A man holds the long thin stick suspended at the other extremity to which the bucket is attached, and pulls it down hand over hand until the utensil is immersed in the water; when full, it is so nearly counterbalanced by the weight at the end of the lever that a very slight exertion raises it to the desired level, where it is emptied into a receiver. Many years ago, when at Gondokoro, I arranged a double shadoof of parallel levers and two galvanised iron buckets of four gallons each, worked by two men. I timed the labour of this simple machine, and proved that the two men delivered 3600 gallons within an hour. The men exerted themselves to a degree that could not have been continued throughout the day, and the buckets, of English make, were far more capacious than the simple leather stretched upon a hoop of sticks that is used in Egypt; but there is no reason for such inferior adjuncts. It may be safely assumed that with proper appliances the double shadoof, worked by two men, will deliver 2000 gallons an hour for a working day of six active hours, or a total of 12,000 gallons. In Cyprus the wages of a labourer are one shilling a day, therefore the cost of raising 12,000 gallons would be only two shillings, provided the water is only five feet from the surface. There are many portions of the Messaria plain where the water is even nearer, but the shadoof could work profitably at six, and even at eight feet, and it possesses the advantage of such extreme cheapness of original cost that the outlay is insignificant.
Where fuel is expensive, and cattle and human labour cheap, the ancient Egyptian water-wheel will deliver a supply at a cheaper rate than steam. It has the merit of being always ready; there is no delay in lighting fires and getting up the steam; there is no expensive engineer who may be sick or absent when required; but the wheel is turned either by night or day by mules or oxen, driven by a child. Wind vanes might be attached to this principle, and could be connected on favourable occasions.
The peculiarity throughout the lower levels in Cyprus (specially exhibited in the plain of Messaria) of a water-supply within a few feet of the surface, at the same time that the crops may be perishing from drought, is in favour of the general adoption of the Egyptian wheel. Although this simple construction is one of the oldest inventions for raising water, and is generally understood, I may be excused for describing it when upon the important topic of irrigation.
A large pit is sunk to about three feet below the level of the water, and should the earth not be sufficiently tenacious for self-support, the sides are walled with masonry; this pit would usually be about twenty feet long, four feet wide, and twenty feet deep for a first-class wheel. When the wooden wheel of about seventeen feet diameter has been fixed upon its horizontal shaft, it is arranged with a chain of large earthen jars; those of Egypt contain about three gallons each, but the Cyprian pots are very inferior, scarcely exceeding the same number of quarts.
These jars are secured upon a double line of stiff ropes formed in Cyprus of the long twisted wands of myrtle, which are exceedingly tough, and are substitutes for willows in basket-work. When completed, the chain resembles a rope ladder, with the numerous jars sufficiently close together to represent spokes separated by about sixteen inches. This is suspended over the edge of the wheel, and hangs vertically; the lower portion of this necklace-like arrangement being about three feet below the water, or as near the bottom as is possible with safety to the jars.
When the wheel turns the necklace of pots must of necessity obey the movement, and as they dip successively and fill in the deep water, they in turn rise to the surface with the revolutions of the wheel; upon passing the centre they invert, and empty their contents into a large trough connected with a reservoir capable of containing many hundred hogsheads. A circular chain or ladder of twenty feet diameter will contain about twenty jars of three gallons each—equalling a delivery of about two and a half gallons per jar, as there is generally a loss of water during the movement; therefore one complete revolution of the wheel would deliver fifty gallons into the reservoir.
The wheel is turned by a simple contrivance of wooden cogs and drivers, worked by a long revolving lever, to which, for a powerful machine such as I have described, a pair of mules or oxen would be necessary. A child sits upon the pole or lever and keeps the animals to their work.
There is no specified limit to the depth at which this instrument can work, as it must depend upon the length of chain and the number of jars, which of course increase the weight and strain upon the machinery and animals. In Cyprus, where the water is generally near the surface, the advantages are obvious, and I feel convinced that no modern invention is so well adapted for the Cypriote cultivator.
The cost of erection of such a machine complete, together with the sinking of the pit, is calculated, at an average of localities, as 12 pounds; a pair of oxen will cost 10 pounds: thus the water-wheel in working order will amount to 22 pounds. One wheel will irrigate eighty donums, or about forty acres of cereals, but the same instrument would only suffice for about six acres of garden ground, which requires a more constant supply of water. It may therefore be understood that in calculating the power of a water-wheel, various conditions must be considered, and I shall confine myself to the farm, upon which it will be necessary to establish one water-wheel or sakyeeah for every forty acres; this entails a first outlay of eleven shillings per acre; and at once ensures the crop and renders the farmer independent of the seasons. But including the cost of constructing the numerous water-channels of clay to conduct the stream to the desired fields, together with the expense of erecting the reservoirs of masonry upon a sufficient scale, I should raise the original outlay for irrigation by cattle-wheels to 20 shillings per acre (1 pound). This would include the services of a pair of oxen for other work when the sakyeeah should not be required.* (*The wheel I have described is double the power of those in general use in Cyprus, where a single animal works the sakyeeah, and it would irrigate a larger acreage.) According to this calculation, which exceeds by a large margin the figures given to me by several native farmers, the owner of a hundred acres must only expend 100 pounds to ensure his annual crops! To us this appears nothing, but to the Cypriote it is everything. Where is he to obtain one hundred pounds? To him the sum is enormous and overpowering.
