great economic importance was intro- 

 duced during tl e year through the United States Department 

 of Agriculture; this is the algaroba (I'rosopis ji//ifi(»-ti), 

 ■which i.s grown evtensively in Hawaii, and the beans of which 

 are used as food for cattle, pigs and poultry. For this 

 rea.soD Mr. Dupont considers that the introduction of the 

 tree into the Seychelles will be of much benefit. 

 It might be euBgested that the Jamaica shade tree or Quango 

 (PilhccoMiium Snmaii) might also be advantageously 

 introduced from the West Indies into the Seychelles. 



A lar^ie portion of the report is taken up with the account 

 of experiments in the cultivation of the oil palm 

 (Klnein r/uiiueiisix) which has been introduced from 

 Nigeria, and which promises to develop into a con- 

 siderable indu.stry. The plants hitherto introduced have 

 done well even in comparatively poor soil, but it 

 seems liki ly that the yield of the trees will Vie considerably 

 affected by the nature of the land. The oil palm tree, like the 

 coco-nut, teems to grow well on coral land, iind the lew 

 plants bet out in 1913 on such coral lands have flowered as 

 early as those on granitic land. The coconut palm planta 

 tions in S?ychelles have been so much damaged by pests 

 and diseases that another palm of the same hardy type as 

 the cf^co nut will lie ait«eful adjunct in the Seychelles 



plantations. Palm oil trees ate produced so easily by seeds 

 that the trees may very likely become spontaneous on 

 abandoned or waste land, and it is important to have in 

 an undeveloped colony like the Seychelles a crop which 

 can he grown eap.ily without much trouble. Experiments 

 are being undenaken with regard to the investigation of the 

 question whether the soft-shelled variety of the oil palm 

 breeds true, as this variety is more desirable for cultivation 

 on account of the le.'^s 1 tbour in breaking the nut. 



Further experiments are being conducted on the 

 manuring of coco-nut trees, the records of which will be 

 of considerable value when conducted for a sufficient number 

 of years, as it is supposed that the influence of manures 

 cannot show itself before at least two years after their appli- 

 cation. 



A declining industry is vanilla, which at one time 

 formed a large proportion of the exports. The declared 

 value of the atuount of vanilla exported in 1917 was .')0,000 

 rupees, whereas twenty years ago ihe value of the vanilla crop 

 exceeded 1,000,000 lupees. Four causes for this decline 

 are stated in the report: (1) reduction of area planted owing 

 to the seven years of drought which lasted from. 1904-11, the 

 vanilla orchid being unable to s'and such continued dry 

 weather ; (2) the increasing interest in coco nut planting 

 which has become of late years a more paying industry 

 than vanilla ; (3) disease caused by the Calospora fungus; 

 (4) the exhaustion of the soil by repeated culture of vanilla 

 on the same land. 



The rubber industry appears to be progressing satisfac- 

 torily. New areas are being opened up for rubber planting, 

 and it would seem as if rubber will take the place in agricul- 

 ture which vanilla had formerly. The Hevca rubber tree 

 thrives in the lateritic soils of the Seychelles, and up to the 

 present has proved remarkably immune from disease. 



Another growing industry is that of the distillation of 

 essential oils, especially cinnamon leaf oil. This industry was 

 established in l'J07 afier three years of experiment. There 

 are at present no less than seventeen distilleries at work, and 

 the development of this new industry is largely benelitiog 

 tLe poorer classes. This will be seen from the fact that a 

 distillery working 4.J tons of cinnamon leaves a month, gives 

 employment to about ninety persons. \Vith regard to the 

 yield from the cinnamon leaves, it is stated to be very vari.ible 

 accordint' to the time of the year and the age of the 

 leaves. The yield varie.=i from 4 to cS kilogrammes per 

 ton of leaves. The work continues all the year round, and 

 there are enough cinnamon trees growing on the hills in 

 Mahe to allow of several more distilleries being put up. In 

 the (Jovernment forests there are some huge trees, said to be 

 ii'ore than 100 years old, and from these, .seeds are scattered 

 all over the islands by wild pigeons and mynah birds, which 

 are very fond of the succulent berries. 



As in other outlying portions of the Umpire, the pro- 

 duotion locally of an increased (|uantity of food'<tuffs was a 

 pressing que.^tion in the year reported on, and various crops 

 were advised to he planted. These are similar to food crops 

 grown in the West Indies. One or two however seem strange. 

 It is stated, for instance, that the labourers eat the leaves of 

 the cassava The young shoots are pounded and squeezed 

 to extract the Juice, and then cooked with sallllsh and is 

 greatly relished The boiling also as a vegetable of the 

 unripe fruits ot the granadilla (Piisx/'/Zorii iiiiadrnngidarii^ 

 and the u.se as a spinach ot the leaves of the horse 

 radish tre • (Mi>rip;ia pleri/fjosje) ma) as well as the u.se 

 of the unripe pods as a string bean, seem mI.'^o peculiar. 

 The (lowers if the same tree, as well as those of 

 Ses/i'ihii 'jranditlova another well-known tree in the 

 West Indies, are boih of them used as vegetables. It 



