214 Cruise of the "Alert." 



species of shells, worms, and Ophiurids, and two or three species 

 of sponge. 



At three o'clock in the afternoon we anchored at Mahe, the 

 chief island of the Seychelle Group. 



Seychelles, a term which is used to comprise the group of 

 eighty islands, has been a British colony since the year 1794, 

 when it was taken from the French by force of arms. Most of 

 the land is in the possession of descendants of the old French 

 settlers, men who have the reputation of being devoid of enterprise, 

 and of squandering the produce of their land in habits of dissipa- 

 tion. We were told that among the upper classes there were only 

 about six Englishmen in the group, including the governor, 

 secretary, and doctor, etc. By a census taken in 1880, the total 

 population was 14,035, of which 2,029 was represented by African 

 negroes. The population of the chief island, Mahe, alone 

 amounted to 11,393, so tnat there remains less than 3,000 to be 

 divided among the remaining islands of the Group. The total 

 has since been increasing, owing to a stream of immigration having 

 set in from Mauritius, where there exists a commercial depression ; 

 so that at the time of our visit it was said to amount to 1 8,000. 



I think that to most people Seychelles is principally known as 

 the home of that eccentric palm, the double cocoa-nut, or " Coco 

 de Mer." Its range is indeed very restricted, being, in fact, 

 limited to Praslin, — one of the smaller islands of the Group, — 

 and even there it only grows in one particular valley. A few 

 have been introduced into Mahe, and great care is now being 

 taken in order to promote their extension. There was a hand- 

 some specimen of the female tree growing in the grounds of 

 Government House, which was shown to me by Mr. Brodie, the 

 courteous Secretary to the Council. The tree being unisexual, 

 isolated specimens can only be made fruitful by artificial means. 

 In the present instance, the tree being over thirty years old, and 

 in the proper condition for impregnation, Mr. Brodie had taken 

 the trouble to obtain from Praslin the reproductive portion of a 



