Plate VI.
Pruned Olive-trees at Metochi of Kykos.
A few imported varieties, including one or two specimens of Spanish and Greek olive trees, are to be found here and there in private gardens.
If the land were manured and ploughed the trees would, especially on the chalky soils, yield abundant fruit and oil of excellent quality. Unfortunately this is not done, and it has been found very difficult to induce the peasants to adopt any kind of cultivation. They plough the land only when they intend to sow corn or other crops between the trees, a procedure which tends to lessen the productiveness of the trees. The system of irrigation applied is also very defective. Irrigation, while improving the quality and quantity of edible olives, is not desirable in the case of press olives.
As to pruning, Cypriots would have none of it until within the last five years. By dint of patient and constant persuasion, some few of the larger owners were induced to let their trees be pruned by a staff of pruners under the direction of the Agricultural Department (see Plate VI). Much ridicule—and at times threats—was hurled at both the pruners and the tree owners, who were assured by the villagers that for their folly they would undoubtedly lose their trees. The results belied all these fears, and now within the space of some four to five years the practice of pruning has become fairly general, and a good number of villagers have qualified themselves as expert pruners and are kept regularly employed by private persons. As a consequence of this a great amelioration is noticeable in the olive trees in many parts and the yield and quality of olives have been improved.
The method of gathering olives by beating, however, continues. The fruit so knocked to the ground becomes dirty and bruised, and quickly ferments, when stored, to the detriment of the oil. This mode of gathering by beating damages the young twigs and branches, whose bearing capacity the following year is thus impaired.
Little care is taken in selecting the olives for oil. Not only are they dirty and bruised, but unripe or diseased fruit, as well as overripe fruit that has fallen from the tree, is collected together indiscriminately.
The usual practice is to spread out the olives as received, and unsalted, on the mud roofs of houses in order to give off a part of their water before grinding.
The procedure is then as follows:
They are first of all taken to the crusher or grinding mill. This consists not of two stones, as in Greece, but of one stone, drawn by pony, mule or donkey.
For the first quality of oil the olive stones should not be broken, but generally speaking, insufficient care is paid to this and the stones are, for the most part, crushed. The crushed olives (zimari, paste) are then removed to the press, which is worked by hand, with one exception of an hydraulic press at Akanthou. At this village, where the best olive oil is produced, the olives are brought direct from the trees to the mill, whereas elsewhere the practice is to leave them in a heap to ferment and they often become foul and covered with dust and dirt.
In pressing with wooden presses, the zimari or crushed olives are placed in round bags made of plaited rushes. Seven to ten of these are placed one on top of another in the press and the oil obtained is virgin oil (huile vierge).
The bags are then removed and squeezed so as to change the position of the contents. They are then replaced in the press and hot water is poured into each bag. The oil obtained is of second quality. A third pressing is sometimes given.
The yield is calculated at the rate of 1 oke of oil to 4 okes of olives.
In the Paphos district is produced a black oil with a very distinct flavour. This is due to the custom of boiling the olives before grinding. The demand for this inferior oil is confined to that district.
In former days it was usual for the mills and presses to be worked in the open. This is now rarely the case, but may still be occasionally seen in parts of the Paphos district and elsewhere.
Whether outdoors or indoors these mills and presses are soon allowed to become very unclean, and the rancid flavour which clings to the wood is quickly imparted to the oil, which possesses, for any but Cypriots, a strong and unpleasant smell and flavour. There is a considerable residue or waste, which, if it could be utilised, would go far to meet the deficiency in the requirements for local consumption.
There are a few good iron presses now in use. Their superiority is generally recognised and, no doubt, now that the war is over, they will be imported in greater numbers.
Small inexpensive, cottage filters have been designed by the Agricultural Department and these are being adopted, though very gradually. The oil so filtered is greatly superior, but having acquired a more delicate flavour, it is not so much appreciated by the native consumers.
Large numbers of young wild olive trees are issued on permit from the State forests for private cultivation and many thousands of two- and three-year-old plants raised in the Government Nurseries are also distributed every year. With the gradual improvement in cultivation and in the preparation of the oil, the production should increase enormously.
The local production of olive oil is insufficient for the requirements of the Island, but there is no reason why, in the course of time, when the large number of trees newly planted and annually on the increase, come into bearing, a valuable export trade should not result. The figures of production, given in the table below, are strikingly fluctuating, and indicate the irregularity of the annual yield and the marked variation in price:
| Year. | Quantity. | Value. |
| Cwts. | £ | |
| 1904 | 4,294 | 6,467 |
| 1905 | 5,291 | 8,504 |
| 1906 | 7,845 | 12,602 |
| 1907 | 8,981 | 16,922 |
| 1908 | 788 | 1,459 |
| 1909 | 3,851 | 8,864 |
| 1910 | 7,550 | 17,232 |
| 1911 | 608 | 1,415 |
| 1912 | 48 | 88 |
| 1913 | 911 | 2,052 |
| 1914 | 2,197 | 4,837 |
| 1915 | 6,003 | 15,146 |
| 1916 | 4,966 | 16,035 |
| 1917 | 290 | 1,225 |
Sesame Seed
The annual production in Cyprus of sesame seed (Sesamum indicum) is said to be about 195,000 okes. It is one of the recognised summer crops in the plains, and is frequently sown together in the same field with cotton, maize, etc., and in the vine villages it is sown in the newly planted vineyards, where it does well. In such cases the preparation of the soil is done on the same lines as for cotton, maize, vines, etc.
The seed is used mainly for the extraction of the oil, which is largely employed in cooking, and it is also used in the preparation of sweetmeats; it is added sometimes as a condiment in bread-making. There is a small export, principally through Egypt.
The percentage of oil extracted varies according to the locality where the seed has been produced. Of the local product, that from Paphos gives the highest yield, viz. 30 to 35 per cent.; but this is inferior to the Egyptian product, which is to some extent imported and yields 40 to 45 per cent. of oil, this being probably due to the thinner skin. The crop is uncertain. The plant is readily affected by the hot west wind (λἱνας) which not infrequently blows during its period of growth. The development of the seed is thereby checked and it remains thin and small (ψἁλιος), and naturally the oil yield is diminished.
Ground Nut, Peanut or Monkey Nut (Arachis hypogæa)
This nut is fairly popular among all classes and is imported through Egypt in moderate quantities. There is no reason why in certain localities this plant should not be grown successfully, more especially in the light sandy soils around Varosha and at Syrianochori. Efforts have been made to induce cultivators to grow this crop, but so far it has not commended itself. It calls for something a little out of the ordinary in the way of cultivation, as the plants mature their fruits under the soil; the profit to be derived from the crop is uncertain, and is thought, though without sufficient proof, to compare unfavourably with rival crops. Growers have been somewhat deterred by the ease with which the fruit can be stolen. As this is hidden under the soil, a theft is not at once detected. These drawbacks probably explain its restricted cultivation.
