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NOTES ON
AGRICULTURE IN CYPRUS
AND ITS PRODUCTS

BY W. BEVAN

Director of Agriculture, Cyprus

1919
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

NOTES ON AGRICULTURE IN CYPRUS AND ITS PRODUCTS[1]

By W. Bevan

Director of Agriculture, Cyprus

The intention of these notes is to make available to those interested in the agriculture of Cyprus some of the information scattered in various reports, leaflets and correspondence not readily accessible to the general public.

It has long been a matter of regret to the writer that the valuable stores of information collected with so much care and ability by the late Mr. Panayiotis Gennadius, formerly Director of Agriculture in Cyprus, through having been published in Greek only, have remained beyond the reach of many who might otherwise have derived benefit from a study of his works. His writings on the general agriculture of the "Near East" are voluminous and comprehensive, and show an intimate knowledge of the subject as well as of the practices and customs of agriculturists in these regions. The results of his labours are mainly embodied in his Helleniki Georgia and his Phytologikon Lexicon, both of which are works of recognised authority. During his eight years (1896-1903) spent in Cyprus Mr. Gennadius devoted himself specially to a study of the agricultural conditions and needs of the Island, and the notes and reports made by him have been, to a large extent, taken as the basis of the present Notes.

During the sixteen years since he left the Island many changes have taken place, and the more receptive and enlightened attitude of the rising generation of farmers has helped to bring about various improvements, and a greater readiness has been shown to adopt modern methods. In compiling the present Notes I have drawn freely from the articles which have appeared for many years in the Cyprus Agricultural Journal (formerly Cyprus Journal), the official publication of the Agricultural Department, and which I have edited; I have also taken advantage of the very admirable and reliable information contained in the Handbook of Cyprus, edited by Messrs. Lukach and Jardine.

SKETCH MAP Of CYPRUS SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF CROPS & FORESTS
[View larger image]

I am greatly indebted to the willing assistance of Mr. Procopios Symeonides, Inspector of Agriculture, whose thorough acquaintance with local conditions and usages has enabled him to contribute much useful and informative material. I have also to offer my acknowledgments to Messrs. M. G. Dervishian, C. Pelaghias, Z. Solomides, G. Frangos, A. Klokaris, A. Panaretos and others who have kindly supplied me with data of various kinds.

It will scarcely be necessary to add that little more than a summary of the agricultural practice and resources of the Island has here been attempted, and in no sense does it pretend to be anything more. The aim has been to give the reader a general idea of what Cypriot agriculture is and, to some extent, what it is capable of doing.

I. GENERAL

Geographical Features

The Island of Cyprus is situated in the innermost basin of the Mediterranean Sea; about 40 miles distant from the Asia Minor coast on the north, and about 60 miles from Syria on the east, and 238 miles from Port Said to the south. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, ranking next to Sicily and Sardinia. The larger part of the Island is in the form of an irregular parallelogram, 100 miles long and from 30 to 60 miles broad; while on the north the eastern extremity runs out beyond this into a peninsula 40 miles long by 5 to 6 miles broad. The total area is 3,584 sq. miles. The main topographical features are the northern and southern mountain ranges running east and west and enclosing the great plain of the Messaoria. The mountains of the northern range are of an altitude ranging from 2,000 ft. to over 3,000 ft., the highest point being Buffavento, 3,135 ft.; those of the southern range are more lofty and culminate in Mt. Olympus, 6,406 ft. above sea-level. The rivers are nearly all mountain torrents, and are dry from about July to November or December.

The area of cultivated land is approximately 1,200,000 acres, and that of the uncultivated land 1,093,760 acres, of which about 450,000 are forest land and 320,000 are susceptible of cultivation. The Messaoria plain is the great corn-growing area.

Climate and Rainfall

There are considerable extremes of temperature in the plains. In summer it is very hot and dry with temperature ranging during June to September from 80° to 110° Fahr., while in winter slight frosts not infrequently occur. The climate is more equable, but also more humid, along the coasts. In the plains there is, during the greater part of the year, a marked variation between the day and night temperatures.

Official records show that for a period of thirty-two years up to 1915 the average rainfall for hill and plain for the whole Island approximated to 20 inches. Up to 1902 records were kept only in the six district towns, but since then there have been some fifty recording stations. The mean rainfall during the winter months for the twelve years ended 1914 was 18.55 inches. That for the whole year during the latter period was 21.18 inches.

The incidence of rainfall, apart from its volume, is of importance. It is on the rainfall of the six winter months, October to March, that the prosperity of the Island depends, and any shortage during this period cannot be balanced by heavier summer rains, which are more liable to cause harm than good, by damaging the corn lying on the threshing-floors and by causing sudden floods.

Much importance attaches to the rains in March, without which the grain crop, however ample the earlier rains may have been, will not be satisfactory, as described in a maxim which I have attempted to render in English.

If twice in March it chance to rain,
In April once, a shower in May,
In weight in gold of man and wain,
The farmer's crops are sure to pay.
If roads are dry at Christmas time,
But Epiphany finds both mud and slime,
And at Carnival they still hold many a pool,
The farmer finds his barns quite full.

Administration

The Island is administered by a High Commissioner. There is an Executive Council and a Legislative Council consisting of six official members and twelve elected members, of whom three are elected by the Moslem and nine by the non-Moslem inhabitants. The Island is divided into six districts, in each of which the Executive Government is represented by a Commissioner.

Weights, Measures and Currency

Nearly everything except corn, wine, oil, carobs, cotton and wool is sold by the oke.

An oke, dry measure, equals 400 drams, or 2-4/5 lb.

The liquid oke is reckoned as equivalent to a quart.

Grain is measured by the kilé, regarded as equal to a bushel.

Wool, cotton and oil are sold by the litre of 2-4/5 okes, but commonly reckoned as 2½ okes.

Carobs are sold by the Aleppo cantar of 180 okes. This cantar is further divided into 100 litres of 1 oke and 320 drams each.

