Dr. E. P. Wright on Lodoicea sechellarum. 343 



trees, and to conclude with a few words on the introduction of 

 this palm into Europe. In March, 1864, Sir W. J. Hooker 

 read to the Linnean Society extracts from a letter from 

 Mr. Swinburn Ward relating to the Coco de mer, which con- 

 cluded with the statement that " not many years will 

 elapse before the Coco de mer becomes in reality as rare as it 

 was supposed to be when picked up at sea by the wondering 

 mariners ; and the only relics left of its former magnificence 

 will be the decaying stumps of the trees, so wantonly de- 

 stroyed, and the curious sockets in which they stood for so 

 many years." This statement naturally alarmed all bota- 

 nists ; and, at the request of the Linnean Society, Mr. Ward 

 kindly visited both Praslin and Curieuse for the purpose of 

 examining into the subject a little more closely, and came to 

 the conclusion that, although many hundreds of this palm- 

 tree had been destroyed on the north-west of Praslin, yet 

 that several large forests still remained, and that the tree was 

 not at all likely to become extinct. 



The island of Praslin lies nearly north-west and south-east; 

 a range of mountains, some 1500 feet in height, runs from 

 one end to the other of the island. It is several miles broader 

 on its south-eastern than on its north-western side ; and here 

 there is a large deep bay, in the mouth of which stands a little 

 island, called Isle Ronde. On the eastern side of Praslin lies 

 Isle Curieuse, separated from Praslin by a strait from half a 

 mile to a mile in width. In the midst of the mountain-range 

 on Praslin there are several deep valleys, where for the most 

 part the indigenous flora is still untouched. It would appear 

 that the Lodoicea is indigenous on Curieuse, Praslin, and the 

 little Round Island, and that wherever else it is met with on 

 the Seychelles it has been planted by the hand of man. On 

 Isle Ronde only two or three are to be met with. On Curieuse, 

 which is government property, a large number of trees are to 

 be found, chiefly on the northern side of the island. On the 

 southern side the soil is very poor, and there is but little of it 

 (for, the underwood here having been destroyed, the soil has 

 been to a great extent washed away), and the Lodoicea grows 

 to a height of not more than from ten to twelve feet ; on the 

 northern side, however, there are some very fine trees. This 

 island is the seat of a leper-establishment, perhaps the only one 

 ever supported by the British Government. It would appear 

 that, shortly before the passing of the Act for the emancipation 

 of slaves in the British Colonies, it had been represented to 

 the then Ministers of the Crown that very many unfortunate 

 lepers were living in a state of utter destitution on many of 

 the smaller coral islands so numerous in the Indian Ocean. 