Should oil-extracting machinery be introduced, these nuts might well be grown for their oil, both for culinary purposes and for use in soap-making. The residuum, after extraction of the oil, and the haulm are nutritious cattle foods.
The importation of these nuts was recently prohibited except in a roasted condition, owing to the risk of their introducing plant pests when in the raw, earth-encrusted condition. This has tended to check importation, and may perhaps give an impetus to local production. Ground nuts can be grown, of course, only where irrigation is possible.
The quantity of ground nuts imported in 1917 was 1,532 cwts., valued at £2,448. Previous to that year they were not separately enumerated.
Castor-oil Seed
The castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis) is only grown to a small extent, but the tree usually thrives well and its cultivation might be extended with advantage. According to Gennadius, Dioscorides claimed that it used to be called Seseli of Cyprus, from which the inference may be drawn that the plant has long been among the flora of the Island, where it is now known as a perennial. It grows very freely from seed and rapidly attains a height of 15 or 16 ft.; but it quickly dies back after a slight frost, though it recovers again the following year. It appears to do well in most soils, but thrives best in light loam with moderate moisture.
Owing to the demand for the oil, one or two plantations have lately been made by the Agricultural Department.
The varieties locally grown include plants producing large, medium and small-sized seed. Trial cultivations are being made to ascertain their relative values. It is found that a heavier yield of better quality is usually obtained where the plant is treated as an annual and not as a perennial. Four samples of castor seed examined at the Imperial Institute were found to contain normal amounts of oil, and similar seed would be readily saleable in the United Kingdom if offered in commercial quantities (see Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, vol. xvii. 1919, p. 492).
Fibres
Cotton
During the time of the Venetian occupation (1489-1570) Cyprus exported annually from seven to fifteen million pounds of raw cotton. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the English Levant Company sent large quantities from Cyprus to England. When the scarcity of cotton occasioned by the American Civil War gave a stimulus to its growth Cyprus took part in meeting the demand, and in 1866 over 2,000,000 lb. were exported. Since then the production has declined. In former times, then, the production of Cyprus cotton must have been very large, as cotton manufactures in the Island were, as in most cotton-producing countries in the East at that period, both considerable and of choice quality. Cyprus was always distinguished for its cotton spinning. Gennadius suggests that the Karpas, which is one of the centres of the Cyprus cotton manufacture, derived its name from the ancient "karpasos," a fine cotton cloth which came from India. There is an old Hebrew word "karpas" found in the Old Testament, and derived from the Sanscrit "karpasa," cotton, or "karpasum," cotton cloth.
During the Turkish Administration cotton cultivation declined, owing to the destruction of aqueducts, Venetian wells, etc., and to the practice of taxing the cotton crop in the field before it was picked—a cause of considerable delay and detriment to the crop. Careless cultivation and consequent deterioration of the fibre as well as the general fall in value contributed to the decay of the industry. Taxing the crop in the field was abandoned in 1890, and a tithe was levied on exported cotton only (Handbook of Cyprus).
The species of cotton principally cultivated in the Island is Gossypium herbaceum. American "New Orleans" seed was introduced some twenty years or so ago, and this has now largely displaced the original native kind; in fact the native kind has almost entirely disappeared, and what little is grown is mostly used for stuffing the native bed-quilt or "paploma."
Cotton grown without irrigation is known as "dry" cotton. It is grown chiefly in the Messaorian plain and in the Karpas; it is harsh to the touch and short in staple, but of satisfactory colour. "Wet" cotton is grown on irrigated land; it is usually of larger staple and of finer quality than the "dry" cotton and commands a higher price. This is grown mainly round about Kythrea, Nisou, Dali, Lapithos and in the Solea valley. Native cotton is always grown "dry"; the ordinary American variety is grown both "wet" and "dry."
The Karpas cotton, which is "dry" grown, is inferior not only on account of its shorter staple, but on account of the method of picking. In some places of Messaoria, at Dali, Nisou, etc., the "dry" and sometimes the "wet" cotton is picked in the morning before the dew has quite evaporated, and it is picked direct from the growing plant. But the most general practice is for the villagers to cut the bolls early in the morning before the dew is evaporated (πορνἡ), transport them to the houses and then remove the lint at their leisure. In this way the bolls are more or less crushed and the lint when removed contains a mixture of husk, leaves, etc.
In the case of native and other varieties the lint of which adheres to the boll, the husks, leaves, etc., are removed from the bolls in the following way: The bolls are spread out on mats to dry in the sun; when sufficiently dry the bolls are put in a rotary sieve made of reeds and sticks, similar in make to the ordinary reed baskets of the country. Each end of the sieve is closed, but it has an opening in the middle, about 1 by 1½ to 2 ft., which is closed by a small reed mat. The sieve is about 5 to 6 ft. long and 2 to 2½ ft. in diameter. The bolls are dropped into the sieve through the opening and it is then revolved by hand by means of an axle which passes through it longitudinally. By this means most of the crushed husks and leaves fall through the interstices of the sieve.
The native seed is usually grown on dry lands as it withstands drought. The "wet" cotton is mostly of the American variety.
Professor Wyndham Dunstan, F.R.S., in his Report on the Agricultural Resources of Cyprus (1905), referred to the successful trials made with "Sea Island," "Peterkin," "Truitt's Big Boll," "Culpepper Big Boll," and "Allen's Long Staple." Since then other varieties have been tried by the Agricultural Department, and while "Allen's" and "Truitt's" have continued to do well, good results have been obtained from "Triumph" and "Durango," both of which are early kinds and are therefore very suitable to the Island. A report by the Imperial Institute on samples of "Allen's Improved," "Mebane's Early Triumph" and "Sakellaridis" cottons grown experimentally in Cyprus in 1915 will be found in the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute (vol. xv. 1917, p. 298).
Owing to fear of locusts, late sowing (about May-June) became rather general. This is a dangerous practice as the bolls ripen late and much cotton is spoilt by the early autumn rains. It is mostly sown broadcast or in trenches; on irrigated land it is mostly sown in the ridges, but the older practice of sowing broadcast still, unfortunately, continues.
"Dry" cotton is usually sown either on land which can be irrigated by a river when in flood, or in "livadhia" or low-lying lands which retain their moisture a long time. In the former case the seed is sown about March-April, while the soil is still damp from rain water or from river overflow. It is generally expected that when the young plants are fairly established a second irrigation from flood-water may occur. In the "livadhia" the seed is sown later. "Wet" cotton is watered about every fortnight.
