12 
chine capable of working 4,500 husks per diem. Owing to the large proportion of unemployed 
labourers in the Colony this coir industry among others is one which should occupy more the 
attention of planters. At present the coconut husks are wasted and accumulate in the planta¬ 
tions to the great prejudice of the palms which suffer at the roots and at the base of the stem 
from these huge heaps of organic matter of slow decomposition. These husks are sometimes 
used for the manuring of vanilla owing precisely to their fibrous texture and to the large 
amount of potash and lime which they contain. When left in the field they soon become 
covered with a luxuriant growth of bushes and herbaceous plants which bear testimony to 
their value as manure but which at the same time goes far to choke the young palms and to 
interfere with the growth of the old ones. 
CHAPTER X. 
Eisheries. 
The exports from the outlying islands amoimted to:— 
Salt fish ... 
kgs 28,592 
valued at Rs 1,883 
Calipee 
„ 2,538 
4,623 
Trepang ... 
„ 795 
99 
356 
Fish oil (Whale) ... 
litres 7,000 
99 
21,000 
Shark fins ... 
kgs 901 
99 
648 
Tortoise shell 
„ 875 
99 
16,224 
Guano 
tons 980 
99 
29,400 
The exportation of guano shows the following reduction from want of freight:— 
1913 tons 34,720 
1914 „ 18,607 
1915 ,. 1,960 
1916 „ 980 
valued at Rs 997,400 
„ 558,210 
„ 58,800 
„ 29,400 
The small quantity of guano exported dui’ing 1916 went to Mauritius where this article 
fetched much higher prices than formerly (about Rs 100 a ton). There are several hundreds of 
thousands of tons of guano left in the Colony and this article will always be in great demand 
all over the world owing to its composition and high fertilizing value. The percentage of 
phosphate reaches and even exceeds 60 o/o of which 40 o/o are in the soluble form 
(Biphosphate). Another company started exporting guano from a hitherto unexploitable 
island towards the end of the year under review. This guano was found of good composition 
and free from iron and silicates. The lower grade will be utilized locally, the island in ques¬ 
tion being only one day’s journey from Victoria. The effect of this guano on the coconut 
plantations of the Colony cannot be overemphasized. When an island is small enough to 
a,llow all its soil being soaked with Phosphate solutions originating from the guano beds, 
the ■ rops of nuts obtained is fabulous. I know several islands of this description where the 
ci\ p ^^a.■hes 8000 nuts per acre, while the average crop in Mahe is only 1000 nuts and even 
lower’. A few planters begin to realize the necessity of manuring the soils of Mahe with 
guano which can be offered for sale at the unique low price of about 7 cents per unit of Phos- 
phpute. The usual price per unit all over the world varies between 30 and 50 cents. It is often 
said and repeated that tlovernment should stop guano exportation for the benefit of the agricul- 
tiu-al development of the Colony, from fear of exhaustion of deposits. No such apprehension 
need be felt. Guano deposits have been accumulated in the past centuries by flocks of birds 
which have disappeared almost entirely and in many localities guano deteriorates by admixture 
of vegetable matter and removal of its soluble elements by rain and sea water. The utilisa¬ 
tion of this guano has in my opinion already been delayed too much. On most islands the 
quairtity of merchantable guano (about 50 o/o phosphates) is a mere bagatelle in comparison 
with the total quantity found in pits, crevices and on the surface of the ground. This guano of 
low grade, which cannot be exported, will be always left for local use. One can reckon that 
there are millions of tons of this guano obtainable in the whole archipelago. 
A small quantity of whale oil prepared during 1914 was exported in 1916. It is a 
great pity that whale oil manufacture is interrupted for the present in the Colony. The 
by-product derived from it (fish guano) was just the kind of manure which, after being mixed 
with guano and seaweed, would produce its maximum effect on coconut plantations. It is 
hoped that this enterprise will be resumed after the war, as besides whales, there is a great 
variety of fishes of all sizes on the innumerable submerged coral banks of the Colony, which 
would go far to keep a fish guano factory running for a long time. 
I was much impressed this year by the sea resources of the Aldabra Gi’oup where the 
number of fish and turtles defies description. I have seen peculiar large fishes of the ray and 
shark families which live in the sand bars of lagoons and elsevhere aud their number can be 
gauged by the fiict thnt the lagoon at Aldabra is larger in area than Mahe. The numerous 
guano deposits by being leached out into the sea afford abundant food for crustaceans and 
other organisms whicli are preyed upon by fish. Some of the Ashes are in their turn the prey 
of frigate birds and gannets which close the cycle in producing fresh quantities of guano. It 
is difficult to find a more congenial home for many varieties of fish. Time is come for their 
industrial exploitation, as guano is no longer formed on the same scale as formerly. 'This im¬ 
plies that with the disappearance of the soluble elements of guano, the organisms on which. 