Wine is sold by the kartos = 4 okes, the kouza = 8 okes, and the gomari = 128 okes.

1 kilé of wheat weighs 20 to 22 okes.

1 kilé of barley weighs 14 to 18 okes.

1 kilé of oats weighs 13 to 14 okes.

1 kilé of vetches weighs 23 to 24 okes.

1 sack of straw weighs about 40 okes.

1 camel-load of straw weighs about 200 okes, consisting of 2 sacks, each weighing about 100 okes.

Measures of Length

Metron or metre.

Yarda or yard.

Pic = 2 ft. or two-thirds of a yard.

Inch = English measure.

The land measure is the donum (called by the villagers "scala"), but it is very uncertain, and varies in different parts of the Island. As recognised by law, 1 donum, called "tappoo donum," equals 60 pics = 40 yards square = 1,600 square yards, or 14,400 sq. ft.; 3.025 of these donums go to the acre. There is also a farmer's, or "reshper" donum, which is commonly used by agriculturists and is equal to about 1½ Government donums. For general purposes a legal donum is about one-third and a Cypriot farmer's donum about one-half of an acre. "Stremma" is also a synonym for the farmer's donum, or scala, although its actual measure is very much less.

Currency

£1 = 20 shillings or 180 copper piastres.

1 shilling = 9 copper piastres.

1 cp. (copper piastre) = 40 paras.

II. AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS

General

Agriculture is the main industry of the Island, which is favourably situated for the markets of Egypt, Syria and Asia Minor, although the former is practically the only buyer of its perishable produce. During recent years the Cypriot agriculturist has come to realise more and more the value of the Egyptian market and a considerable trade with that country has grown up.

Land Tenure and Labour

The small farmer mostly cultivates his own land, whereas the large landowner rarely does. The metayer, or metairie, system is fairly common, and has much to recommend it when honourably carried out by both parties, but it is open to very serious abuse.

Under this system the one party, or contractor, gives the seed and often lends the cattle. A valuation of the latter is made at the time of entering into the agreement, and a re-valuation is made on termination, any depreciation being made good by the other party, or metayer. The latter finds the necessary labour and feeds the animals and pays an agreed rate for their hire. The crops, after deduction of Government tithe, are usually divided equally between both parties, but the conditions vary according to circumstances and the nature of the crops grown.

If cultivated land be given to the partner, such land must be returned to the contractor in the same state of cultivation as received, or the contractor, at his option, may claim the return of the seed his partner received with it.

There are also a considerable number of leaseholders paying a fixed rent. The monasteries are the largest landowners, and both cultivate their own land and let out portions to the monks or to private farmers. Much land is also held by the Church, and this is frequently let out on a yearly lease, with the result that it is badly farmed and speedily worked out.

The country is rather sparsely populated by about 275,000 inhabitants, and although the cultivators are laborious when working for themselves and when free from the hands of the usurers, they are still very backward in their methods and appliances. A less conservative attitude has of late been observed, and a greater readiness has been manifested in seeking and following the advice of the Agricultural Department. There is a great amount of indebtedness among the peasantry and usurious practices abound. This undoubtedly checks progress, as few of the smaller farmers are free agents. The matter has lately been the subject of a special Commission appointed by Government. Laws have this year (1919) been passed by the Legislative Council dealing with usury and indebtedness.

Tithes and Taxation

The tithe, which forms the principal source of Government revenue, is one-tenth of the produce of the land on wheat, barley, oats, vetches, rye and favetta, measured on the threshing-floors and delivered in kind at the Government Grain Stores. Certain allowances are made to the tithe-payers for transport. In the case of carobs, which are also subject to this tax, the tithe is taken in money from exporters at the Custom House at the rate of 9 cp. (1s.) per cantar from the districts of Nicosia, Larnaca and Limassol, and 8 cp. per cantar from the other three districts.

There are certain export dues, in lieu of tithe, payable on the following commodities: Aniseed 33 cp., cotton 55 cp., linseed 18 cp., mavrokokko (black cummin) 7 cp., and raisins 10 cp. per 100 okes; silk cocoons 6¾ cp., wound silk 18 cp., silk manufactured by other than hand looms 18 cp. per oke.

An annual tax is levied of 3¾ cp. per head on every sheep and of 5 cp. per head on every goat one year old and upwards, and of 4½ cp. per head on every pig over three months old.

Credit and Agricultural Societies

The spirit of co-operation has hitherto been singularly lacking, but there are signs that a change is in progress and that, with proper guidance, the cultivators will ere long come to realise the advantages of combined effort in the production and distribution of their crops.

The establishment of village co-operative Credit Societies has long been advocated, but although a law was passed in 1913 for this purpose, there has so far been little practical outcome. Co-operation in its full modern significance is not yet understood; but one or two little village co-operative banks have nevertheless been started and show encouraging results.

There are also a few small village agricultural societies springing up, which, if properly conducted, may prove the pioneers of a general movement in this direction. The existence of such societies would greatly facilitate the work of the Agricultural Department, which would be able to influence and assist farmers through their societies, whereas now it is often not possible to reach them individually.

Irrigation

The most common method of raising water is by means of primitive water-wheels or "alakatia," often described as "Persian wheels" and resembling the "sakia" of Egypt. By these the water is carried in earthenware cups attached to the rim of a large vertical wooden wheel fixed in the mouth of a well and made to revolve by a mule or donkey by means of a horizontal wheel and beam, or by modern air-motor. Myrtle branches are mostly employed for attaching the cups to the wheels, as these are pliable and resist the action of water.

These "alakatia" were formerly made entirely of wood, but in the nineties, iron ones ("noria") were introduced from Greece, and these have become fairly general, and are gradually supplanting the older types. They have the advantage of being more durable and lighter to work. Good iron wheel wells are now locally made. Water-wheels of this description cannot be used for raising water from a depth of more than ten fathoms below the surface of the ground.

Of late years a large number of air-motors of Canadian pattern have been introduced and are found satisfactory.