The crop begins to be collected in mid-September and continues up till the end of October. "Dry" cotton is rarely manured; "wet" cotton occasionally. The use of chemical manures is coming into practice. There are several ginning machines in the Island, but baling by hydraulic presses is done almost exclusively at Larnaca.
In the Island the cotton seed is used for sowing and for feeding cattle. The exports of cotton seed have been:
| Year. | Quantity. | Value. |
| Cwts. | £ | |
| 1909 | 2,708 | 769 |
| 1910 | 3,066 | 970 |
| 1911 | 3,245 | 830 |
| 1912 | 15,874 | 4,535 |
| 1913 | 13,933 | 3,750 |
The exports represent about three-fourths of the total production.
There should be a good opening for machinery for extracting the oil.
The cotton is locally graded into (1) best, (2) medium, and (3) poor, all being American varieties. The first quality is the "wet" or irrigated cotton. The second quality is grown mostly in the Messaoria plain and at Dali, Nisou, Potamia, Kythrea, where it is partly irrigated by river floods. The third quality is "dry" and comes principally from the Karpas. On the Marseilles market the second quality has a value 3 to 4 per cent., and the third quality 8 to 10 per cent. less than the first quality. The first quality ranks in price at Marseilles on about a level with American cotton.
For some ten years Greece has taken the leading place as an importer. Before the war, Cyprus cotton went chiefly to Marseilles and Greece, some also to Trieste. Only a very insignificant quantity goes to England. The freight to Marseilles was about 25s. per ton, to Trieste about 15s. per ton, while to England it averaged 50s. per ton. The market prices at Marseilles and Trieste were approximately the same, but at Marseilles they were subject to a discount of 1½ per cent., whereas at Trieste a discount of 3 to 4 per cent. was made. The Trieste market, being small, was subject to sudden fluctuations and was therefore risky and less favoured by Cypriot exporters.
For several reasons the Liverpool market has not been so attractive as that of Marseilles. At Liverpool and Manchester quantities of not less than, say, 100 bales are preferred, whereas Marseilles would take smaller consignments of 20 or 40 bales. Uniformity of type is required by Manchester spinners, whereas the French factories are more ready to handle different types, including the shorter staples. Cyprus merchants make no distinction as regards the varieties of cotton, whether "Orleans," "Sea Island" or other kinds, and indeed they are scarcely competent to do so, as this requires special knowledge and experience. They buy in small quantities from many peasant growers and mix the produce in order to make up a fair consignment.
In normal times there was always the further difficulty of obtaining direct transport to England, whereas to Marseilles, Trieste and also to Greece the opportunities were more frequent.
Since the war Greece has become much the largest buyer. Owing to shortage of cotton on the Greek market this commodity was purchased from Cyprus rather than from Liverpool, as the freight was lower and war risks much less; apart from the almost impossibility of obtaining tonnage. It was the practice before the war for Cypriot merchants to sell c.i.f. Piræus, but they could not continue this under recent conditions and now sell f.o.b. Cyprus, and this practice is likely to continue. This f.o.b. Cyprus price has lately been about the same as would ordinarily be obtained for c.i.f. Liverpool. Greece has many small filatures willing to take consignments of even 10 bales, and the shipment direct or via Alexandria is easier.
A Cyprus bale weighs about 150 okes.
The following figures, showing average annual exports of raw cotton at various pre-war periods, indicate the course of the cultivation:
| Period. | Average Quantity. | Average Value. |
| Cwts. | £ | |
| 1880-89 | 68,410 | 147,683 |
| 1890-99 | 57,291 | 91,812 |
| 1900-09 | 41,121 | 92,939 |
| 1910-17 | 68,384 | 213,275 |
Prices have varied, as is shown by the values of the following record years:
| Quantity. | Value. | Average price. | |||
| Cwts. | £ | £ | |||
| 1885 (highest export on record) | 14,276 | 29,567 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 1886 (2nd ditto) | 13,887 | 26,535 | 1 | 16 | 11 |
| 1912 (3rd ditto) | 13,808 | 40,085 | 2 | 18 | 0 |
| 1913 (4th ditto) | 13,444 | 40,693 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 1884 (5th ditto) | 12,227 | 26,874 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
In 1917 there were 13,685 donums under cotton cultivation.
It is usual in some parts of the Island, especially in the Kyrenia district, to leave the crop in the ground for two or three years. This method of cropping is locally known as "palia" or old. It is found profitable to leave the cotton plants two or three years on irrigated land. The second-year crop usually gives the heaviest yield.
The average yield of unginned cotton on irrigated land is about 120 okes (3 cwts.) per scala; but as much as 250 okes can be obtained. "Wet" cotton, best quality, yields 1 oke of lint from 3 okes of unginned cotton, and "dry" cotton yields about 1 oke of lint from 3⅓ okes of unginned cotton.
There is much land well suited to cotton which for lack of water cannot be utilised. If artesian water could be found, there would be a very considerable extension of this cultivation.
There is a well-equipped little cotton factory at Famagusta, and excellent cotton fabrics are made, especially in Nicosia neighbourhood, Lapithos and Karavas, Lefkonico and Gypsos and in the Karpas. These are known under the names of "alaja" and "dimita." They are mostly of good patterns, the material is strong and wears well, and is being largely used, not only by the peasantry, but also for making men's suits and ladies' skirts and cloths.
An interesting article on the Cyprus Cotton Industry is to be found in the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, vol. iii. 1905, pp. 327-334.
Flax and Linseed
The cultivation of flax (Linum usitatissimum), which began to develop some twenty years ago, has declined during the last ten years or so. The reasons for this are that it is considered to exhaust the soil, the later handling of the crop for fibre is troublesome and the market is liable to rather violent fluctuations. It grows well in the Messaoria plain, and when chemical manures are more generally used it may come more into favour. Attempts have been made to improve the quality by the introduction of Riga flax seed, but so far without success. There is a small export of linseed, but owing to the primitive methods of winnowing and cleaning it does not fetch the best price. The quality of the cleaned seed is excellent. Knowledge and care are needed in picking the crop at exactly the right time. The imperfect methods of general cultivation prevent the uniform ripening of the seed, and this means an uneven and unsatisfactory sample. Defective screening accounts for the presence in excess of foreign substances, weed seeds, etc. These difficulties are capable of remedy, and it may reasonably be hoped that when once overcome the cultivation will be extended.
In Cyprus the cultivation is the same whether intended for seed or fibre, and consequently the latter is of an inferior quality, as is indicated in a report on Cyprus flax published in the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute (vol. vi. 1908, p. 4). Seed is sown in November-December at the rate of 17 to 22 okes per donum. Retting is done by steeping in the large stone irrigation tanks which are a feature on most farms. In the Messaoria, about Ano and Kato Zodia, where flax is commonly grown, the plant is retted in the river Ovgos, which retains sufficient water usually until August. The yield per donum varies from 100 to 300 okes of seed, 80 to 100 okes of fibre and 50 to 70 okes of tow.
