22 PERCY SLADEN TRUST EXPEDITION 



where the land is in many places bordered, just above the beach, by a fringe of trees and 

 other plants not peculiar to Seychelles, but characteristic of many a tropic beach in the 

 Western Indian Ocean. 



Having passed over two months in the island of Silhouette, I spent the remainder of 

 my time in various parts of Mahd, with the exception of about a fortnight given to visits 

 to the islands of Praslin, Felicite, and Marie Anne. I have divided this account into 

 three sections, devoting the first to Silhouette, the second to Mahe\ and the third to the 

 three other islands just mentioned. I have also maintained as far as possible a chrono- 

 logical sequence in dealing with the various phases of the work, discussing the various 

 localities for the most part in the order in which I visited them. 



II. SILHOUETTE. 



The stay in Silhouette (July 25 — September 30, 1908) fell entirely within the season 

 of the south-east wind ; that is to say, in the coolest and driest time of year. On the 

 whole the weather was fine, though broken by some wet spells, and often by short rain- 

 storms. In fair weather, lines of white clouds could often be seen passing across the blue 

 sky from the south-east ; and on such days there was usually a haze in the distance, 

 rendering invisible the islands of Mahe and Praslin, 20 miles and more away. 



Silhouette measures roughly about 4 miles by 3 : it is sculptured by erosion into 

 extremely steep-sloping ridges, valleys, and peaks, and it rises at its highest point to over 

 2400 feet above the sea. During the whole period I had easy access to the high forests, 

 as I was camped at considerable elevations. Huts had been built for Professor Stanley 

 Gardiner in the mountains by the proprietor of the island, Monsieur E. Dauban, to whom 

 and to whose family I am extremely indebted, not for this only, but for their unfailing 

 kindness to me throughout my whole sojourn in Silhouette. 



The first of these huts was situated at an elevation of about 1500 feet, at a spot called 

 Mon Plaisir, near a point where three of the principal mountain-ridges meet. The ground 

 on all sides was so rough and steep, that it had been necessary to dig in order to form 

 a level space on which to erect the hut. In every dnection lay forest : beyond a steep- 

 sided valley-head rose a great granite precipice — the southern aspect of the highest ridge 

 of the island. The face of this precipice is bare, but its summit, which is a knife-edged 

 ridge only a few feet wide in places, is clothed with dense jungle composed largely of 

 capucin trees (Northea seychellarum). Being encamped in such a situation proved to 

 be an experience of great value : for since the loftiest summits and the narrow ridge 

 mentioned above were within easy reach of the hut, I was enabled to devote much time 

 to the fauna of the very highest and dampest forest-zone. However, I shall not deal 

 in detail with the work done during this time, much of which was necessarily spent in 

 learning how to find the insect-fauna. Though collecting in the tropics was entirely new 

 to me, I was so fortunate as to profit by the experience of others who had collected in 

 tropical islands. On first entering the forests, one is often liable to gain the impression 

 that insect-life is extremely scarce. At first sight, the fauna is quite the reverse of 

 evident. In such places as the Seychelles mountain-jungles, insects must be searched for 



