As I have described in outline the rude method of cultivation and the manufacture of wine from the first bursting of the young vines, I will now examine the system of arbitrary interference to which the vine- grower is exposed through the successive stages of his employment.
The first tax is perfectly fair, as it is calculated according to the rateable value of the land, which is divided into three classes. These qualities of soil vary in the valuation from
No. 1 = 500 piastres the donum (about half an acre) to
No. 3 = 100 piastres the donum
The malliea, or annual tax upon these valuations per donum, is 2 per cent.
When the grapes are nearly ripe, they must be valued before the proprietor has a right to gather his crop. He is obliged to present himself at the government office at Limasol, many miles from his estate, to petition for the attendance of the official valuer, called the "mahmoor," upon a certain day. This may or may not be granted, but at all events one or two days have been expended in the journey.
Should the mahmoor arrive, which he frequently does not, at the appointed time, the medjlis, or council of the villages, appoints a special arbitrator to represent their (the vine-growers) interests, and he accompanies the government official during his examination of the vineyards. After a certain amount of haggling and discussion, an approximate weight of grapes is agreed upon, the mahmoor declaring the ultimate amount far above the actual crop per donum: and the tax is determined according to their quality, resolved into two classes:—
No. 1, the commanderia, and other superior varieties, pay 25 paras the oke.
No. 2, all other grapes pay 16 paras the oke.
But these taxes. are modified according to the abundance and quality of the grapes in each successive season, being sometimes more or less than the figures given. The crop is generally ripe towards the end of August, and the tax, having been determined, may be paid during the following January, March, or May.
The grapes having been officially valued, and the rate of taxation established, the proprietor may gather his crop, and press it for wine. The rows of enormous jars are at length filled: eventually the wine is ready for sale.
Now comes the necessity for a second journey to Limasol, perhaps thirty or forty miles distant, to petition for the government official to measure the contents of the jars; without such an examination, no wine can be removed from the stores.