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both active and intelligent. He replied to our questions 
promptly, anything would grow in Seychelles and yield a rich 
harvest if people would only attend to their work. But ‘‘ no,” 
he said “ my neighbours will come here and talk for hours, 
looking at me working and admiring my vegetables, if they 
would only work as I do they would soon have as great an 
abundance as I have.” I was much amused with .the old 
fellow’s quaint remarks and his evident pride in his garden. 
He is quite right as to the general indolence, judging from the 
usually neglected appearance of the grounds round the various 
huts I have seen. Like all places where the ground is na- 
turally so prolific, there, least care is ever taken to make the 
most of land. Just enough is grown to supply the family, or 
to have a few baskets to exchange at Bazar for Fish or Bum, 
but no trouble is taken for further profit ; although a ready 
sale could be found for their produce. The principal bread 
used by a large portion of the inhabitants is a sort of flat cake 
made from manioc flour. This plant only requires a stalk 
placed in a hole in the ground, and when left to itself will 
flourish and give a tuberous root that when grated and washed 
supplies the farina so dear to the tastes of the Seychellois. We 
passed along the foot of the mountain wending our way along 
a path between enormous blue granite boulders, certainly the 
largest I have seen in any part of the world. Some hundreds 
of thousands of tons in weight, luckily sufficiently apart to 
enable us to thread our way through them. A mass of 
vegetation has sprung up between them, and in many places 
giant Palms overshadow them, shewing how long they must 
have lain there since the time they were dislodged from their 
mountain bed and toppled over. In some places the people 
had taken advantage of the squares sides of the boulders 
making them serve as one end for their houses, certes, they 
were safe on that side from hurricanes or thieves ! 
“ I noticed at intervals, cocoa-nuts and the Bread fruit aud 
Jack trees. The Bread fruit grows all over Mahe most lux- 
uriantly. Doubtless the size and beauty of these trees is 
owing to the fr. edom of the island from hurricanes. The 
wood is excessively brittle and the liaudsoino leaves snap off 
