TORTOISE FARMS 129 



more so than a casual visitor would imagine, 

 for it is extremely tame and will sit for hours 

 motionless and hidden amongst the thick foliage. 



A fine fruit-pigeon* is not uncommon on the 

 higher parts of the Seychelle Islands. This bird 

 is also exceedingly tame, but, unlike the kestrel, 

 it loses rather than profits by its fearlessness. 

 It is good to eat, and being readily caught by 

 means of a noose fastened to a long stick, it falls 

 an easy victim to natives, by whom the flesh is 

 greatly esteemed. The bird much resembles the 

 previously mentioned pigeon of the Comoros, 

 but is somewhat larger and has a deep crimson 

 crown. 



In the grounds of Government House we saw 

 a large number of Aldabra tortoises enclosed 

 within a stone wall. Some of them were of large 

 size, and a great many were newly hatched. We 

 were informed that they bred freely in confine- 

 ment, and that the young grew very quickly. 

 These tortoises are used for food by the natives, 

 and on visiting the market we saw several tethered 

 by the leg and exposed for sale. On all the 

 islands and inhabited islets of this group there 

 were tortoise-farms. We were astonished to 

 find how easily these huge creatures were able to 

 climb. On Felicite, for instance, there was a 

 walled enclosure, one side of which was formed 

 by a high mass of rock, and the tortoises were 



* Alectroenas pulcherrima. 



