18 



Description of the 



[No. ZS, 



tached. They have generally some cows, sheep and chickens, still 

 the greater part of the population is poor. 



The statement in the margin, 

 the last entries of which I believe 

 to be pretty correct, shows an in- 

 crease of nearly 20 per cent, since 

 1831 in the population of this is- 

 land. It is now nearly double that 

 of all the other islands put together. 



Ameende 



("Fo 



For 1831., 

 1839.. 

 184-1.. 



Population. 



Male. 



Female, 

 Total. 



944 

 1,081 

 1,142 



994ll,938 

 1,161 i2,24i! 

 1,173|2,315 



The soil of Ameendevy is poorer naturally than that of Kiltaji or 

 Kadamat, and, the consumption in various ways of the fallen leaves 

 by its dense population, robs it of the advantage of a natural manure 

 which the others possess in some degree. Some of the trees in 

 Ameendevy are most advantageously situated, but the punchayet of 

 islanders examined by me set the average gross produce of a tree at 

 60 nuts per annum ; an average somewhat larger than I could arrive 

 at by making actual experiments. The statement in the margin 



would lead us to conclude 

 that the plantation had been 

 perfectly stationary for 20 

 years, but these statements 

 cannot be implicitly relied on. 

 In Ameendevy there is very 

 little to be done now in the 

 way of plantation, the great- 

 er part of the island is a 

 perfect thicket of cocoa- 

 palms, but quite clear of 

 underwood, and that which remains unoccupied is of little or no 

 value and in exposed situations. 



In the middle of this island, over about 50 acres, 

 the crust of coral already mentioned has been remov- 

 ed, and the whole centre of the island presents a fine low damp soil 

 probably hardly above the level of the sea. The whole bears marks 

 of a well laid and ably executed design, on which an enormous 

 amount of labour must have been expended ; but tradition has pre- 

 served no account of the circumstance under which this vast and be- 

 neficial work was executed. All that is known is that, it was com 



For 1827.. 

 ,, 1831.. 

 „ 1839.. 

 „ 1844.. 



Cocoa Plantation. 



Total 

 Trees. 



Chouk or un- 

 productive 

 Trees. | 



Young Trees 

 and Plants. 



1 



Total produc- 

 tive. 



67,.534 

 71,616 

 65,243 

 64, 112 



2,745 

 1,.589 

 7,660 

 4,053 



20,716 

 23,358 

 20,942 

 15,891 



44,073 

 46,669 

 36,341 

 44,229 



N. B.— The chouk trees are excluded in this state- 

 ment. 



TheTotorKat. 