There is abundant evidence in the remains of old disused Venetian wells and cisterns that in pre-Turkish times, when the country was far more densely populated than at present, a larger quantity of underground water was utilised than now. Abundant subterranean water for agricultural and gardening purposes is to be found in almost all the coast lands as well as in many parts of the interior. Such waters are either brought to the surface along subterranean channels or by means of wells, and, for the most part, have their origin in the mountain ranges, specially in the southern range, which is the rainy region of the Island.

Artesian well-boring experiments have been made in recent years in different parts of the Island, but without substantial results. In the Famagusta district large reservoirs were constructed several years ago for impounding the surplus water of the rivers of Pedias and Ialias, but these have only been very partially successful as the water is mostly lost before it reaches them.

A satisfactory solution of the water problem is of supreme importance to the Island. There are large fertile areas which every year remain fallow, but which, if capable of irrigation, would grow excellent cotton and other summer crops, thus providing a better system of rotation. Vegetable growing and fruit culture could then also be very greatly extended.

Plate I.

Fig. 1.—Ploughing on a Mountain-side with Native Plough.

Fig. 2.—Newly-prepared Beds in Experimental Gardens.

Agricultural Implements

Ploughs.—The old wooden plough of the East is still the common plough of the country (see Plate I, fig. 1). Efforts were made from 10 to 15 years ago to introduce iron ploughs by selling them through the Agricultural Department at half the cost price and even less. High-water mark was reached in 1908 when 102 of these ploughs were so sold. These were much approved of, and the further sale was then left in the hands of merchants. The demand at once fell off and since then only a few have been introduced. For a year or two a certain number of iron ploughs of Russian make were imported and sold through the Jewish settlement at Margo.

There is now a considerable demand which it may be possible to satisfy when normal conditions are resumed. There is some prejudice against English-made ploughs on the score of weight, as they are mostly heavier than those of French, Russian, Greek and American make.

Harrow.—The native harrow, "saraclo," is a wooden beam about 10 ft. long by 12 to 18 in. broad and 3 in. thick, on which the labourer stands as it is drawn over the newly sown land. It is ineffective inasmuch as it does not break the clods, but merely presses them into the ground. Iron-toothed harrows and spring-toothed harrows have been lent by the Department for demonstration purposes to different persons, and these, particularly the second kind, have found favour and are likely to be in demand for covering the sown seed. The usual method is to cover the seed with the native plough, but the European harrow is seen to do the work more effectively and with a great economy of time.

Among the more common agricultural tools of native pattern are the following (see Plate II):

Tsappa (hoe).—The wider tool, 5 in. to 6 in., is mostly for garden use; the narrow tsappa, about 3 in. wide, is for field work.

Skalistiri.—A kind of small tsappa, 2 in. wide, having two prongs 4 in. to 5 in. long at the opposite end. It is mostly used for hoeing vegetables.

Xinari (axe or hatchet).—One end of the implement is a sort of hoe, and the other end is shaped like a mattock. Used for cleaning off weeds, shrubs, etc., from the fields; also for cutting or splitting wood.

Kouspos.—These are of two kinds. The larger is used like a tsappa, but in stony or rocky places; the smaller is the tool used by well-sinkers. It can be conveniently handled in a confined space.

Karetta or Cart.—This has almost entirely superseded the old Cypriot type of cart, but the latter may yet be seen very occasionally in the Karpas and possibly in the Paphos district. It is still in use in some parts of Anatolia. In its construction no iron nails are needed.

Doukani.—The common threshing-board (see under "Cereals," p. 29). This is the primitive implement handed down from classic times and generally seen throughout the East (see Plate V, fig. 2).

Thernatchin.—A wooden shovel used for winnowing grain. It is deeply serrated, or divided, into 5 or 6 triangular-shaped teeth.

Arvalin.—A corn sieve. A goat's or sheep's skin, perforated with holes, is stretched across a round wooden frame, 12 in. to 18 in. in diameter. Instead of a skin, leather thongs or gut are stretched, crosswise on the frame. Perforated tin is now sometimes employed. These sieves are used for cleaning grain after winnowing.

Arkon.—Another kind of sieve, similar to the above, but with smaller holes for sifting fine seeds, dust, etc. Mostly made of skin, but now tin is being used.

Patourin.—A similar sieve, used for still finer work.

Skala.—An iron dibber, fitted with two wooden handles, used for planting vine cuttings.

Some advance has been made of late in cleaning the land, but foul land is pretty general. Squills, thistles, thorny bushes, and so forth abound; these are mostly deeply rooted, drought-resistant plants, and the labour required for uprooting them is not forthcoming.

There are a fair number of reaping machines now in use, but little care is bestowed on them, and when slightly out of order they are often put aside as useless. More enlightened ideas are now prevailing, and the abundant crops of the last few years have created a strong desire for more reapers and also for threshing machines, of which there are at present barely half a dozen in the Island.

Plate II.

Agricultural Implements.

1, Arvalin for barley and oats. 2, Arvalin for wheat and vetches. 3, Shovel for winnowing. 4, Thernatchin. 5, Arkon. 6, Patourin. 7, Tsappa, narrow, for field use. 8, Tsappa, wide, for garden use. 9, Xinari. 10, Kouspos. 11, Skalistiri.

The Agricultural Department

The Agricultural Department was established on a small scale in 1896, under the direction of Mr. P. Gennadius. It continued much on its original lines until 1912, when its establishment was enlarged, and the Government Farm and the Veterinary Branch were attached to the Department, and again in 1914 it underwent a further slight extension which was necessarily checked by the war. There is now a staff of inspectors, district overseers and agricultural demonstrators who are occupied in continually travelling in the country, advising and giving practical assistance to cultivators, lecturing on village wine-making, poultry-keeping, bee-keeping, on the action to be taken against various pests and so forth.

There are some eight Government Nursery Gardens in the districts from which large numbers of trees, plants and seeds are issued. A system of Model Orchards and Vineyards, newly started, is giving satisfactory results. These are intended to assist those engaged in the production of fruit and vegetables, for which an unlimited market is close at hand in Egypt.