Wool
The exports of wool for the three last pre-war years were as follows:
| Year. | Quantity. | Value. |
| Cwts. | £ | |
| 1911 | 5,535 | 13,452 |
| 1912 | 4,627 | 11,362 |
| 1913 | 4,707 | 12,181 |
This went chiefly to France, and next, though in much smaller quantities, to Italy.
The wool is of moderate quality; this is partly due to the breed of sheep and partly to the conditions under which they are kept. Attempts have been made by the Agricultural Department to impress on the native breeders the necessity of keeping the sheep well fed, and experiments have been carried out at the Athalassa Experimental Farm for the purpose of demonstrating the advantages of careful rearing.
Two fleeces from the Athalassa Farm were sent to the Imperial Institute in May 1912, for examination and commercial valuation. One was the fleece of a yearling ram. This was clean, fairly soft and almost white. The other was the fleece of a yearling ewe. This was clean, slightly harsh and almost white, but was slightly coarser than that of the ram.
These fleeces were considered by a firm of London brokers as an excellent class of carpet wool and likely to meet always with a ready sale in the London market (see Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, vol. x. 1912, p. 537). A similar opinion was expressed immediately before the war (July 1914) by a London firm to whom two bales of Cyprus wool had been sent, of which a part had been purchased in the bazaar and washed and trimmed by the Department and part came from the Athalassa (Government) flock. It was considered as "an ideal wool for carpet making or for blankets, but deficient in lustre for braids."
The actual yield per sheep, viz. 3 to 3½ lb., compares unfavourably with that of Lincolns, which they most closely resemble. This is due partly to breed, but largely also to the conditions under which the sheep are kept (see p. 17).
Hemp
The cultivation of hemp (Cannabis sativa) is practically confined to the southern part of the Paphos district, and there only in places where the water-supply is ample. The plant is grown only for fibre, which is exclusively used for rope-making, which is carried out by hand by the villagers round about Ktima. It would be of advantage to have a rope-making machine at work at a spot centrally situated in the area of production. A simple hand-worked machine is now being experimentally used and will, it is believed, turn out a better class of rope.
The plant grows well on fertile and irrigated lands. Farmyard manure, and specially sheep manure, are generally applied, and chemical fertilisers are now also coming into use.
Harvesting takes place when the plants begin to turn pale. The plants are uprooted, not cut, and are made up into sheaves tied together at the butt end only. The bundles are not more than 2½ spans round, and of equal size. When first uprooted the sheaves are placed flat on the field in rows to dry and in such zig-zag fashion that the top end of one sheaf is always made to rest on the butt end of another, and thus does not come into contact with the ground: this ensures the circulation of air and hastens the drying process. The sheaves are taken later to the threshing-floors, where they are stood upright until they are dry. The seed is separated by beating. The sheaves are exposed to the sun until the leaves are shed, and when the stems are entirely dry the bundles are tied up at both ends and are taken to the retting-place, which is usually the common stone tank or cistern of the country. There they are steeped in water for six to nine days. The bundles are generally covered by about one foot of water. On the sixth day the fibre is tested. If it separates easily the bundles are removed, if not they remain for another two or three days. This requires much care and experience, as the quality depends largely upon effective retting. Then they are taken out of the water and sun-dried, being piled up into pointed shooks, left hollow in the centre.
The fibre is separated by means of a wooden implement locally called "melidjia." This consists of a wooden trough placed on two legs which are fixed in the ground. A wedge-shaped piece of wood which is hinged to the trough at one end is used as the beater. The hemp stalks, after the butts are cut off, are placed in the trough and the beater worked up and down so as to split the stalks and lay bare the fibre.
The average production of fibre per scala is 60 to 80 okes, but where conditions are all favourable it may reach 160 to 200 okes and the seed yield may be anything from 80 to 200 okes per scala.
Silk
The silkworm (Bombyx mori) finds in Cyprus a climate exceptionally favourable to its development, and Cyprus silks have been famous for their quality throughout the middle ages and as far back as the sixth century A.D., when Greek monks first introduced silkworms from China.
In the fateful year 1845, when the disease pebrine nearly destroyed the silk industry of Europe, the anxious search for healthy silkworm eggs that then ensued led Arabs from Syria to visit Cyprus and buy large quantities of silk cocoons from which they raised and exported the eggs. At that time, therefore, it is evident that Cypriot moths were well thought of. Pebrine soon reached Cyprus and almost brought the Island breed to an end. Thanks, however, to the Pasteur system, whereby pebrine and other silkworm diseases have been brought under complete control, the industry both here and elsewhere was not only saved but has been considerably developed.
Writing in 1896 Mr. P. Gennadius, late Director of Agriculture, Cyprus, stated that the local production of silkworm eggs was so small that it could not be taken into consideration, and from the figures then given the total average annual production at that time is estimated to have been 35,000 okes of dry cocoons. This represented an average yield of only 3½ okes of dry cocoons, equal to 15½ kilograms of fresh cocoons, per ounce of silkworm eggs. This compared very unfavourably with the average annual production of fresh cocoons in France and Italy at that time, which was 35 kilograms and 30 kilograms respectively per ounce of silkworm eggs. Moreover, this ratio had been, up to that period, on a descending scale.
In a report published in 1897 Mr. Gennadius attributed this unsatisfactory state of things to the following causes:
1. The importation of cheap silkworm eggs of inferior quality; the average price paid by merchants was 2 to 2½ francs per ounce, while the price in France ranged from 9 to 12 francs.
2. The action of merchants who imported larger quantities of eggs than they could properly dispose of.
3. The ignorance and folly of rearers who undertook to rear far more worms than they could properly "educate," having regard to space, leaves and labour.
In 1908 the Department of Agriculture set to work, with some success, to improve the methods of rearing up to that time in vogue, and during the six years ending 1913 (inclusive) the average annual quantity of eggs hatched out was 12,319 oz., the average annual export of "dry" cocoons was 45,551 okes, and the average annual estimated local consumption 4,449 okes, making a total annual production of 50,000 okes, as against 35,000 okes in 1896. The former total represents an average yield of about 4 okes of "dry" cocoons, equal to about 18 kilograms of fresh cocoons per ounce of seed, and marks a slight improvement upon the ratio of eighteen years previously.
