IX 
double headed Palm of the genus Hyphcene , of about 
40 feet high, and a bread fruit tree in a Country Villa, of 
50 feet high and loaded with hundreds of fruits. 
Now, is it not marvellous that the Coco de Mer, should 
be found, in the Seychelles group only in Praslin and 
Curieuse Islands, and not in any other Island of the Ar- 
chipelago or in any other part of the world ? 
It is known that the fruit which is double sometimes 
treble and even quadruple, was carried by the currents 
to Ceylon and to the Maldives. And it Avas believed that 
the “ Cocos de Mer ” were the seeds of a plant growing 
in the sea and that when ripe, they separated from the 
stem, to float .on the surface of the Ocean. 
<( This extraordinary specimen of the Palm tribe, Sir 
W. Hooker says, is the largest and most curious of all the 
many varied kinds scattered over all tropic regions.” 
The Hon. Swinburne Ward, made a few years ago a 
special study of it, and the results of his inquiries Avere 
published in the 8th Volume of the “ Liuneau Society’s 
Journal.” 
“ Little is even noAV known, “ he says,” respecting the 
“ growth and peculiarities of this extraordinary Palm, 
“ owing to thegret length of time it requires to arrive at 
“ maturity. The shortest period before the tree puts forth 
“ its seeds, is thirty years, and one hundred years must 
“ elapse before it attains its full growth No one can tell 
“ how long it will last, or how old some of the gigantic 
“ specimens may be.” 
Indeed we would dare to say that it seems to point out 
to the antediluvian period, and that one could imagine a 
race extinct, or about to become extinct, maintaining 
itself Avithin the boundary which separates the living ve- 
getable, from the vegetable approaching the fossil state. 
But the most striking fact is one which relates to the 
stature of certain human beings at Seychelles. 'There are 
iu some families, men and women of a very high stature, 