Seventy School Gardens are in existence throughout the Island under the guidance and control of the Department. By their means many young fruit trees and other plants and seeds are annually distributed at low rates, better methods of cultivation and new kinds of vegetable and fodder plants are being made known, and the village boys are being taught something about the work on which they will later depend for their livelihood.

An Agricultural School for the sons of farmers was opened at Nicosia in 1913 under the direction of the Agricultural Department. Some twenty to twenty-five lads between sixteen and twenty years of age, both Greeks and Moslems, receive a two-year course of instruction with a view to fitting them to cultivate their own properties later. A few of the more promising students have been retained as student-labourers in the Department, after the termination of their school course, and of these again a few have been given minor appointments in the Department. A scheme for training young Cypriots abroad, which was in abeyance during the war, makes it possible to give the more capable of these some further training in Europe in the higher branches of agriculture. It is hoped, by this means, to form a group of native experts from among whom the technical staff of the Department can be recruited.

The Government Farm, Athalassa, though somewhat ill-placed for purposes of education and demonstration, has done good work in improving the live stock of the country, as evidenced at the Animal Shows held every year. Periodical auction sales of Athalassa stock take place in the different districts.

During the three years 1915-18, there were reared at the Farm and distributed 41 cattle, 264 sheep, 8 donkeys, 332 pigs and 2 mules, besides a considerable head of poultry.

The total value of the live and dead stock was estimated on March 31, 1918, at £3,128.

For breeding purposes there were 6 stallion horses, 8 jack donkeys, 8 bulls and 7 boars in 1917-18 stationed either at Athalassa or at the stud stables which have been established in the districts. Some 30 cast army mares have been obtained free of cost from the Remount Department, Egypt, and have been lent out on contract to farmers for mule breeding.

During 1917-18 the Farm produced 169 cheeses and 1,036½ lb. of butter. In the winter of 1917-18 some 314 donums of land were under cultivation, the chief crops being barley, oats, wheat and gavetta (Lathyrus sativus).

The Veterinary Establishment provides for 1 Veterinary Surgeon, 2 Stock Inspectors and 1 Veterinary Compounder. There is a good deal of endemic contagious disease among the flocks and herds of the Island, mainly anthrax and goat- and sheep-pox, and the Veterinary staff is kept busy. Cattle plague is unknown in the Island.

Cattle breeding should become a paying industry when once the lesson of proper feeding and management has been learnt (hitherto sadly neglected by the Cypriot farmer), since Egypt provides a ready and remunerative market.

Perhaps no work is of more importance than that of combating the numerous insect and other pests which every year cause heavy loss to the agricultural community. The addition of an Entomological Laboratory and the appointment of an Entomologist have enabled the Department to afford relief to many cultivators, and a small but active entomological staff are constantly engaged on various pest campaigns.

The Department possesses a small but well-equipped Chemical Laboratory under the charge of an Agricultural Chemist. In the absence of any law, the Department has, in the interests of importers and agriculturists alike, offered its services for analysing and reporting upon samples, sealing bags and giving advice as to the use of the different types, and this action has been readily availed of. This in itself, however, is not enough to check malpractices or safeguard the cultivators.

For the last four years the Department has had trial plots in which new varieties of cereals and fodder plants have been experimentally grown (see Plate I, fig. 2). The seed has been obtained from England, South Africa, India and Australia, but so far none of the varieties have been found in any marked degree superior to the native kinds. One or two varieties introduced two years ago are promising, and when fully acclimatised may be worth the attention of farmers. Experimental sowings are often made in the villages when it is desired to bring any particular crop to the notice of the agricultural classes.

The Cyprus Agricultural Journal, published quarterly in English, Greek and Turkish, is the official organ of the Agricultural Department.

Fungoid Diseases and Insect Pests

The Cypriot agriculturist has to contend against the attacks of many species of insects and a number of fungoid pests. Little could be done to bring these under control until, in 1914, an Entomological Branch of the Agricultural Department was established. Much valuable research and descriptive work had been carried out by Mr. Gennadius, but no organised field work could be undertaken until the last three or four years.

A detailed description of the numerous pests cannot here be given, but the more important ones are enumerated below. Happily Cyprus is one of the few Mediterranean countries which has not been invaded by Phylloxera.

Cereals.—Æcophora temperatella (Limassol district only), smut and rust, hessian fly (occasionally), grain weevils (Calandra granaria), grain moth (Sitotroga cerealella).

Carobs.—Cecidomyia ceratoniæ, scale (Aspidiotus ceratoniæ) Myelois ceratoniæ, borer (Cossus liniperda), Oidium ceratoniæ.

Olives.—Capnodium, scale (Lecanium oleæ and Aspidiotus oleæ), aphis (Psylla oleæ), olive fly (Dacus sp.), Tinea oleela and various borers.

Citrus and other Fruit Trees.—Gummosis (Citrus and all stone fruits); scale (all); ermin moth (apples, pears and plums); downy plant louse, Schizoneura lanigera (apples); aphides (almond, peach, plum and apricot); Tingis pyri (pears and apples); codlin moth, Carpocapsa pomonella (apples, pears, quinces and walnuts); peach leaf curl, Exoascus deformans (peaches); black aphis (peaches); Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (all); mites, Acarus sp. (all); various borers, thrips, and barkbeetle (Scolytids).

Vines.—Oidium Tuckeri, Peronospora, anthracnose, Cladosporium, root rot, Zygæna ampelophaga, thrips, Cochylis, Lita solanella.

Vegetables.—Peronospora infestans (potatoes), Cladosporium, Altica, aphides, mole crickets.

Much damage is done to carobs by the large rat, Mus Alexandrinus.

The large fruit-eating bat is a great pest. Hornets attack all kinds of fruits and cause much loss.

The chief cotton enemies are the cotton boll worm (Earias insulana), aphides and Capnodium.

