148 
THE < 
GARDENERS 
CHRONICLE. 
[JULY 31, 1875, 
no better station could be chosen for a sanatorium for 
the crews of nav. oast of Africa. 
м harbour), at 
a, the climate i is delight tful. The seasons are te 
north- 
e go rise suddenly from the 
ere the mountain peaks of 
a submerged continent or lates island. The highest 
is é, and the next Silhouette. The mountains of 
the former rise to an elevation of 3000 Ї bove the 
In the other 
s no elevation exceeds 1500 
outline of each island may be said to bea ros 
of hills i in the ye as in Mahé and Praslin, or on 
as in Curieuse «аб Silhoue vede or a 
any 
spurs о 
handed feet in height, an 
beaches of from three-fourths of a mile to a few yards 
The largest of these beaches are in La 
Digue, the north-east and south-west ends of Praslin, 
besides several in 6. Coral generally underlies 
es. 
e sometimes lagoons between the base 
the mo th . They exist in all 
the islands, but the су get is in La Digue. Croco- 
these pe ons, The last of 
them was killed w thin the recollection of a few of 
the oldat inhabita: 
The geological dE of these islands is granitic. 
Veins of trap are frequen 
In Curieuse it is much decomposed. 
rms, were frequently seen ; 
Isle y» x Frégates con 
coral are found 
m ata е ама lee elevation above the 
pm reefs "nd but they rarely шыч me a 
the sea. Like the sandy beaches oe 
reefs are those at Port Vic 
Mahé, and the Boers "ind south-west ends of 
Pras li. 
The surface of these islands is mountainous and 
undulating often abruptly so, тч А а Pone 
ariety of aspects of hill and dale, ra 
is 
^ strewn with granit 2 
izes and 5 The surface of the boulders is 
often deeply grooved iated, worn, or hollowed 
ound lying sometimes on 
their "bedi sometimes tilted on their sharp edges, 
all ere are cavities 
between them, in some O or more feet in 
depth, and several feet in width. The tae from 
their distorted positions, seem to have bee Е 
asunder by навуч action, They аге reesi mumeron 
near the iain tops, and in the of the 
ravines, dye which they шейш lie like tht ines, 
and not unlikely the ed of landslips from the tops 
and si es of the mounta 
x soil P 19. 1. Lope. TUN т Ж 
washed away, since [A destruction of the virgin 
forests. In both Praslin and Curieuse it is very poor. 
irem tr de ee cr ee „ые 
exists in this island its quality is very good. 
Excepting about 70 acres, Tale aux Frépates i$ is almost 
a naked rock. The soil пи icr 
fel. This is owing to the site having once been 
bed of a lagoon, into which all the dibris pu vege- 
table matter from the higher parts of the island have 
carri. рем 
birds, a circumstance which very probably pe ees 
we to the fertility e the débris carried in 
lying waste, the properties of PI who are either 
too lazy or too poor to cultiva 
The chie uce of these pé is Miete oil, 
The quantity is annually increasing, and i of con- 
siderable val The plantations of Coco: iu trees 
are increasing, and g plantations z> annually 
reaching the period of age (ten or twelve years) when 
the trees begin to bear. The value of a intita à in 
full bearing is about 3s. х= tree per annum, at whic 
value the trees may be said to continue for a genera- 
tion. The mill used for eie 1 the oil is the old 
primitive one, the same as the which has been 
used in Ceylon and other comitis for йге of 
years 
Th e is = extracted by machinery from the 
husk of the nut, will form a considerable item in 
oe export of diese islands The husk is said to be 
arly as valuable its fibre а the nut is for oil. 
елау it was allows and waste on the 
ground, or to putrify the water in ust la мона 
ocoa-nut tree appears to thrive dt 
Seyc helles as in Ceylon, if not better. Gener dy tt the 
trees in Seychelles are more healthy than any I saw 
Seychelles Tobacco is of very fine quality. The 
plant grows freely, and is easily cultivated. 
ar-cane х. cultivated to a small extent, 
cn of rum from its juice. 
The с of sugar e cane is eit t to be small 
m remunerative, оао the canes аге magni- 
cent. 
Cotton grows remarkably I in Seychelles, Ac- 
cording to local tr кы! these islands were at опе 
time те for ES qu fineness of their cotton, 
Several samples said to be equa T 
not superior, to the finest Sea Island cotton. Cotto 
—— seems to have ually died out in thes 
islands since the abolition of slave The lity, 
h Res i 
A a 
back is owing to the difficulty in bringing the produce 
to market, and the supply of labour during the picking 
a - 
oma Cacao, the Chocolate-tree, grows well, 
Several sali се ei it, in bearing conditiod, 
Mahé. Young plantations 
of it are being made plant is very common on 
w lands ; in fact, it may be said to be naturalised 
setae become n naturalised it may bs inferred 
that the climate fa fi 
The climate of these islands is well oim for 
Vanilla, and on my first visit in 1871 
had been so gus attended to. Si 
attention has been paid to it, and several large plas. 
tions, lately ma ade, will soon ‘be in in bearing. 
