9 
guano will be manufactured wlien the fishing industries have 
developed, in order to place cheap nitrogenous manures at the 
disposal of planters. Potash salts, especially sulphates, are the 
only expensive chemical manures which planters will have to 
purchase, but with the amount of seaweeds deposited on the 
beach in all localities at the turn of each monsoon and during 
heavy swells, there is no reason why potash should not be also 
cheaply obtainable in the near future. 
In the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute for October 1912 
it is shown that various seaweeds have been found to contain, 
when dried at 103® C., 25-7 o/o of chloride of potassium and 
0.15 o/o of iodine. It is reported in that article that the weed 
being dried in the air first, and then in ovens, about 50 o/o of 
the total potassium chloride, which is in the form of an efflores¬ 
ced salt, can be removed by shaking. 
It is fundamentally important that chemical manures be 
obtained at a low cost, because the majority of planters cannot 
afford to buy expensive ingredients. But the development of 
the coconut industry is familiarly recognised here to depend on 
the proper manuring of the plantations. These plantations 
show signs of chlorose and other root diseases characteristic of 
impoverished soils, and there is no doubt that proper manuring 
is the remedy, because it is well known that in moist and warm 
countries like Seychelles, the effect of manures on vegetation 
is singularly active. 
VII. 
The Vanilla Industry. 
The crop of Vanilla fell to 8 tons, the lowest on record since 
1895. The declared value per kilo amounted to Rs. 19, a much 
better price than any realized since 1904 when it was as low as 
Rs 7 jDer kilo. 
During the year under review with its favourable rainy wea¬ 
ther and high prices a great change was noticed in the cultivation 
of Vanilla and in many localities where 7 years drought had 
caused abandonment of the industry, new plantations are being 
made and most of them on much betW principles. 
It is plainly realized in this Colony that the culture of Va¬ 
nilla in spite of its being dependent more on weather conditions 
than on cultural treatment, is much in favour among all 
classes of the community. 
A great step has been made in the right direction. Under 
the influence of the heavy rain, old vines more or less abandoned 
put forth new growth and many planters have adopted the plan 
of heavy mulching with weeds with alternate layers of lime and 
earth. 
As far back as in 1908, the experimental plantations at 
Capucin showed the following composition of the ash of the 
Vanilla vines in full growth. 
No Manure. 
Manwred 
Silica 
1.96 
1.37 
Chlorine 
3.91 
4.00 
Sulphuric acid 
0.62 
0.69 
Phosphoric acid 
1.95 
2.74 
Lime 
27.57 
35.54 
Magnesia 
12.10 
10.32 
Potash 
18.47 
12.87 
Soda 
1.81 
3.77 
Oxide of iron... 
2.10 
1.50 
Manganese ... 
0.26 
0.30 
Carbonic acid, &c 
29.23 
27.29 
100.00 
100.00 
The manure applied consists of lime (4 kilos of broken coral 
per vine), guano (5 kilos of rock phosphates per vine), Potash 
and Nitrogen were supplied as chloride of potassium and nitrate 
of Ammonia in weak solutions 1/10000 once a week. The lime 
and guano were only applied once in 5 years. 