Locusts are no longer the formidable plague they were in the eighties. They are limited almost to the Famagusta district, where they annually breed and do a certain amount of damage to early cotton and to vegetable crops. If not vigilantly kept under control they would quickly multiply and become a serious danger.

III. LIVE STOCK

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:

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:

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:

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.

Plate IV.

Fig. 1.—Cyprus Pony.

Fig. 2.—Cyprus Donkeys.

The number of pigs counted in the spring of 1914 was 38,850, the third highest number on record. Since then, owing to the prohibition of export, breeding has been checked and the number declined, but now it appears to be again on the upward grade.

Before the war there was an average annual export of about 2,000 animals; but there is now a better local market than formerly.

Camels

Camels are still used to a fair extent, and the breed is good, but owing to the improvement in the roads and increased facilities for more rapid transport, these animals are less in demand than formerly.

Horses

The native breed of horse is best seen in the Paphos pony, which though small, about 13 hands, is remarkably strong and hardy (see Plate IV, fig. 1). It is said that some eighty years or so ago the breed was improved by the introduction of two Arab stallions from Turkey. A useful stamp of pony mare is also to be found in the Karpas. A marked improvement in the quality of the local horses took place from the importation, some years ago, of English pony stallions; and more recently a further advance has resulted from the addition to the Government stud of the two famous English thoroughbred stallions "Téméraire," by Greyleg out of Tereska by Isonomy out of Violetta by Hermit, and "Huckle-my-buff," by Isinglass out of Snip by Donovan out of Isabel (dam of St. Frusquin).

Donkeys

The Cyprian donkey at its best is a fine animal (see Plate IV, fig. 2). It is the common beast of burden of the villager, and is capable of carrying a load of from 160 to 224 lb.

A large number of donkey stallions have been exported to India, Uganda, South Africa, Syria and Egypt from time to time, and the local breed has no doubt suffered owing to the best jacks having left the country. Although the villagers depend so much upon these animals, very little care is taken by them, either in the matter of breeding, feeding or proper management. The animals are mostly worked far too early, and underfed, and the majority are consequently undersized and of poor quality. Where good jacks are used, the progeny is generally satisfactory, and at shows and fairs some fine specimens are usually brought in. Owing to the increasing demand for jennets, the village breeder is inclined to put his she-donkey to a pony stallion rather than to a jack-donkey. The donkey mares range from 13 to 13.2 hands, with girth measurement of 58 in. to 60 in. and shank 6½ in. They have great room, and are well shaped with a straight back and good quarters.

It has been recommended that every encouragement should be given to the production of good donkeys, from which the best mares could be selected for mating with suitable pony stallions, such as the Exmoor and Welsh cob, for the breeding of jennets; and at the same time an improvement in the jacks would naturally follow.

Jennets and Mules

"Owing to the excellence of the Cyprus donkeys and the poor class of Cyprus horses, the superiority of the 'jennet' (the result of mating the pony stallion with the donkey mare) is very patent over the 'mule' (the product of the donkey jack and the pony mare). The jennet of from 13.1 hands to 14.1 is doubtless the most paying animal that the Cyprus villager or landowner can produce, and its excellence for army or general pack purposes cannot be surpassed in any country in the world. Therefore, in my opinion, it is to this class of animal that the most encouragement in breeding should be given. To maintain the excellence of the Cyprus jennet every help should be given to the breeding of big donkeys, so that the plentiful supply of donkey mares of from 12.3 to 13.3 hands is available for mating with suitable imported pony stallions, which should be placed by the Government at the breeders' disposal."[2]

Both jennets and mules, indiscriminately called "mularia," are largely used for transport purposes throughout the Island, and perform practically all the carting work of the country, but, as explained, the jennet is regarded as greatly the superior animal.

Poultry

The ordinary barn-door fowl is met with in Cyprus, as everywhere else. The local breed is a mixture of all the various races which have been imported by private persons for many years past. The most general types met with resemble the Leghorn and Ancona breeds.

The Island, owing to its climate and its corn production, is admirably suited to the poultry industry, and a sure and profitable market in Egypt can always be relied on. Something has been done of late years by the introduction of Wyandottes, Langshans and Orpingtons which have been bred by the Agricultural Department.

Proper poultry management among the villagers is practically unknown, and until regulations can be made enforceable by law for the control of poultry diseases and for the disposal of diseased carcases, poultry keepers will continue to suffer heavy losses and the industry will not prosper.[3] Lectures on poultry-keeping have been instituted in the districts by the Agricultural Department, and it is hoped that these may arouse some interest and lead to improvement.

Given the necessary guidance and control, the industry should have a good future before it.

Turkeys are very plentiful and, except in the hills, are seen in nearly every village. There are three varieties—the bronze, by far the most general, the white, and a dark brown kind which is not common.

Ducks and geese do well at Kythrea, but elsewhere are little seen. At this village, however, they are largely bred.

Pigeons also are fairly abundant, and as they mostly feed on a neighbour's corn, they are considered profitable birds to keep.

Preserved Meats, etc.

A good deal of meat and fat is pickled, dried and smoked for consumption by the native population.

Hams and sausages are much eaten, the latter especially in the Karpas. Among the various kinds of preserved meats may be specially mentioned that known as "apokti." This is the salted and dried flesh of the he-goat, which, when cooked, is much appreciated by the villagers. The meat is sometimes minced, and after the addition of ground origanum leaves and spearmint, is placed in jars and slowly cooked. It is said that from 3,000 to 5,000 he-goats are annually slaughtered for making "apokti."

IV. DAIRY PRODUCE

Milk

Sheep and goats' milk is principally used for cheese and butter making. Fresh milk of any kind is not much consumed by the native population, although within the last few years the more well-to-do townspeople have taken to drinking cows' milk, when obtainable, and it is in growing demand in some country parts for invalids when prescribed by the local doctor.

