3 
12. The Eranthemums, E. Albomarginatum, E. Nigres- 
<cens, E. Reticulatum, E. Eldorado, introduced from India in 
11)11, have become at once very popular. They are already 
preferred to crotons and make very handsome hedges. They 
are practically free from those scale insects which generally 
attack all other plants of the same family (Acanthacetej. 
FISHERIES. 
The Export from Outlying Islands for 1914 amounted to: 
Article Quantity Declared value 
Guano 
tons 
18607 
Rs 558,210 
.. . 
Tortoise shell 
kilogs 
613.380 
23,073 
94 
Calipee 
9064 
20,094 
< • » 
Fish oil hectolitres 
6.37 
318 
. . . 
Turtle oil 
5.94 
118 
80. 
Turtle shell 
kilogs 
415 
285 
• . » 
Salt fish 
8845 
1882 
... 
Trepang 
400 
200 
. . . 
Shark fins 
1353 
798 
Owing to the war no whale oil was exported last year. 
A new company which started whale fishing in 1913 has 
erected at St Anne a large up to date factory which began to 
work in October. The whales captured are nearly all sperm- 
whales, cachalot (Physeter macrocephalus). One however a 
right whale (Baleine tranche, Raloena Australis) was caught. 
It appears that there is some reason to think that the Sejhval 
(Baloenoptera borealis) migrates yearly to the seas round the 
Seychelles and that some will be harpooned. 
The fishing grounds are off Denis Island and Bird Island 
(60 to 80 miles from Mahe). The steam whale boats cannot 
go much farther out as the oil has to be extracted when the 
whales are still fresh. It is calculated that whales may be 
found during some months in the neighbourhood of Chagos and 
Maidive Archipelagos which are not situated at a longer dis¬ 
tance from Mahe than are some of the outlying islands of the 
Seychelles group (Aldabra). 
In July and October, the spermwhales were found in 
considerable numbers, observations made in December would 
indicate the approach of the breeding season as occurring 
towards the end of the year. The principal food of the sperm- 
whale is the cuttlefish or octopus which seems to be very 
common round about Seychelles. 
Modern weapons are used for whaling. Harpoons loaded 
with explosive shells are fired from guns. This is generally 
mortal so that seldom more than 160 fathoms of rope are 
required to hold the whales when they start off sounding. 
This rope is only 1^ inches in diameter near the harpoon to 
make it as slight as possible, but after the first 50 feet, ropes 
of double that size are employed. 
The whales thus captured are towed ashore and hauled up 
on an inclined slip by means of powerful winches. A portion 
of the whale about 4 feet square is cut away behind the head 
to which hooks are fixed to drag it off with the blubber by 
means of the winch and this is continued right down to the 
tail. These pieces of the blubber are then placed in a chop¬ 
ping machine and then boiled in tanks provided with steam 
pipes. The water is evaporated and drained off and the oil 
is boiled a second time leaving a residue as thin as paper. 
The head is cut into and twisted off by the winch. It is 
then put on a beam over a tank. An incision is made and the 
spermaceti which is contained in sacs like bladders drained 
off. This most valuable oil is pumped from the tank into 
another one where it is boiled. The remains are then dragged by 
the winch, and cut or sawn into convenient sizes, which are like¬ 
wise boiled down in a steam boiler. By means of special taps 
placed on the side of the boiler at determined intervals, water, 
other residues, and the oil itself are drained off. While the 
bones remain unchanged the fleshy portions are reduced into 
pulp within 3 hours time. The doors* of the boiler are then 
opened, the bigger pieces of bones are dug out and broken into 
small pieces. Steam is again employed and the reduced matter is 
then lifted by an elevator into a patent drier, a cylinder provided 