Since 1914 this branch of work has received a larger share of attention from the Department. Five sericultural stations have been established, regulations have been issued, inspections by qualified persons have been systematically made, practical advice has been given to rearers in the matter of cleanliness, disinfection and so forth, the granting of licences to egg-raisers has been put on a better footing and the whole industry has been brought more under observation and control.
Numerous suggestions have been made from time to time for insuring that only a good quality of egg shall be imported. As an effective—perhaps the most effective—means to this end, the Department of Agriculture has set itself to improve the production of local eggs and thus indirectly discourage their importation: holders of licences to raise eggs are required to pass periodical examinations; several have in consequence had their licences cancelled, new licensees have been added, and many unlicensed persons have been prosecuted and convicted for illegally raising eggs.
The common method of hatching practised by villagers, by placing the eggs tied in cloth with a little cotton-wool in their beds or by carrying them on their persons, still prevails, but it is gradually yielding to a better system of incubation. The Department has designed a simple, inexpensive hatching-box, and these are now being used with good results.
Until about three years ago probably 25 per cent. of the local rearers were producing their own seed without any microscopical examination at all. Bad feeding, bad ventilation, ill-adapted premises were general. As a consequence pebrine and flacherie played such havoc that many people were beginning to abandon silkworm rearing and uproot their mulberry trees. The expansion and increased resources of the Agricultural Department happily came just in time to check this backward move.
Silk reeling is unfortunately done in the most primitive manner with wooden appliances and hot water by village hand labour. The locally reeled silk is used only for Island consumption and the great bulk of cocoons is exported in the raw state, mostly to Lyons and Milan. The burden of freight on this bulky cargo is naturally a heavy handicap and the local silkworm rearers have consequently to be content with very low and inadequate prices for their cocoons. During the reeling process 20 to 25 per cent. of the silk is lost, and a further loss is incurred during weaving owing to the numerous knots having to be cut away and the silk threads rejoined.
A considerable loss is said to take place in selling cocoons in the European markets. The cocoons on arrival at Marseilles are subjected to official tests and sold according to the reports made by the official testers. It is of advantage to the buyers that the report should be made as unfavourable as possible as the price is lowered proportionately, and it is felt that the cocoons exported are thus placed too much at the mercy of the testing officials.
These Cyprus cocoons are reeled in France and Italy and the silk is largely sold to England. It would be to the mutual benefit of England and Cyprus if a direct demand for Cyprus reeled silk could be created and modern reeling plant introduced into the Island. A large sum of money, now annually paid for freight, would thus be saved to the Cypriot producers, which would stimulate the local industry and tend to increase greatly the annual production and improve the local weaving of silk stuffs, an industry which has already gained considerable fame and at which the Cypriot women are adepts.
As the following table shows, the amount of raw silk exported is a negligible quantity, but a fairly large quantity is locally reeled and is used in making the silk stuffs which are so much sought after in the local bazaars:
| Export of cocoons. | Export of cocoons waste. | Export of raw silk. | ||||
| Year. | Okes. | Country. | Okes. | Country. | Okes. | Country. |
| 1909 | 41,013 | France | 120 | France | 6 | Turkey |
| 1910 | 44,550 | " | 1,105 | " | 259 | " |
| 157 | Egypt | |||||
| 1911 | 57,422 | " | 2,704 | " | 246 | Turkey |
| 70 | Egypt | |||||
| 1912 | 43,196 | " | 2,571 | " | 90 | Turkey |
| 70 | Turkey | 3 | Greece | |||
| 1913 | 48,884 | " | 2,502 | France | 118 | Turkey |
Efforts have been made by the Agricultural Department to improve the Cypriot race of silkworms. Two races of white colour, the Japanese and the Baghdad, have been separately crossed with the yellow race of Baghdad. These crossings began in 1912-13 and have been continued up to the present. The objects aimed at are to establish a new Cypriot race (a) giving good cocoons of a fine structure and larger in size than the French variety and yielding a maximum quantity of silk; (b) producing cocoons of a uniform colour and in demand in the European market and (c) with these characteristics constant.
The results obtained so far are promising, but uniformity of colour has not yet been attained, though it is hoped that, by careful selection, this will become more fixed every year. It may here be mentioned that the famous French cream-coloured race took seventy-five years to become fully established owing to the widespread damage caused by pebrine and, to a lesser extent, by flacherie.
It has been observed that silkworm eggs locally produced by qualified licensees are decidedly more immune to disease and less affected by adverse atmospheric conditions than imported seed.
The local conditions of sericulture in Cyprus have undergone a change of late years. Formerly Nicosia and Famagusta were the districts where this industry was chiefly carried on; but latterly whole mulberry groves have been uprooted and replaced by fruit trees which are considered to be more profitable. This was the inevitable result of the ignorant methods under which the silkworm-rearing industry was conducted and the use of bad seed permitted, whereby disease was spread and annual loss incurred. It is hoped that the industry is now again on the upward grade. One indication of this is that whereas a few years ago 1,000 to 1,800 cocoons went to an oke, now the figure may be put at 500 to 1,000. Again, the waste due to excess of floss is much less than formerly, and if only reeling by machinery can be introduced a very much better return will result to the cocoon producer.
In the Karpas and in and around Nicosia a bi-voltine race is reared. The results are poor, but the two rearings are made because in these localities there is an ample supply of leaves. From this race are produced small cocoons locally called "Confetti." They are only used for local silk manufacture.
An inferior silk called "Koukoularika" is made from the cocoons of the ordinary or univoltine race, both those which have been stoved and those which have been badly stained when the moths emerged.
These cocoons, which, during the process of boiling in lye, have been bleached, are turned inside-out and the excrement of the larva removed. The silk is then spun by hand with the "atrachtos." These cocoons are mostly from laggard worms and of inferior quality.
The silk industry has suffered greatly from unscrupulous dealing on the part of the dealers in eggs. It is a common custom for these persons to sell imported seed at 2s. and even less per ounce, although the law requires all such seed to be accompanied by a Consular certificate and affidavit showing that the price paid was not less than 4s. per ounce, exclusive of freight, carriage or insurance. Secret discounts, presumably, render this practice possible. The dealer does not ask for payment in cash, but requires it in kind at the rate of 1 oke in every 4 okes of cocoons raised. If 28 okes of cocoons are obtained from 1 ounce of seed the dealer would get 7 okes, valued at say 2s. 6d. per oke = 17s. 6d. for each ounce of seed. The dealer mostly gives a cash advance of 10s. or £1 with the seed, stipulating that the crop is to be sold exclusively to him, the price being left open. The unfortunate producer is therefore in his toils.
The establishment of small Sericultural Societies would do much, both to encourage and cheapen the cost of growing mulberry trees and assist the industry. A few such societies have lately been formed.