The flavour of sheep and goats' milk is a good deal affected by the herbage or shrubs on which they feed, and thus varies according to locality. A characteristic odour is imparted, for instance, by the alnifolia oak (Quercus alnifolia) and the cistus, which are common in many parts of the Island, and the cheese and butter produced from such milk are in better demand in the local markets. The places in which this quality of milk is chiefly produced are the Paphos District, the neighbourhood of Kykko and Troöditissa in the Troödos mountains, and Akanthou to the north-east of the Island.

A considerable impetus has been given to the production and consumption of fresh cows' milk by the establishment of a herd of Devon dairy cows at the Government Farm, Athalassa. Cows of Athalassa strain fetch high prices, as much as £80 having been given recently for a cow and several others have changed hands at £50 to £60.

Cheese

The Cypriot is a great cheese eater. The most popular and commonly made cheese in Cyprus is that known as Halloumi; the next in order being the Paphos and Akanthou cheeses, and then, in imitation of the Greek cheeses, the Agrafa, Kefalotyri and Kaskaval, all of which are of a hard kind, while there is a small production of the Greek soft cheeses Fetta and Telemés.

There are no statistics as to production; the export figures in recent years as given in the official trade returns are as follows:

Halloumi.—This cheese, though rather insipid, is very popular, and forms a large part of the dietary of every household. It is easy to make, needs no special appliances, and is almost entirely made by the shepherds themselves. It is made either from sheep's milk only, or, in the hills where goats are numerous, from sheep and goats' milk mixed, or in some places from goats' milk only; especially is this so in the mountains where sheep are not found. The two kinds of cheese, i.e. that made from sheep's milk and that from goats' milk, are easily distinguished, as the former is rather soft and crumbly, while the other is hard and separates out into flakes.

This cheese as it comes from the mould is in the form of a slab called "kefali." This is then divided into four or more pieces.

There are two kinds of halloumi: one called "mona" (single), the other "dipla" (double). The latter is most in demand. It differs from the first in being finished off by being well hand-pressed, and then doubled or folded over, salt and spearmint being sprinkled between the fold.

"Myzithra," or, as it is more commonly called, "anari," is a soft cheese produced by boiling the whey, whereby all albuminoid substances not previously coagulated are now coagulated and rise to the surface together with any pieces of curd still remaining in the whey. A good quantity of fat is also enclosed in the coagulated mass, which is placed in rush moulds or in cloths and pressed so as to squeeze out the whey. "Anari" thus made is specially known as "bastard," and is an excellent soft cheese, very popular among the European residents as well as among the native inhabitants.

A rather finer "anari" with slightly different flavour is made by adding 5 to 10 per cent. of pure milk. This added milk is known as "prosgalo."

Both kinds are dried in the sun.

From "anari" is made a kind of fat used as cooking butter, by crushing and rubbing it between the hands in warm water. A thin paste is thus formed from which a fat separates, which rises to the surface, and is then collected.

Paphos and Akanthou Cheeses.—These are prepared in much the same way as "halloumi," but are made in smaller, barrel-shaped moulds, and are steeped longer in the whey, which produces a rind and renders them tougher and less liable to crack. They are well rubbed with salt. Their characteristic flavour is doubtless due to some extent to the milk of those districts, as explained above. Owing to their small size they become very hard.

Kefalotyri.—The best cheeses of this type are made with sheep's milk, which is coagulated at its natural temperature immediately after milking. Rennet is added so as to produce coagulation within an hour. The cheeses are placed in moulds, pressed and salted. They are turned and salted every day for a week; and this continues for two or three weeks, until the cheeses cannot absorb more salt.

Fetta.—The process for making this cheese is much the same as for Paphos cheeses, but differs in regard to temperature. It is placed in bags and hung up, or left in cheese cloths on the table to drain. It is made up in 100 or 200 dram pieces, and turned and lightly salted for three days; then placed in barrels filled with brine. This cheese ripens in a few days. It is soft, and has a sharp, pungent flavour. It is the first to come on the market. It is not consumed in Cyprus, but made entirely for the Egyptian market, where it is much liked. Being soft, it does not keep well, and should always be kept covered in brine. For these reasons it is exported in small barrels of a gross weight of 40 to 50 okes. If care is taken in this respect, if all leaky barrels are kept refilled and cool storage provided, it may be preserved for a year; but these conditions are rarely fulfilled in Cyprus.

Telemés.—This is another soft cheese, prepared in a similar manner to "fetta," but it is cut into square blocks and placed not in barrels or vats, but in tins which, when completely filled with cheese and brine, are soldered down. This cheese is also made entirely for the Egyptian market.

Kaskaval or Kaskavalli.—This is mostly made by cheese-makers who come over from Greece or Turkey during the cheese-making season.

The curd, after the whey is drained off, is called "phlongos," and it is almost always bought from the shepherds, each shepherd preparing it in his own way. It is transported in baskets, sometimes a good distance, to the cheese factory, or "kassaria," and these drawbacks, added to lack of cleanliness, are the cause of much cheese of inferior quality being produced which has no keeping properties and must be quickly consumed.

Having reached a pasty condition, the cheese is placed in reed or willow baskets and immersed in either boiling whey or clean water and stirred until the whole mass is transformed into "kossimari"; it is then cut into pieces weighing one or two okes, and moulded by hand into a globular form, leaving one slight depression called the "omphalos" or navel. If not properly stored, this cheese soon dries and becomes rancid or tasteless.

Agrafa Cheese.—This is made entirely from sheep's milk. Coagulation should be completed in 25 to 30 minutes. The cheese remains 20 hours in the press. Salting lasts from 40 to 60 days, and the cheeses ripen in four months. If well stored, the cheese may keep for two years.

Butter

Butter making is carried on to only a limited extent in Cyprus, and with two or three exceptions is in the hands of shepherds, who use a primitive conical-shaped churn, something after the Danish pattern. Churning consists in beating up the contents of the churn with a stick, to the end of which is fixed a round wooden disc 6 to 10 in. in diameter, not unlike a piston in its action. Sheep's milk is mostly used and, with a modern churn, this will yield 9 to 12 per cent. of fresh butter. Goats' milk gives about 5 to 6 per cent. About half the above quantities may be obtained with the older, native churn.

