45 3 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [November i, 1881. 
Seychelles vanilla obtained the first prize, and the pre- 
sent market value in Paris is 8Uf. per lb. That 
the culture is a profitable one may be judged from 
the following : — 
"An ordinary vanilla plantation, or " vanillerie" as 
it is called here, is about 5 acres in extent, and at 
a moderate computation represents a production of 
250 lb. of vanilla per acre, A clear profit of 10 
rupees a pound after deducting all expenses of pro- 
duction, snipping aud freight to Europe may be ac- 
cepted as a fair calculation, thus giving a profit of 
2,500 rupees an acre. To refer to actual facts, I may 
mention that Mr. Serret, a member of the Board of 
Commissioners, who possesses a vanillerie here, in- 
formed me that last year he was offered 100 francs a 
kilo or about £2 per pound for his first crop of 
vanilla, which represented 270 lb., and that this 
year his second crop is estimated at 600 lb., of 
which 400 lb., are actually gathered. Mr. Serret's 
estate is 7 acres in extent, with 5£ planted, and is 
worked entirely by twelve African boys." 
As to cocoa we read : — 
"There are about 100 acres of cocoa in cultivation, 
and the quality is pronounced by judges in Europe 
to be unsurpassed. The cocoa from here took tue 
first prize at the International Exhibition of Paris. 
The cocoa tree bears in the fifth year after it is 
planted, though, in some instances, it has been known 
to bear after three years. It thrives magnificently, 
and the trees everywhere are healthy and vigorous, 
and eeem admirably adapted to the soil in all parts 
<of the Island. It will grow well at Praslin, Silhouette, 
Felicite and La Digue." 
But Liberian coffee is the culture par excellence for 
Seychelles, Mr. Stewart thinks, and he describes 42 
trees obtained by a Mr. Cauvin from Mauritius 
in December 1878, and which at 30 months 
old were from 8 to over 10 feet high, and were 
covered with berries. Mr. Cauvin states that they 
had blossomed in November 1879, May and Novem- 
ber 1880, and May 1881. The ordinary coffee also 
grows well on these islands, 70 acres being in culti- 
vation, the quality being good, and the flavour ex- 
cellent. Regarding other products Mr. Stewart says : — 
" The attention of the Seychellois has again been 
attracted to the cultivation of cloves, and there are 
150 acres under cultivation. I say "again " attracted, 
for I regret to say that the lazy habits of the people 
have led to the wantoa destruction of acres of this 
spice. Mr. Home, the Director of the Mauritius 
Botanical Gardens, in his admirable Eeport on these 
Islands, dated the 20th May, 1875, writes as follows : 
— " The manner in which the Islanders gather the 
cloves is Vioth reckless and wasteful ; they cut off all 
the branches of the tree, although they are well 
aware that several years must elapse before the 
trees again reach the bearing stage, and in fact that 
many of them will die altogether. The cloves could 
easily be gathered from the highest trees by means 
of a bamboo ladder, and Mr. MacLeod, H. B. M. 
Consul at Mozambique, writing Of Seychelles in 1859, 
twenty-two years ago, says, "This year two-thirds 
of the cloves that are produced by the remains of 
the spice gardens established by Mahe Labourdonnais 
were left on the ground for want of labour to save 
them." Since that date they have been cut down 
for firewood. The value of the Seychelles cloves is 
about £4 the 100 lb. The last lot sent home real- 
ized £6 the 100 lb., but. this was exceptional. 
Pepper grows wild in these Islands, but although 
attention was called to the desirability of cultivating it 
by Mr. Home in 1875, no attempt has as yet been made 
to make it a productive industry. I am glad to say, 
however, that 1 have induced several of the inhabitants 
to commence to cultivate it, and have promised to 
endeavour to import two or three Malays from the 
Straits Settlements who understand its culture and 
manufacture to show them what should be done to 
render this plant, which is indigenous to the Island, a 
source of probable cultivation. Cinnamon is allowed 
to grow waste, and no attention is paid to nutmegs, 
allspice, arrowroot, ginger, saffron, and cardamoms, 
all of which could be extensively cultivated. I am 
taking every step in my power to impress upon the 
people of Seychelles the importance of this place as 
a spice producing country, and using every endea- 
vour to give an impulse to the nascent desire of the 
more advanced of the population to adopt such ideas. 
It is impossible to imagine a country more favoured 
by nature than Seychelles. Though near the equator, 
the great heat common to the tropical countries is 
not experienced, and hurricanes so destructive to 
agriculture in Mauritius and Bourbon never visit these 
Islands. The country is notoriously healthy and ex- 
empt from all epidemic diseases and endemic fever, 
and well watered streams and rivers, and, as I have 
endeavoured to point out, peculiarly adapted to the 
cultivation of every known product of the East or 
West Indies. Cotton used to grow here, but has for 
years past been uncultivated. Mr. MacLeod, referring 
to Seychelles cotton in 1859 says " From 1817 to 
1827 a flourishing and lucrative cotton trade was carried 
on at the Seychelles, and it requires only labour to 
compete with America in this article which it pro- 
duces of the very finest silky Sea Island quality." 
It grows wild on some of the outlying islands, but 
its cultivation has never been attempted. There is 
no better tobacco grown in the East than Seychelles 
tobacco, yet but little is exported, and the prepara- 
tion is still crude and unskilful, a fault easily remedied 
by the introduction of two or three Malabars from 
the Coast of India skilled in the preparation of 
Coringhy tobacco." 
It is difficult, as Mr. Stewart says, to understand 
how, with all these advantages, the agriculture of 
the islands should have so long remained undeveloped. 
The reasons he gives are that the islands were almost 
unknown, and the land is mostly the property of 
private individuals unable from want of capital and 
from natural apathy and indolence to cultivate the 
lands. The teak tree will grow admirably, and it 
is proposed to replant the forests with it. At pre- 
sent there is only one specimen, e 2\ years old, and 
20 feet high. Mr. Stewart then refers to the labour 
question, the supply having been hitherto obtained 
from the liberated slaves brought to the islands in 
187S by H. M. S. "Ruby." In conclusion, Mr. 
Stewart touches on the coconut disease, regarding which 
a separate communication has been sent to our Go- 
vernment, but is not published here. He says : — 
" The cultivation of the coconut tree is one which is 
peculiarly suited to the indolent habits of the people. 
A tree is planted and reaches the bearing Btage after 
twelve or fourteen years without any further care. 
The fruit falls to the ground, and the only trouble 
required is to gather it. Although I cannot help feeling 
that the appearance of this disease will lead to the 
increased prosperity of the Seychelles Group, inas- 
much as it has turned the attention of the inhabitants 
to the fact that their present easily cultivated staple 
produce will not continue to last for ever without 
some care and attention, and has awakened them to 
the consciousness that the cultivation of other pro- 
ducts for which their country is so suitable is an 
assured success, and within the reach of the most of 
them, still it behoves Government to take energetic 
steps to endeavour to combat the progress of the 
disease. I have addressed you separately on this sub- 
ject by this mail, going into full particulars for 
the information of His Excellency the Lieutenant- 
Governor. I will only add, therefore, that the disease 
is caused by a species of borer which, introducing 