Mulberry
This tree (Morus alba) is grown extensively for silkworm feeding and is mostly found in those parts of the Island in which the silk industry is centred, viz. in the Marathassa valley and in the Karpas, fairly generally in and around Nicosia, Kyrenia and in the southern parts of the Paphos district.
Little care is given to its cultivation. For the most part, in all the older plantations, the trees are set too close together. This is less noticeable in the newer plantations. Pruning, where given, is defective and so is the method of gathering the leaves.
The usual method is to cut off, every year, the shoots with the leaves on them, from about one foot above the main branches. Two reasons are given for this by villagers. (1) It is quicker and easier to cut off these shoots than to pick off the leaves while still on the tree. The shoots are brought into the "magnanerie" and there placed upright in water and the leaves can then be removed more conveniently and at leisure. In this way the leaves remain fresh two days. (2) By cutting these shoots in the spring, i.e. during the silkworm-rearing season, which begins in early April, fresh shoots are formed which bear leaves in late summer and autumn. The latter afford very welcome green food for cattle and sheep. These leaves are stripped direct from the growing tree. The effect of this second gathering is prejudicial to the tree, which is thereby exhausted. The leaves produced the following spring are fleshy and watery and in the uncertain weather of spring are apt to induce flacherie.
Agaves and Aloes
Agave americana, A. rigida var. sisalana, Furcræa gigantea, Aloe ciliata and A. frutescens all grow well and, if properly cultivated and handled, might be worth more attention than they at present receive.
In 1913 a Cypriot from German East Africa who had been engaged in the production of Sisal hemp there was struck by the few excellent plants he found growing in Cyprus, and, had sufficient suitable land been then obtainable, with transport facilities, was desirous of undertaking cultivation on a commercial basis.
Samples of fibre prepared from the leaves of the abovementioned plants were reported on by the Imperial Institute in 1912, but as the leaves had been retted, and not scraped or scutched, their value was depreciated, and this was estimated at from £14 to £18 per ton with best Mexican Sisal hemp at £25 per ton.
The outlay for fencing against wandering flocks of goats and for decorticating machinery and other expenses would deter the ordinary cultivator from planting, and this could only be profitably undertaken if ample capital were forthcoming.
Broom Corn
Until the end of last century all brooms of European type were imported. Seed of broom corn (Sorghum vulgare), known locally as "tchihri" or "skoupa," was then introduced, and gradually the cultivation has extended and a good number of brooms of very fair quality are now locally made. The process of broom-making is very simple and the high price of the imported article during the war has led to a marked extension of the industry. The plant grows well, especially on irrigated land. The seed provides a good food for chickens and the stalks and leaves can be used as fodder. It is a profitable crop, especially when the cultivator makes and sells the brooms himself, and is principally grown in the Karpas and at Athienou.
Tobacco
In Turkish times tobacco was grown in several parts of the Island, though not to any large extent.
"For centuries it was produced in many districts of the Island, and particularly in the Karpas, near Kilani, Omodhos and Paphos, but from the time it became an article of monopoly its production was subjected to rigorous restrictions, and its cultivation has been entirely abandoned." (Reports, pt. ii. (1896), P. Gennadius).
The quantity grown before the occupation appears to have been very fluctuating and to have averaged about 56,000 lb. annually, and the Government revenue, according to British Consular reports, would not have been more than £300 to £400 per annum. The Régie was introduced in 1874, but owing to the hampering restrictions the industry had been pretty well crushed out by the time of British occupation in 1878. Meanwhile the revenue from tobacco, imported mainly from Volo and Salonica, increased greatly.
The monopoly ceased at the British occupation, but the regulations and imposts remained. Those responsible for controlling the industry, collecting dues, and checking illicit consumption had a troublesome task, while on the other hand the cultivator became averse to engaging in a cultivation which was hedged round with so many restrictions and formalities.
These exist at the present time and may here be quoted:
The grower has to notify the Customs authorities of his intention to sow, giving the locality and area. Before picking he must again notify the Customs, so that a Customs officer may be present at the picking and weigh the freshly picked leaves. After storing, but before delivering the tobacco to the factory, the Customs officer must again weigh the now dry leaves.
The excise duties leviable are: Tobacco leaf, 4½cp. per oke, payable on transfer of leaf from grower to wholesale dealer. Tobacco manufactured in Cyprus, whether made into cigarettes or otherwise, in addition to the import duty or transport duty, pays a banderolle duty of 3s. 6½cp. per oke.
These regulations are a relic of the Turkish times, as in those days the State received a definite due called "City Toll" by charging the tobacco cutters and tobacco sellers with a trade tax. They appear to have been administered with more laxity in Turkish than in post-occupation times, and it is said that the abandonment of tobacco cultivation was mainly due to the severity with which these rather vexatious and irritating regulations were enforced.
For many years the tobacco imported by local cigarette manufacturers came almost entirely from Macedonia. This tobacco was of very superior quality and cheap, and locally grown tobacco could not compete with it. Of late years the price of Macedonian tobacco has risen considerably and the manufacturers have therefore been induced to import Thessalian tobacco instead, which is not of so fine a flavour and approximates more closely to Cyprus produce. Cypriot smokers have thus had their palates prepared for the flavour of the locally grown tobacco.
About the year 1912, when Houry's Cyprus Tobacco Association, Ltd., was formed, a revival in the industry set in. This has since received considerable impetus from the war, which, temporarily, has thrust Macedonian tobacco out of the market. The primary object of the Association was to manufacture tobacco and cigarettes from Cyprus-grown tobacco, although foreign tobacco could also be used. Tobacco then began to be regularly grown by the Association at a Chiftlik near Limassol and elsewhere, and cigarettes made therefrom have had a fair local sale. The arrival of well-to-do refugees from Latakia and other parts of Syria, skilled in tobacco cultivation, led to great extension of this crop. A large part of the produce was at first converted into Latakia tobacco. Owing possibly to the lack of care and skill on the part of native labour, partly perhaps to the unsuitability of the herbs and brushwood used in the fuming, the market was not found sufficiently encouraging and the Latakia, for which at best there is a very restricted market, has almost ceased to be produced. Tobacco for cigarettes, however, continues to be grown on a fairly large scale, but in order that land suitable for corn and other foodstuffs should not be sacrificed to tobacco, the cultivation of the latter is permitted only by special licence. In 1916 and 1917 the industry fell almost entirely into the hands of the richer refugees, who were expert growers, and they contracted with the small farmers and peasants. A number of speculative growers, professional men, merchants, etc., were tempted by the prevailing high prices to embark in the industry, but the licensing system has tended to throw it more into the hands of the bona-fide farmers, who are allowed only to cultivate small areas which can be looked after mainly by their own families. In 1916 the total production was 89,065 okes, and the estimated yield for 1917 is 487,674 okes.