In the Near East (Greece, Turkey, etc.) fresh butter is not used in cooking, as almost all cooked food is fried and butter containing the least water and casein cannot serve the purpose. The pure fat must therefore be extracted. Two methods are applied. The best is that of plunging the tins containing the fresh butter into hot water which heats the butter and sends the fat to the surface. It is then collected and slightly salted. This has a good flavour and keeps well.

The second method is to place the fresh butter, or the residue from the former process, into tin pans and boil until the water is evaporated, when the albuminoids solidify at the bottom of the pans. The fat which is then on the surface is ladled out. This is inferior in quality, and has a disagreeable smell imparted by the albuminoids which come in contact with the hot pan.

Xynogala or Yaourti

The former is the Greek, the latter the Turkish name for this preparation of sour milk. Unlike fresh butter, it forms, in season, part of the diet of almost every Cypriot household. It is now made in England and sold as "Bulgarian milk" or "yaourti." It is in the form of clotted cream, but if placed in a bag of fine cloth and if the whey is left to drain off, it forms a thick paste, and has an excellent creamy flavour, and is eaten in both cases either alone or, like Devonshire cream, with stewed fruits, etc.

Trachanas

This is another favourite milk preparation, being a mixture of "yaourti" and ground wheat made into a thick paste. This is sun-dried and makes an excellent soup.

Kaimaki or Tsippa

This much resembles Devonshire clotted cream. It is the natural cream formed after boiling the milk overnight and setting it in shallow pans to cool. If the boiled milk is poured into the pans from a height, so as to make a foam, a better result is obtained.

V. CROPS AND OTHER PRODUCE OF THE LAND

Cereals

The Messaoria plain is the principal corn-producing area of the island. Wheat, barley and oats are the chief cereals grown, and they are sown more or less throughout the whole of Cyprus, nearly up to the summit of Troödos, to an altitude of about 4,500 ft. Indian corn has been cultivated for ten years or so, and is becoming more general both for green food and for seed, and rye has begun to make its appearance during the last few years. Dari is becoming more known.

The preparation of the land for cereals is as follows: About the middle of January, when the land is soaked with rain, the fallow field (νἑασμα or νεατὁς) is broken up, and in some cases sown with a green fallow, and in March or April it is cross ploughed (δἱβολο). If the autumn rains are early, the field is ploughed for a third time (ανἁκομμα), after which the crop is sown; but if the rains are late, the sowing is done on fields which have been cross ploughed only. As a rule sowing begins after the autumn rains, and may go on until January. But if rain does not come before the end of October, many sow before the rain; and in many places farmers sow regularly before, i.e. without waiting for the autumn rains. This sowing is called ξερὁβολα. Lands flooded by a river or other running water are called πὁτιμα (Handbook of Cyprus, p. 154). The sowing is done broadcast; the drill is not used.

Plate V.

Fig. 1.—Carting Corn.

Fig. 2.—Threshing Corn with Native Threshing Board.

Often, owing to want of sufficient hands and shortness of time or other reasons, land which has been fallowed is sown without being first ploughed up. This is called εις το πρὁσωπον, i.e. on the surface, or face of the field. Again, a field which has had a corn crop is sown the next autumn without ploughing; and this is locally called "on the stubble."

It is not uncommon for the same land to be sown year after year with a corn crop, with no rotation. This is especially the case with the deep soils in the plains, known as "kambos," as contrasted with the shallow, rocky soils called "trachonas."

At the time of harvest numbers of labourers, men and women, usually arrive from Anatolia and Syria and find employment in the fields.

The threshing-floors are practically identical with those of Biblical times. They are frequently paved with flag-stones, but as often as not are merely levelled pieces of ground. On these the sheaves are opened and spread out for the threshing. The threshing-board (δουκἁνι or δουκἁναις) is that referred to by Virgil as tribulum (Georg. Bk. 1) and is merely a stout board, studded on the underside with sharp flint stones (see Plate V, fig. 2). This is drawn round and round over the spread-out sheaves by mules, donkeys or oxen, and affords a pastime to old and young during the summer months. During the process the grain is separated from the straw, and the latter is bruised and partly shredded, and it is the rooted belief of the Cypriot farmer that only in that condition will it be relished by and benefit the animals which feed on it. The straw is then gradually cleared away and the grain is winnowed by being thrown up in the wind with wooden shovels. The grain is then heaped up and left until measured by the tithe official. With the grain is also collected the sweepings of the threshing-floor, and the percentage of the foreign substances mixed with the grain varies from 5 to 15 per cent. There are a few winnowing machines and it is hoped that they will come into more general use as soon as they can be imported.

At Athalassa all cereal crops are reaped and threshed by machinery.

A good many reaping machines were imported by the Agricultural Department some years ago for resale to the farmers, and there is a very fair demand. This procedure has not been permitted for some years, and the work fell into the hands of an English merchant who has succeeded in placing a few machines every year. The country is ready to employ these and other agricultural machines, but the farmers need guidance in the choice of a machine and are reluctant to place orders through native merchants, who may not know the best types to supply and whose profits they fear to be exorbitant. If they could procure these through the medium of the Agricultural Department they would be encouraged to make considerable purchases. The loss of grain on the "aloni" alone may be gauged by the current opinion that each pair of oxen consumes, while threshing, one kilé of grain per day. Much damage is often caused by hot westerly winds at the time when the grain is just forming.

In the absence of any law to prevent the adulteration of cereals, dishonest practices are very frequent. A common method of adulteration is to mix with the grain the joints of the straw which are cut during the process of threshing and separated when winnowing. These are often sprayed with water in order to increase both bulk and weight. The moisture is absorbed by the grain, which thereby swells and is made to look bigger.