Mai tto the extent such a 
me 
ст 
of the ravines or Marche and pe raising crops in th 
swamps and ng places. In such places two 
crops might ad each year. Occasional patches 
of Rice bk noticed in and in La Digue 
there were IO to I2 acres in a very ourishing con- 
ition, 
The climate and soil of Seychelles are highly 
favourable ud t Of 
the 
nnamon ar 
naturalised, being found in many 
Doubtless they may have been йон, 
but where planted they have taken possessio n of the 
several localities the Tr tree has жое КЫ the 
height а) p to 50 cg Im 18 to 24 
inches iameter, , with its lively green 
foliage, i Ww really beautiful е варь somewhat 
Its pyramidal- 
T in out- 
aware that several y m 
ees reach the bearing stage, and, in ue) that 
man will ther. The could 
о! toge 
be easily gathered from the highest trees by pee of 
The trees are frequently cut down 
ery little ation has 
long time, but on 
proprietors mentioned their intention of making large 
lantations, ires li cultivation, 
1 not 
iven so also have some plants of the Durian. 
I have no doubt that these, as the Mangosteen, 
d thrive well in l 
(Piper nigrum) might be profitably culti- 
vated, the climate, &c., being well ada 
owth. It would appear to ied pe een MSN 
1s in these islands, 
is fo eat а € in all the islands 
md over the granite boulders like Ivy, 4 few 
i or dd from Singapore would soon 
revive “its s cultur 
scarcity of vegetables in а 8 
islan This is owing either to the indolence 9 the 
indiffereioé of the inhabitants, 
cultivated with industry and care, w 
not the least doubt. 
dian or Chinese m 
overnment land, in оа lack 
bec! res Bo ond be conditionally mad c tid Е; the 
Sw 
m 
African, and poisonous as they 
t : 
кет suboiled he eats quantities of Б with im. 
deserves attentio ` 
olocasia гч: (Tara?) is much cultivated iu 
the poorer inh aras and undoubtedly formsa 
part Е their susten 
wroot, йш, à ffran (Turmeric) and Саг. 
саны © could be extensively cultivated. At 
the three last are not noticed. The only ear. * 
was seen in the vicinity of Gov 
«NOS 
ree grows 
t with the exception of a few le 
as curiosities by children, I did not see any 
in alm 
the soil was suitable for ‘the ee 
of former plantations have long been left to them- 
selves, The older plants have attained the size of 
smali trees, 15 to £p feet in height, having a propor- 
tional thickness of trunk. e ground underneath 
them is he with ane: Meee plants, in all 
stages of wth, forming almost Eo 
drei ad ЗЫ evidence that the berries have never 
or seldom been gathered since the plantations were 
abandon 
The Pine-apple is by no means rare. It has 
bably been introduced. It is now naturalised, and is 
one o fthe commonest plants in all the islands—densely 
o the fri bo in extent in 
cannot be compar man h 
cultivated in other ае yet it is not to be 
es : 
Oranges are common, large, and oe quality iset- 
cellent. They are abundant in all the islands, but 
more especially in Silhouette, The quality of the 
wn in that island is superior to those 
gr nany of the others. At Anse Mondon, in 
Silhouette, the ground was covered with fallen 
Mandarins or the Tan si Opp and 
ranges, 
Fruit de Cythére (Spondias dulcis, 
apparently so common that the pigs did not care for 
above there are the Sweet-sop, Sout 
sop, the Bullock's-heart or г Custard Apple (Anonas 
(Averrhoas and Bilimbi), 
makes excellent tarts. The Bread-fruit, Jack, Mango, 
Tamarin vas of thr rts 
The number of plants collected d my two 
isits, ing allowance sr duplicates, amounts fo 
about 400 species. Of that number about 200 species 
are what may be termed col = occurring in all 
ба іса] соо The greater poto du of се yc 
find congeners in Mada: 
vical yc Southern India, Ae Malay, Po Polynesia 
or Oceanic Islands, 
The Seychelles flora has no ities 
Mauritius. The plants which are ey in both are 
also common plantsin some or another = the countries 
above named, and in some instances of them. 
Wie the flora of Madagascar becomes ; better known, 
We gode flora of Seychelles will be be found 
be more nearly allied to it than to any i 
Relative between places, similarity 
$ iu 
clusion. So far as publish 
scribed in the Flora of M: fauritius and 
