168 THE TROPICAL AGEICULTURIST. [Sept. 1, 1902. 
weeks between Colombo and Seychelles, is a secret 
known only to those who rule in your part of the 
world. He was accorapaniefl by Mrs. Smith, a 
Sinhalese clerk and sever&l coolies. After a day 
or two, arranging matters with our Administrator, 
the party went over in the Government cutter 
" Wave" to Felicite Island. Mr. Smith had 
left Ceylon under the impression that F61icite had 
only its name to recommend it and that he and 
his party would have a pretty roufi;h time of it 
when they got there. However, being well sup- 
plied with tents and camping gear, they hoped 
to get along somehow. They were considerably 
and rather agreeably surprised on reaching Felicite 
to find a nice little stone bungalow, newly white- 
washed and painted, awaiting them. The coolies 
were lodged in the island hospital where they also 
soon made themselves thoroughly at home. 
FELICITE 
is an island of about 700 acres. It is Government 
property, but leased on a long term to Messrs. 
Baty, Bergne and Co. of Victoria. This firm 
are the principal holders of islands in 
this part of the world, they being lessees of the 
Aldabra and Cosmoledo and most of the Ad- 
inirant6 Archipelagoes. Felicite is a veiy moun- 
tainous island and planted partly in 
VANILLA AND COCONUTS,' 
It produces at present about 50,000 nuts a month, 
but will soon produce considerably more when 
the younger plantations of coconut trees come 
into "bearing. A large quantity of vanilla was 
planted on Felicite some years ago, but for some 
Unknown reason it has never done well there. 
This is not the first time that FcJlicite has 
been used as a 
PLACE OF D^lTKNTION FOR POLITICAL OFFENDEHS. 
The ex-Kajah of Perak (Strait Settlements) 
was confined at Felicity for nearly two years 
before he was allowed to reside at Mahe. 
In the good old days, before the French 
occupation, Felicit6 seems to have been a 
rendezvous for pirates. At the north end of the 
island there are several old walls and other signs 
of a former occupation. Several Spanish coins of 
about 1650-1700 have been from time to time picked 
up in the neighbourhood and this gives colour to 
the belief that it was a pirate haunt. QuUn sah& 1 
Mr. Smith was naturally very interested in seeing 
eur 
SEYCIIELLEIS METHODS OF WORKING COCONUTS 
and comparing them with what is customary in 
Ceylon. To begin with, nuts are never picked 
off the trees. In fact, if even a labourer were 
caught doing so he would be severely punished. 
Coconuts here are largely converted into oil, and 
we believe that the longer a nut is ripening the 
larger the oil cells in the copra. Here nothing 
is done with the coconut husks, no coir is manu- 
factured. Mr. Smith was olso very interested 
in our methods of drying copra. All over 
the Seychelles we have what is known as 
secheries (drying houses). These are of two kinds, 
eitiier fixed trays and sliding roofs or sliding 
trays and fixed roofs. The sliding trays or roofs 
are" on wheels so that one or two people employed 
about the headquarters of an oil estate can protect 
in a few moments many tons of drying copra 
from a sudden shower of rain, 
THE EXPORTS OF GUANO 
from Seychelles are steadily increasing. The barque 
Cafe Race " sailed a few days ago with 1,000 
tons for Falmouth for orders. A large Norwe- 
gian barque is loading a cargo for Antwerp, and 
the Colonial three-masted scliooner " Jibenezer " 
is about to load 800 tons for Port Louis, Mauri- 
tius. Our Seychelles guano is a dark brown im- 
palpable powder, something like cocoa, but without 
any smell. It is poor— very poor — in all manurial 
qualities except phosphates. It is not worth much 
in itself but a splendid stufif with which to mix 
other manures. 
■ ♦ ' ■ 
VANILLA PLANTING AND 
CULTIVTION. 
The following memorandum has been issued from 
the Government House, Seychelles : — 
MEMORANDUM. 
No vanilla plantation should be started in Seycheliea 
with a capital of less thau il.OOO, seeing that it takes 
three years to bring in a ctop. Laud suitable ^for 
vanilla, caoao, coffee and other tropical products 
cannot be secured for much under R300 per acre, 
and even at this price, it is not easily obtainable. 
The ordinary rate of interest in Seychelles is twelve 
per cent per aanuin. The local currency is the 
liupee, the value of which may be taken as Is. 4d. 
Under the old system (planting on bars, wires, etc.) 
from 1900 to 1300 vines were planted per acre. VanilU 
is now planted on live trees, and the numljer of 
vines planted depends upon the number of trees 
exiattiug on the land brought under cultivation. 
Cuttings of quick-growing shrubs are now often planted 
in vacant spots, and vines are grown thereon in the 
absence of trees, and within three months of tb« 
planting of the cuttings. Vines are planted 6 in. long, 
and began to bear three years after planting, but will 
only come into full bearing in three years more. 
Vines are worth per 100 from E3 to R5 according to 
district. Wages : men R14 to E16, and womeu R8 
to B12 a month, without rations. On hill estates 
labourers are not easy to get, and most of the Africans 
prefer working on the share system. A man can plant 
350 cuttiugs or vines per day, and can keep in good 
order, throughout the year, 2,500 plants. Women are 
employed for marrying the flowers i. e. removing the 
pollen from the anther of the flower and applying 
it to the stigma ^fertilisation), without which operation 
the flower is lost, A woman can marry from 600 to 
800 flowers per day. No flowers can be married after 
midday. Eich vine can produce from 25 to 30 pods 
of different sizes, from 4 in. to 8 in. long. On an 
average 180 green pods go to 1 lb. of dry prepared 
vanilla. Pods shrink considerably in prepa ation, 
losing a quarter of their weight. Local prices : last 
year (1901) fine pods prepared fetched R6 to RIO per 
lb. Green pods ar« now being sold at R3 to R5 per 
hundred pods. The regular flowering season is from 
August to December. The cost of preparation varies 
from El to El '25 per pound. The pods are gathered 
about nine months after the flowers have been mar- 
ried, and curing the pods takes from three to four 
months. In Seychelles, as elsewhere, there are bad 
seasons (too much rain), in which case the yield is 
poor. The climate of Seychelles is very healthy. 
The population on the 31st May, 1901, was 19,257. 
The death rate in 1901 was 18-77 per 1,000. The 
Seychelles are in direct steam communication 
with Aden and Mauritius by a monthly service of 
steamers of the Messageries Maritimes Company, and 
with Colombo and Mombassa by a bi-monthly servica 
of steamers of the Imperial German Bast Africa Co. 
Steamers belonging to the British India Company 
call, from time to time, at Seychelles. The Eastera 
Telegraph Company has a station at Victoria. 
The rainfall in 1901 in Victoria was 101-83 inches, 
The maximum shade temperature registered was 88*5, 
and the piiaimam 68 4 ; tho m^aa fvr (jhe year being 