Under the Seed Corn Law of 1898 the Government make advances of seed wheat, barley, oats and vetches to cultivators under an agreement to repay in kind after harvest a quantity of grain equivalent to the amount of seed so advanced, together with an addition of one-fourth of the quantity so advanced, by way of interest.

This benefit is very generally availed of by smaller cultivators. It has not, however, been found possible for Government to keep separately the various kinds and qualities of tithe corn, from which these advances are made, and farmers frequently complain that the seed, so issued promiscuously, is unsuitable to the land, aspect, or special conditions on individual farms. Weevilled grain also is a source of trouble, and farmers obtaining such seed advances must be prepared to run risk of failure from this cause.

It is a well-known fact that cultivators often sell their seed corn so advanced them, in order to buy some other corn known to them as more suited to their land, and they are often justified, perhaps, in so doing.

The issues are made by District Commissioners to selected applicants who are believed to be unable to buy seed for cash. The average annual issues, for the last five years, have been: wheat, 38,013 kilés; barley, 31,479 kilés.

Wheat

In ancient times, when the population numbered about 1,100,000, the Island was said to be self-supporting in the matter of wheat. Taking the annual consumption of wheat per head of population at 8 bushels (Gennadius's Report on the Agriculture of Cyprus, Part I, p. 8) and after making an allowance for seed, the annual production would then have been about 10,000,000 bushels. From British Consular Reports it appears that in 1863 the average produce was reckoned at 640,000 bushels. The average annual production of wheat for the ten years ended 1913, as shown in Blue Book Returns, was 2,292,827 kilés. For later years the figures are:

Wheat is sown at the rate of 1 kilé per donum. The average yield per donum is 6 to 10 kilés, and varies between 3 to 4 kilés on dry land in a poor year, to 16 to 20 on the best lands in a good year. When rains are very late and spring weather is unfavourable, a farmer often fails to recover even the seed.

Much might be done to increase the yield by better methods of husbandry, by the use of improved implements for cultivating and reaping, and by the use of threshing machines. An immense quantity of grain is consumed by birds (larks, sparrows, doves, etc.), which at times literally strip the fields and continue their depredations on the threshing-floors.

Wheat is sown from October to December; a field which has had a winter crop is pastured after the harvest until January; in January and February it is broken up and cross ploughed and sown immediately after with a spring or summer crop.

The crop is cut about May-June. It is cut with a sickle (δρεπἁνι), tied into sheaves, and carried on donkeys or small carts to the threshing-floors. The sickle is larger than the European one, and is often provided with bells ("koudounia" or "sousounaria") to frighten the snakes, and the handles are ornamented with leather tassels.

Several varieties of wheat are grown in the Island, mostly of the hard kinds, these being preferred by millers.

The following English varieties have been imported and tried during the last four years: Improved Treasure, White Stand Up, and Improved Red Fife. The two former failed, being too late in maturing; the latter is still under trial, but it is not very attractive, being a late variety, and it gives a smaller yield than the native kinds. The same remarks apply to several wheats obtained from India and South Africa and which are still under trial.

Barley

This crop is sown about the same time as wheat, if anything slightly earlier; and it is ready for the sickle three or four weeks before wheat. When the straw is short the plant is uprooted, not cut.

It is sown at the rate of 1 to 1½ kilés to the donum, and may be expected to yield from 10 to 15 kilés; but 30 kilés is not uncommon in the plains, and even much larger yields have been recorded from time to time.

There are three native varieties, viz. the common 4-row, the ordinary 6-row and the Paphos 6-row barley, also grown around Davlos in the north-east of the Island. The last-named is heavier than the two former kinds. Little success has attended the introduction by the Agricultural Department of "Prize Prolific," "Gold Thorpe" and "Chevalier," which have been experimentally grown for the last three years. They mature late and have not resisted severe drought. Their yield is small compared with native barleys, although this may improve when they are fully acclimatised.

Barley is the staple food for all kinds of animals, pigs and poultry in Cyprus, and it is often used for bread-making in years of wheat shortage.

The tithe is mainly exported to England, where it has a good name for malting purposes, especially that produced in the Paphos district. It has failed to attain the place it deserves on the English market owing to the high percentage of dirt, etc., it mostly contains.

A sample of Cyprus barley examined at the Imperial Institute in 1914 proved to be of good malting quality, and similar material if marketed in commercial quantities would be readily saleable in the United Kingdom (see Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, vol. xii. 1914, p. 552).

A sample of naked or skinless barley from Cyprus has also been reported on by the Imperial Institute. This type of barley cannot be employed for malting for ordinary brewing purposes, but it was considered that the Cyprus material might be used by distillers (who only require a partially malted barley), and in any case the sample would rank as a good class feeding barley (ibid. vol. xiv, 1916, p. 159).

The average annual production of barley, as shown by the Blue Book returns, for the ten years ended 1913 was 2,449,285 kilés. For later years the figures are:

These figures should be contrasted with British consular estimated average in the sixties of 960,000 bushels.

Oats

In Cyprus, oats are used on a far smaller scale than barley as food for cattle, and they are unknown, except to a few townsfolk, as a food for human beings.

The cultivation of this crop is restricted, partly because it ripens late and needs late rains, and partly because it sheds its ripe grain too quickly for the ordinary easy-going farmer, who frequently finds his next year's crop smothered with self-sown oats. It is also commonly held that the crop exhausts the soil.

There are two native varieties, both white. The one is grown much more than the other, called "anoyira," which, although incomparably superior, is little cultivated outside the Limassol district.

The seed is sown at the rate of 2 to 2½ kilés to the donum, and a yield of from 20 to 30 kilés is obtained. The average annual production for the ten years ended 1913, as shown by Blue Book returns, was 394,695 kilés. For later years the figures are:

Besides "Black Tartar," which has been regularly grown at Athalassa for several years, the Agricultural Department has introduced of late years "Black Cluster," "White Cluster" and "Supreme." All these ripen late and need late rains, and they have not given any promise of success. A black variety imported from Greece some years ago has proved much superior to the two native varieties, but its cultivation is still limited.