11 
sheltered valleys near the sea, an attempt to grow it on hill 
sides has failed entirely, the wind being very injurious in 
preventing the treee from flowering and the rate of the growth 
being unsufficient. It is however possible to grow it alongside 
the so called marshes of Praslin and there is no reason why 
a small industry should not be started, the class of oil obtained 
being of high grade and easily saleable in spite of overpro¬ 
duction. 
There is still a small quantity of citrate of lime made at 
Silhouette Island mostly from bigarades (citrus limonellus) but, 
in presence of the epidemic of scale insects mostly lecanium 
viride and Aspidiotus ficus which attack all citrus plants grow¬ 
ing in Seychelles there is very little hope of developing this 
industry except in localities where the insects in question have 
not yet reached the epidemic stage. 
I am greatly in favour of growing Bermuda onions in the 
Outlying Islands such as Astove, where very fine sand has been 
deposited on the lagoon side of the atoll. This sand is mixed 
with phosphatic guano and is so very fine that it lends itself 
to the requirements of onion culture besides the climate which 
is extremely dry from April to November and which should 
material^ assist in the proper drying of such perishable bulbs. 
The total quantity of onions imported in the Colony 
amounts to kgs. 60,908 and the article is retailed in shops at 
the price of 12 to 20 cents the lb. 
The cacao industry is vanishing in Seychelles, the quantity 
exported for 1913 amounting to 15 cwts only. There are many 
localities where however such a very profitable industry should 
still be carried out. The local variety (Caracas) is attacked by 
the black rot (Phytophthora omnivora) but no measures of treat¬ 
ment have ever been tried. More resistant varieties such as 
Yenezuella criollo and Ceylon Forastero have become establish¬ 
ed and there is no reason why they should not be cultivated in 
all localities sheltered from the wind and provided with a good 
type of soil. 
VIII. 
The Rubber Industry. 
Rs 4,165 worth of rubber was exported in 1913 as com¬ 
pared with Rs 2,265 the year before. The total acreage under 
rubber amounts to about 1,100 acres and all estates have now 
stopped tapping in presence of the fall in price of the article. 
According to figures published in the India Rubber Journal it 
is difficult to forecast the prospects of the industry but various 
things go to show that the price per lb will remain at about 
3 shillings and at this price the margin of profit in Seychelles 
is extremely low, the trees being of slow growth though 
remarkably free from disease. The fall in price has been 
-caused by various factors among which three should be men¬ 
tioned : 
lo. The American strike. 
2o. The sale of synthetic rubber at about 3s per lb. 
3o. Overproduction. 
So many factors being involved it is difficult to imagine 
that the former prices of 6 to 12 shillings will ever be realized 
again. 
On a small estate in the neighbourhood of the Station, 
the cost of tapping and curing amounted to R. 1.10 a lb. 
Planters are now growing vanilla under rubber trees 
(which form excellent shade trees for this orchid) and waiting 
for better times. So many uses are found for rubber every day 
and the consumption is so much keeping pace with the pro¬ 
duction that rubber is certainly one of the products which can¬ 
not be completely negdected. Now a days all articles are liable 
to suffer from substitutes and overproduction but never before 
have plantations of one kind of tree been made on such an 
extensive and rapid scale as is the case of rubber (1,500,000 
acres in 7 years). This will probably serve as a lesson for the 
future. 