The Agricultural Department has for some five years carried out experimental growings in various districts, and samples of tobacco so grown have been submitted to the Imperial Institute (see Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, vol. xiii. 1915, pp. 547-550). The two best samples reported on were grown in the Nicosia plain. They were said to conform with the Turkish tobacco as regards size of leaf, but contained too much moisture for the English market. The tobacco was found to smoke rather hot and was only mildly aromatic, but it was believed that these defects would probably disappear with more experience in the curing. The samples referred to were incompletely cured, having been submitted quickly in order to roughly ascertain their quality. The report on the whole was moderately encouraging, and it is hoped that later samples which have been better cured will be found superior.
The tobacco grown in Cyprus is mostly of the Samsoun, Trebizond, Kavalla and Hassan Keff varieties.
The normal importation of tobacco into Cyprus is about 180,000 okes, which produces an import duty of £4,500 a year, at the rate of 4½cp. per oke.
The average amount paid for banderolles on tobacco when issued from factories for consumption is about £30,000 a year, which at the rate of 3s. 6½cp. per oke equals a banderolle duty on 161,000 okes; the difference of about 20,000 okes would be cigarettes exported on which no banderolle duty is paid.
If, then, no tobacco were grown and none imported the Government would lose £35,000 revenue annually. It would appear to be immaterial from a revenue point of view whether tobacco were imported or grown in the Island, since the imposts are the same, viz. on imports 4½cp. per oke import duty and 3s. 6½cp. per oke banderolle duty; on locally grown tobacco 4½cp. per oke transport duty and 3s. 6½cp. per oke banderolle duty. There is, however, this difference, that the money leaves the Island when the tobacco is imported and remains and fructifies when it is locally grown.
Tobacco cultivation is in many ways well suited to this Island, as a great part of its cultivation as well as the gathering may be done by women and children. It need not therefore make any serious demand upon man labour, which is already insufficient, and much of the work can be performed by those who are unfit for heavy field work. It is a summer crop, which is greatly in its favour, the quality when grown "dry" being much finer than when irrigated. Its introduction broadens the basis of cultivation, provides a revenue from land that would otherwise lie fallow and is a useful element in any system of rotation. As it calls for careful preparation and thorough cultivation of the soil it has a great educative influence on a people prone to slovenly, primitive husbandry, and corn crops following tobacco have frequently given a larger, more uniform yield.
At the same time it is an open question whether the crop can be grown and the leaf cured by the Cypriot farmer to produce a tobacco which, under normal conditions, will successfully compete in quality and price with the Macedonian tobacco.
Tanning Materials and Dye-stuffs
Tanneries are fairly numerous and large quantities of skins are tanned and sold to native boot-makers. Before the war, goat- and sheep-skins and ox-hides were practically the only kinds handled, the two former being mainly used for the uppers of boots. The top-boots worn by villagers are nearly all made from goat-skin, locally called "totmaria." Since the war pig-skins and dog-skins have been also used. Camel-skins are often employed for making soles.
Pine bark and sumach are the native tanning substances chiefly used in the local tanneries. The pine is one of the commonest forest trees of the Island. Shinia leaves (Pistacia Lentiscus) are also used (see p. 51).
Sumach
The Sicilian, elm-leaved or tanner's sumach (Rhus Coriaria) is a shrub which grows wild throughout a large part of the Island, being principally found among the vineyards on the slopes of the southern range of hills. The leaves are largely used in the leather tanning industry, and a considerable export might have been established to the United Kingdom had it not been for dissatisfaction caused by the excessive presence of impurities, such as lentisc leaves and dust, which were usually found in the consignments sent.
One sample was sent by the Agricultural Department to the Imperial Institute in 1909. This was found to consist wholly of sumach and no lentisc or other leaves, and gave on examination the following results: Moisture, 10.1; ash, 9.8; tannin (by hide-power method), 26.9; extractive matter (non-tannin), 16.7 per cent. The report showed that the leaves produced a good leather, similar in texture and colour to that obtained with Sicilian sumach, and was considered likely to fetch about the same price as a medium quality of Sicilian sumach, which contains from 25 to 30 per cent. of tannin (see Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, vol. x. 1912, p. 45).
Two further samples were sent in 1916. The first sample "consisted of a finely-ground yellowish-green powder, containing a quantity of sand, small stones and iron dust." The second sample consisted of a "coarsely-ground, yellowish-green powder, containing a quantity of pinkish unground twigs, sand and small stones, together with some iron dust."
The results of examination were as follows:
| No. 1. | No. 2. | |
| Per cent. | Per cent. | |
| Moisture | 9.3 | 9.2 |
| Insoluble matters | 53.6 | 57.8 |
| Extractive matters (non-tannin) | 14.6 | 13.0 |
| Tannin | 22.5 | 20.0 |
| Ash | 8.5 | 12.3 |
| ————————————————————————————————— | ||
| Tintometer readings—Red | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| Yellow | 2.1 | 2.5 |
Both samples were low in tannin, compared with the Sicilian percentage of 25 to 30.
Sample No. 1 was valued at £13, and No. 2 at £12, per ton, with Sicilian sumach at £15 per ton; the lower value being due to the lower tannin contents, owing to the presence of sand, dirt, etc. It may be assumed that if more care in preparing clean samples were taken, Cyprus sumach would greatly improve its market value.
Valonea
There are a few well-grown specimens of valonea oak (Quercus Ægilops) to be seen, but being a slow grower and as it takes many years to reach the stage when it yields a profit, it does not commend itself to the Cypriot tree planter. It prefers deep soil and requires artificial irrigation or a greater rainfall than we have in Cyprus.
It has been tried at Salamis and failed, and also at Machaera with the same result. It has been grown also on Troödos, but after six years' growth attained a height of only 1 foot.
Only an insignificant quantity of Valonea cups are locally produced. These come from the Paphos district and are said to be rather poor in tannin. The bulk comes from Anatolia. The pre-war price for the latter was 5s. per cantar of 44 okes, that for the locally grown was 20 paras per oke on the spot, transport charges bringing up the price to about 1 copper piastre per oke delivered.
Acacia Barks
Acacia pycnantha has been grown in Cyprus, but does not acclimatise well, and neither the soil nor climate seems favourable. A. mollissima also has not shown any very successful growth. A. cyanophylla and A. longifolia, on the other hand, thrive excellently. They are great drought-resisters and grow on almost any soil. They have been very extensively grown by the Forest Department in every district for fuel and along the coast upon sand dunes. They have not been utilised so far for the extraction of tanning, except experimentally. Samples of the barks of the two last-named species were found on examination at the Imperial Institute to be too poor in tannin to be worth exporting, but they should be quite suitable for use in Cyprus (see Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, vol. xi. 1913, pp. 412-414).
