Spices / by Henry N. Ridley.

  • Ridley, H. N. (Henry Nicholas), 1855-1956.
Date:
1912
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Spices / by Henry N. Ridley. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ii cultivation ever since 1894, in a few places. No returns of export have been recorded. The plant has also been introduced into the Cameroons, San Thome, Sierra Leone, Lagos, and German East Africa. In Bagamoyo, in the last men- tioned district, it was exported by the missionaries, who grew it with some success, and its cultivation seemed very promising, but the plantations have not increased, and in the other localities it is also stationary. Seychelles. — In this group of islands vanilla was for many years the main production, but lately the cultivation has fallen off very considerably. The cause of this has been attributed to a severe drought in 1904, which destroyed half of the vines and injured the vitality of the rest. The low price, due to a certain extent to the artificial vanilla, contributed to the diminution of the cultivation. The chief islands in which it was produced are Mahe, Praslin, La Digue, and St. Anne. The exports for the past years have been recorded as follows :— 1891 . 40,929 kilos valued at 3,73,190 rape 1892 . . 28,177 33 3,94,478 „ 1893 . . 28,689 3) 3,46,426 „ 1894 . . 24,444 33 2,93,328 „ 1895 . . 4,553 33 60,344 „ 1896 . . 31,229 33 9,36,000 ,, 1897 . . 30,691 33 9,20,730 „ 1898 . . 25,177 33 7,48,810 „ 1899 . . 41,835 33 13,38,720 „ 1900 . . 17,569 33 5,80,877 „ 1901 . . 71,899 33 11,08,792 „ 1902 . . 59,816 33 6,41,610 „ 1903 . . 59,744 33 5,03,592 „ 1904 . . 38,772 33 2,79,040 „ 1905 . . 40,265 33 2,41,590 „ 1906 . . 30,000 33 It will be noticed that the export of this spice varies very much in quantity, as also in price, which is doubt- less due to the variations in climate in the Seychelles, and the occasional occurrence of serious droughts.