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lowed to rot and waste on the ground, or to putrify the water 

 in the lagoons. 



" 19. The Cocoanut tree appears to thrive as well in Sey- 

 chelles as in Ceylon, if not better. Generally the trees in 

 Seychelles are more healthy than any I saw in Ceylon. 



" 20. The oldest plantations are on the sandy beaches, but 

 new ones are extended np the slopes of the mountains, to 

 elevations of from 1,000 to 1,500 feet above the sea. 



" 21. Tobacco used to be extensively cultivated by the 

 proprietors of a few acres of land. Since the imposition of 

 a tax this industry has to a great extent been abandoned. 

 Many of the poor proprietors are unable to pay the tax in 

 the first instance, and besides, the value of the Tobacco grown 

 would scarcely suffice to pay the tax, independently of the 

 return which might be expected for their labour. 



*' 22. Seychelles Tobacco is of very fine quality. The plant 

 grows freely, and is easily cultivated. 



" 23. If rumour be true, the tax on Tobacco has tended to 

 drive the poorer people from this industry, to a less honora- 

 ble means of supplying their wants. 



" 24. The Sugar Cane is cultivated to a small extent, chief- 

 ly for the manifacture of rum from its juice. The yield of 

 sugar from the cane is said to be small and unremunerative 

 although the canes are magnificent. 



" 25. Cotton grows remarkably well in Seychelles. 



'* According to local traditions, these Islands were at one 

 time famed for the quality and fineness of their Cotton. Seve- 

 ral samples shown me were said to be equal if not superior to 

 the finest Sea Island cotton. 



" 26. Cotton cultivation seems to have gradually died out 

 in these Islandsj since the abolition of slavery. The quality, 



