394 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Dec. 1, 1899. 
the oil is also used in the local soap-manufactory 
in the immediate neighbourhood of the town. 
The chief iiidactiy in the Seychelles is, of course, 
VANILLA GROWING 
■which is mostly in the of hands Fienoh settlers, 
Creoles and niggeit<, though there are plnntationa 
boloDging to Buiopeans. The vine is grown on 
supports for which live trees six to seven feet high 
are utilized, and comes into bearing in two or three 
years when handled in the uBual m-rinner. 
Beside the Creoles and nifgers, the population of 
Miihe include English and Frenrh settlers. All seem 
to be peaceful and contended and are very hospita- 
ble to strangers. Serious crime is seldom or never 
heaid among them, although there is a chief court 
and police court in the town — in fact during the 
two years' of Mr. Dissanaike'a residence in the 
island, he did not hear of a single case of homicide. 
The people are chiefly Roman Catholics, and 
the French priests, who minister to them, take 
a great deal of interest in the education of 
the masses, and have several schools and 
churches all over the island. There is also 
a Government school in the tovrn, beside two Pro- 
testant Churches — one in the town and the other in 
the country. The language chiefly spoken in the 
island is French, but the Creoles have a peculiar 
dialect of their own. 
g,; Eice is the 
. - STAPLE FOOD 
6i the settlers, but the cie.jles and niggers mostly 
live on manioc and sweet-potatoes nnd fish. In the 
town a couple of bulls are slaughtered twice a week 
—on Wednesdays and Saturdays — and the meat is 
sold at fifty cents a lb. Pork and turtle flesh can 
be had in abundance and pigs are reared in liirge 
; numbers. Fish is very cheap and in point of relish 
is superior to the kinds found in Ceylon. Hardly 
any mutton or goat flesh could be hf.d, while chicken 
and eggs too are scarce. A kind of bird's eggs of 
a smaller size than hen's eggs are brought at a 
certain season in the year, from a neighbouring 
island, and they are sold at Mahe, at about half a 
cent each. Turtles, when caught, are kept in a 
pond near the shore, which at low tide runs quite dry, 
and then the poor creatures undergo much suffering. 
There are no hotels except a boarding-house Icept by 
,, a Creole woman; but the respectable portion of the 
' community seldom or never patronize it. 
There are no rivers in MJihe, except streams not 
' more than four or five feet at their widest parts; and 
the people chiefly depend on these for their water 
siipply. though the town is served from a tank a 
few hundred feet about it, by pipes; but often trouble 
is experienced with the latter. 
There are pretty seashells to be found all over 
Miihe, vrhile coco-de mer is the principal natural 
feature of Praslin, the next biggest island in the group 
Steamers plying between Bombay and Zanzibar 
call at Mahe once a month for passengers and cargo ; 
but not uufrequently men-of-war of different nations 
pay visits to Port Victoria, when the town presents 
a more animated scene than usual, with " Jack 
ftshore." 
CEYLON FISHING CLUB. 
ANNUAL KEPORT. 
(For the season ending 30th September, 1899,) 
The annual report of this Club was read at the 
general meeting held on the 26th November, 1898, 
by the then hon. Secretary, Mr. S M Burrows, 
when accounts of the Club to the end of October, 
1898, weie submitted, and tiie same office-bearers 
were unanimously re-elected for the ensuing year. 
Two general meetings have huen held since : one 
on the 8tli February and the other on the 14th 
April, 1899. In view of tlie resolution passed at 
the general meeting of the 2()th November, 1898, 
fixing the closing of tlie oi)en season for Trout for 
the 30tli September, the accounts and the report 
are made up to the end of September, instead 
of October as heretofore. 
FINANCK. 
2. The accounts of theClub up toSOtli Septembef 
are appended to this report. (Appendix A. ) The 
financial position of the Clufc is satisfactory. 
'J'he balance standing to the credit of this Club 
on the SOlh September, 1899, is R364-69. A 
statement of probable revenue and expenditure 
for the ensuing year is also appended to this rei)0i1i. 
(Appendix B.) 
THE OUT-TUEN OF OV.V. 
3. Three consignments of ova were received 
from England during the year ; two consignments 
of 20,000 each of the ordinary brown Trout ova 
(Fario) at a cost of R648-76, and one consignment 
of 10,0('0 rainbow Trout ova (Irideus) at a cost 
of R216-19. The total out-turn of fry from tjie 
first two consignments was ll^GTO fry, dis- 
ti'ibuted as follows : — 
4,23iJ "Hatchery Stewponds," Nuwara Eliya. 
2,5<j0 Mr. Farr, "Horton Plains." 
1,500 Mr. Ross-Clarke, " Calsay," N.anuoya. 
1,0^0 " Queen's Cottage Stewpond." 
840 Nnwaia Eliya Streams. 
700 Mr. Brown, "St. Leonards," Udapas- 
seliawa. 
500 Mr. Cult for Maskeliya Club. 
200 Mi-. J Fraser, " Abbotsfoid," Nanuoya. 
2u0 Mr. Cull, " Patna Streauis," Maskeliya. 
11,670 
RAINBOW imw.—fSahno Iridens.) 
4. Out of the 3rd consignnitnt, that of rain- 
bow Trout ova, only 1,510 fry were available for dis- 
tribution ; this small out-turn is attributed mainly 
to the faulty packing of the ova, to which was 
due the fact that a very large percentage of the 
ova were found squeezed into pulp on arrival here. 
The healthy ova, however, hatched out very well, 
the percentage of deaths beiiig few. The young 
Rainbow fry have thriven very well, and it seems 
probable that the introilnction of this variety will 
prove a decided success. There are two disad- 
vantages in importing Rainbow Trout ova : (1) 
that the ova hatch out within 25 days of fertilising, 
and so it is difficult to get them delivered from 
Guildford in time, a certain percentage of the ova 
having hatched out and died before reaching Nu- 
wara Eliya ; and (2) the ova ;each Ceylon rather 
late in the season, when the rains may have com- 
menced, the temperature of the water has ri.sen, 
and no precautions can prevent t he deposit of .some 
sedii' ent on the eggs wl.ieh is fatal to their 
hatching out. One halt of the consignment of the 
Rainbow ova was ordered out for Mr. Wilson- 
Wood, who paid half the cost of the consignment, 
viz. R126-66. The distribution of the Rainbow fry 
was as fallows : — 
801 Mr. Wilson- Wood, " Drayton," Kotagala. 
324 Hatchery Stewponds," NuY/ara Eliya. 
150 Mr. Farr, " Horton Plains." 
75 ,, Ross-Clarke, " Calsay," Nanuoya. 
■75 ,, Brown, "St, Leonards," Udapussellawa. 
75 ,, Lyall, " High Forest," Maturata. 
10 ,, J. Fra.f-er, " Abbotsford," Nanuoya. 
1,510 
The notes made at the time when this consign- 
ment of ova was unpacked are appended in Appen- 
dix C, a copy of which, it is suggested, should 
be forwarded to Messrs. Andrews & Andrews for 
their guidance with the oiders for the forthcoming 
season. 
It is suggested that two consignments of Brown 
trout, 20,000, and one consignment of Rainbow 
