Plate III.
Fig. 1.—Native Bull.
Fig. 2.—Native Ram.
Cattle
The cattle of the country have been bred, until the last two or three years, exclusively for draught purposes. Cattle breeding as a business is unknown. Farmers, as a rule, aim only at raising a calf or two every year in order to maintain one or more yokes of oxen. Some of the draught animals are very fine (see Plate III, fig. 1, and Plate V, fig. 1). These belong mostly to the monasteries; one animal exhibited at a recent show measured over 17 hands. The race is presumably the result of many crossings with imported breeds, but has acquired a definite type. The cows are in colour and conformation not unlike Jerseys, but larger and without the udder development of that breed. The oxen have mostly a more or less pronounced hump, possibly acquired through many generations of progenitors used exclusively for draught purposes. In some of the best bulls this hump is particularly marked.
In 1912 some Devon bulls and cows were imported and a herd of this breed was started at the Government Farm, Athalassa. An impetus was thus given to breeding dairy cows, and a number of half- and three-quarter-bred cows are now to be found, which command high prices for milking purposes. The Devon bulls, however, have never come into favour among farmers for raising draught cattle.
There was a fair export of cattle to Egypt before the war, a good proportion of the animals being consigned to the Serum Institute, Cairo, as Cyprus cattle, alone among the cattle in this part of the Levant, have so far been free from plague.
The number of horned cattle in 1917 is officially given as 48,761.
The exports for the five years preceding the war were:
| Year. | Number. | Value. |
| £ | ||
| 1909 | 2,357 | 11,314 |
| 1910 | 4,240 | 20,218 |
| 1911 | 9,664 | 44,871 |
| 1912 | 5,751 | 34,303 |
| 1913 | 3,017 | 20,110 |
There can be no question that if more attention were paid to growing fodder crops, cattle breeding could be greatly increased, and a good trade with Egypt might be done.
The establishment of the Athalassa Stock Farm has had a most useful influence on the improvement of the live stock of the Island.
Beef has only lately become an article of food for the country people, and is still so only on a small scale. The townspeople, having become Europeanised to a greater degree than formerly, are now becoming beef consumers, and the high price of beef has had a stimulating effect upon breeding for the butchers. Before the British occupation the killing of an ox for eating purposes was considered by many villagers an act of sacrilege.
Sheep
Sheep rearing is an important industry in Cyprus. The sheep are of the fat-tailed species and are allied, though superior to, the Afrikander sheep. The total number of sheep in the Island in 1917 was 255,150.
They feed almost entirely by grazing, and wander, under the charge of shepherds, over considerable areas in search of food, frequently in company with goats. They are valued chiefly for their milk and meat; their wool, though of moderate quality, is small in quantity. (See also under "Dairy Produce," p. 23.)
Large numbers of sheep are killed annually for local consumption, and there is a regular export to Egypt, as shown by the following pre-war figures:
| Year. | Number. | Value. |
| £ | ||
| 1904 | 13,923 | 10,544 |
| 1905 | 8,816 | 7,572 |
| 1906 | 5,427 | 5,470 |
| 1907 | 2,859 | 2,699 |
| 1908 | 849 | 835 |
| 1909 | 976 | 716 |
| 1910 | 3,905 | 3,064 |
| 1911 | 18,143 | 12,311 |
| 1912 | 17,611 | 13,731 |
| 1913 | 7,920 | 6,724 |
Sheep-folding is practically unknown, and no crops are specially grown as food for sheep. Occasionally they may get a little rovi (vetch), rovi straw, lentil straw, favetta, pea-haulm or (in the hills) mavrachero (tares). They suffer in years of drought, but on the whole thrive wonderfully well on very scanty pasturage.
Good work has been done of late years in the improvement of Cyprus sheep at the Government Athalassa Farm, and ewes and rams from the farm flock are much sought after by sheep-owners, many of whom are making efforts to ameliorate the breed. The question of providing suitable forage also is not being lost sight of.
Goats
The goat has been a cause of much controversy for many years and a source of discord between farmer and shepherd. Owing to the absence of farm boundaries the herds of goats (and sheep) continually trespass on the cultivated areas, and the shepherds are at little pains to restrain them when there is a chance of the animals getting a good meal. Large sums in the aggregate are paid by way of fines and damages, but the shepherds evidently find that even so it is profitable to continue such practices.
In consequence of the serious harm done every year in the State forests by these animals, a law "For the gradual exclusion of goats from the Island" was passed in 1913 and came into operation on August 1 that year.
As the subjoined table shows, the number of goats has decreased, but it is doubtful how far this is due to the law, and how far to the losses from goat-pox, which is very prevalent, and to the shipments for military purposes during the war:
| Year. | Head. |
| 1880 | 210,736 |
| 1890 | 237,475 |
| 1900 | 243,397 |
| 1910 | 276,794 |
| 1913 (when the law was passed) | 242,524 |
| 1918 | 191,017 |
The goat is in many respects well suited to the Island, and provides the villager with milk, cheese, meat, boots and manure. The animals cost very little to keep—even apart from their depredations—and thrive, especially in the hills, under conditions unsuited to sheep and cattle. They are, however, great enemies to agriculture and forestry, and if they are to be preserved in the Island, it is essential that both they and the shepherds be brought under strict control.
In Cyprus most of the goats have very short hair, which cannot be shorn. From this fact, and from the external shape of the animal, one may infer that it is either a variety of the Anatolian breed modified by local influences, or a hybrid of the Numidic and Anatolian breeds (see Plate III, fig. 2). The Anatolian goat has long and more or less thick hair, especially on the shoulders, sides and thighs, which, clipped in the spring, yields a not insignificant income for the goat-breeder (Gennadius).
The Cyprus goat gives on an average 150 drams of milk per day during a period of say 150 days, or say, 50 to 60 okes per annum.
A good proportion have kids twice a year, and many give birth to twins.
The price of a goat varies considerably in different districts, and before the war was from about 8s. to 20s. or 25s.
Pigs
The Paphos district and the Karpas end of the Famagusta district are specially given to pig raising; but this animal is to be found fairly well distributed all over the Island. The native pig is of inferior quality, but a noticeable improvement, not only in pig breeding but in pig rearing, has resulted from the introduction by Government of the Large Black breed from England in 1907. This breed has become well established at the Government Farm, Athalassa, and the progeny is now well spread over the Island. The improvement resulting from crossing with Government stock has been so unmistakable that there is now great competition for them at all auction sales and high prices are given. This increase in outlay on the part of farmers has led to greater care in the feeding and management. They find that well-bred pigs come more quickly to maturity, and that it pays to feed them well and not leave them to forage for themselves as formerly. Excellent pork and bacon are now procurable during the winter, and it may be hoped that pig breeding in Cyprus has a good future before it.