2o6 
THE SEYCHELLES 
in length and is deeply bifurcated in the middle. It is 
still looked upon in India as curative; Indian princes used 
to hold it in high esteem, as its nut was said to render 
all poisons innocuous. At one time a single nut cost 
as much as ^loo; they can now be purchased in Aden 
or Bombay for two or three rupees (some three or four 
shillings). The number of places where these beautiful 
fan palms are found has so seriously diminished of late 
that fears have been entertained of their total extinction, 
and they have had to be placed under the protection of 
the authorities. This is all the more necessary as the 
extremely hard wood of the trunk, which appears to be 
almost indestructible, is useful in house building. At 
present, according to A. Bauer, this palm only occurs in 
two small valleys of the island of Praslin and on the 
north side of Curieuse Island. Accordingly, the English 
Government, to prevent the total extinction of the palm, 
have taken these localities into their own possession. 
In the mountain region, ferns and mosses are found 
in the lower belt, higher up are extensive grass plains, 
where pine-apples grow wild. Pandanus groves and tree 
ferns appear in still higher regions, the former having 
aerial roots 20 to 25 ft. long. In this region grows the 
pitcher plant {^Nepenthes) which at the points of the leaves 
has receptacles of the shape of a tobacco-pipe bowl for 
holding water. The summits of the mountains are covered 
with woods of the indigenous Wormia ferruginea. 
The animal world of the Seychelles, as is the case 
elsewhere in the tropical islands, appears to be decidedly 
poor. Indigenous mammals seem to be quite wanting; 
birds, on the other hand, have been better able to reach the 
islands; a dark-coloured parrot [Coracopsis Barkleyi)^ appar¬ 
ently coming from Madagascar, has become modified into 
an endemic species. A red-breasted pigeon [Erythroe 7 ias 
piLlclm^riind), a honey-sucker [^Nectarmea) and sparrows 
of a distinct species must be mentioned. Among the 