Madder
In former years, and within the period of the British occupation, the cultivation of madder (Rubia tinctorum) was fairly flourishing in Cyprus. The old madder grounds can still be distinguished, and are mostly to be seen near Morphou, Ayia Irini, Sotira, Ayios Serghios, Famagusta and Larnaca. These madder grounds were excavations made in order to expose the soil lying beneath 10 to 30 ft. of drift-sand; and they form, as it were, a series of tanks along the shore. The red dye obtained from the dried and ground madder roots constituted at one time one of the most valued of dye-stuffs, and was in special demand for military uniforms; but this has been entirely superseded by artificial coal-tar derivatives and, as Gennadius says: "The happy days of the cultivation of this plant are past, never to return."
It is propagated mostly by root cuttings. The leaf begins to dry at about the sixth month. There is no further growth above ground, but the roots continue to increase and shoot downwards till moisture affects them. "When they get too wet, they become black or rot. In Cyprus this rotting would often begin after about eighteen months, while in superior soils the roots would continue to improve during thirty-six months, and they would be known in the trade as eighteen months and thirty-six months roots. In Famagusta district they remain mostly eighteen months, while at Morphou they would continue fully thirty-six months, during the whole of which time the surface ground should be kept free of weeds."
After the root is lifted it is generally dried; if packed before quite dry, it ferments and deteriorates.
Two and a half tons of dried roots would be produced from an acre of good ground, and the madder grounds used to fetch a very high price.
Drugs and Other Products
Liquorice Root
The liquorice plant (Glycyrrhiza glabra, Linn.) grows mainly in the Famagusta and Kyrenia districts, and the roots are collected and exported from time to time. Two samples were reported upon in 1917 by the Imperial Institute (see Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, vol. xv. 1917, p. 312) and the following opinions of two London firms of brokers were elicited.
(a) One firm described the Lapithos (Kyrenia district) roots as medium to bold unpeeled roots of good flavour, fairly well cleaned and very well dried; and valued them at from 50s. to 55s. per cwt. ex wharf, London (February 1917). The firm described the Famagusta roots as thinner than the Lapithos sample and not so well freed from smooth valueless pieces, but mentioned that they had apparently been washed. They valued these roots at 50s. per cwt. ex wharf, London (February 1917). The firm added that both samples were exceptionally dry, and that it seemed doubtful if the material in the bulk would be as dry.
(b) A second firm considered the roots to be rather mixed, inferior quality, and worth at that time about 45s. per cwt. in London (February 1917).
Pyrethrum
Pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum) cinerariæfolium grows well from seed and is an attractive garden plant with pretty, marguerite-like flowers. These yield the pyrethrum of commerce so largely used as an insecticide, and which is said to form the chief ingredients in various flea powders. These flowers, when dried and ground to dust, are employed for this purpose by the natives. The original pyrethrum powder came from plants growing in Dalmatia.
The plant was introduced into the Cyprus Government Gardens some twenty years ago and has since spread more or less throughout the Island. It is perennial and drought-resistant, and will also stand several degrees of frost and seems indifferent to soil, provided it is not too damp. The seed is sown in September and the seedlings are transplanted in April or May, but it multiplies itself readily by suckers. The flowers, which are about three times the size of the Chamomile (Matricaria Chamomilla), which they closely resemble, are gathered as soon as they are fully open, and are then dried in a well-ventilated room. They are usually sold in bales of 50 to 100 kilogrammes. One donum may produce about 100 okes of flowers annually.
Squill
Bulbs of the local squill were submitted in 1917 to Kew and provisionally identified as Urginea Scilla. Like the asphodel, this root is found everywhere. If sliced and placed about the house they are said to drive away mice. It was intended by the Agricultural Department to make an attempt to find a market for these roots, in the hope that if they could obtain a small payment for them farmers might be induced to collect them off their lands, but the project had to be abandoned for the time owing to the war. There is a small demand for these roots, if sliced and dried, in Europe for medicinal purposes.
Squill bulbs from Cyprus were examined at the Imperial Institute in 1916 (see Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, vol. xv. 1917, p. 311). The samples, which were submitted to a firm of drug manufacturers, were objected to on account of their dark colour, and were valued at about 6d. per lb. as against a pre-war value of 3d. per lb.
According to the report by the Imperial Institute there are two varieties of Urginea Scilla, white and red, the scales of the former being yellowish-white and those of the latter having a reddish tint, and there are also many intermediate forms. Though the red and the white varieties have been stated to possess equal medicinal value, the white variety is preferred in England.
In making stone irrigation channels which are lined with a coating of lime and sand or earth, local masons sometimes rub over this lining with a sliced squill which has been dipped in oil. It is found that this tends to harden and glaze the lining and prevent it from cracking.
Colocynth or Bitter Apple
The colocynth (Citrullus Colocynthis), locally called "pikrankoura" or "petrankoura," grows wild in some parts of the plains. The round yellowish-green fruit, about the size of an orange or small melon, ripens in July to September and, after being gathered, is skinned and dried in the sun. It is used by druggists as a purgative. Until about ten years ago it was cultivated on a small scale and an annual export of about £400 in value took place, chiefly to England and Austria. It was then in demand, it is said, as an adulterant of quinine. The fruit is locally thought to be a remedy for rheumatism. For this purpose the fruits are picked and put in a saucepan and covered with olive oil. After cooking for six hours the pulp or ointment is rubbed into the affected part. The European demand having ceased, the plant is now only found in a wild state.
Asphodel
The asphodel (Asphodelus ramosus), locally known as "spourdellos" or "spourtoulla," is a troublesome and abundant weed in many parts of the Island, up to an altitude of about 4,000 ft. The peasant farmer rarely attempts to remove it, though it occupies a large proportion of his land to the detriment of the crops. In the hills the villagers dry the bulbs and feed them to their sheep, cattle and donkeys. A paste is also made from the roots which is used by boot-makers to stick the leathers together. To make this paste the roots are dried in the oven and ground, and then mixed with ground vetches or maize and made into the gum or paste locally known as "tsirichi."
VI. MINOR AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES
Bee-keeping
Although Cyprus bees are world-famed, bee-keeping in the Island is still in its infancy.
The native hive is generally an earthenware cylinder or pipe about 2 ft. 6 in. long and 9 in. in diameter (see Plate VII, fig. 1). Hives are also made of a mixture of earth and chopped straw, similar to native mud-bricks. These hives are also cylindrical, about 18 in. long and 10 to 12 in. in diameter with a 3-in. thickness of wall. These are cooler in summer and warmer in winter, and produce stronger colonies than the earthenware ones.