In times of scarcity, which unfortunately are the general conditions of the country, owing to the deficiency of rain, the farmer must borrow money not only for the current expenses of his employment, but for the bare sustenance of his family; he has recourse to the usurer, and henceforth becomes his slave. The rate of interest may be anything that can be imagined when extortion acts upon one side while poverty and absolute famine are the petitioners. The farm, together with the stock, are mortgaged, and the expected crops for a stipulated number of seasons are made over to the usurer at a fixed sum per measure of corn, far below the market price. Another bad season adds to the crushing burden, and after a few years, when the unfortunate landowner is completely overwhelmed with debt, perchance one of the happy years arrives when propitious rains in the proper season bring forth the grand cereal-producing power of Cyprus, and the wheat and barley, six feet high, wave over the green surface throughout the island. The yield of one such abundant crop almost releases the debtor from his misery; another year would free him from the usurer; but rarely or never are two favourable seasons consecutive; the abundant harvest is generally followed by several years of drought. This pitiable position may be quickly changed by government assistance without the slightest risk.
The first necessity is capital, and the usurer must disappear from the scene. I do not think that an agricultural bank will be practically worked, as the value of money in the east is above 6 per cent., which is the maximum that the Cyprian cultivator should pay. The government must advance loans for the special erection of water-wheels, or other methods of irrigation, at 6 per cent., taking a mortgage of the land as their security; this loan upon water-works to take precedence of all others. The government can borrow at 4 per cent., and will lend at 6, which is not a bad beginning for a national bank. The water-wheels can be constructed in a few weeks, and their effect would be IMMEDIATE; there would be no doubtful interval of years, but the very first season would leave the cultivator in a position to repay the loan; at the same time, the government would reap the direct benefit of a certain revenue from the irrigated and assured production of the land.
This is no visionary theory; the fact is already patent in the few farms belonging to wealthy land-owners that I have already described, as exhibiting the simple power of a few water-wheels to produce abundance, while upon the margin of such verdant examples the country is absolutely desert, parched and withered by a burning sun, yielding nothing either to the owner or to the revenue, while at the same time the water-supply is only four or five yards beneath the feet of the miserable proprietor, who has neither capital nor power to raise it to the surface.
There is no necessity for the government to embark in any uncertain enterprise, neither should they interfere with the native methods of irrigation; and above all things, no money should leave the island to fill the pockets of English contractors in the purchase of pumps, or other inventions. All that is required by the Cypriote is capital; lend him the money at 6 per cent.: the government will be saved all trouble, and the profit to all parties will be assured. The money expended in the erection of water-wheels or other works will circulate throughout the island in the payment of native labour, and will relieve the wants of many who, in the absence of land, must earn their livelihood by manual labour. "Water!" is the cry throughout this neglected island; it has been the cry in Eastern lands from time immemorial, when in the thirsty desert Moses smote the rock, and the stream gushed forth for multitudes; when Elijah mocked the priests of Baal with, "Call him louder!" in their vain appeal for rain, and the "little cloud, no bigger than a man's hand," rose upon the horizon in answer to his prayer. In the savage tribes of Africa, the "rain-maker" occupies the position of priest and chief. In England, the clergy offer prayers for either rain or for fine weather. In Cyprus the farmer places the small picture of the Virgin upon his field, before which he lights his tapers, which the wind extinguishes; at the same time THE WATER-SUPPLY IS CLOSE BENEATH HIS FEET, and the expenditure of a few pounds sterling would produce a permanent blessing and uninterrupted prosperity by practical common sense and labour, without any miraculous interposition in his behalf.
There are few countries where such facilities exist for irrigation, and the work should be commenced without delay. Should next year be one of drought like the spring of 1879, the greatest misery will befall the population; there is already sufficient disappointment in the want of progress since the British occupation, and the feeling will be intensified should the assistance of government be withheld in this crying necessity of artificial irrigation.
The Cypriote well-sinker is wonderfully clever in discovering springs, and I have already described the method of multiplying the water-power of one source by securing and concentrating the neighbouring sources. This work only requires money, and the inhabitants, without further assistance than loans secured by a water-rate upon the district, will rapidly develop the natural supply. There should be a special commission appointed, in each of the six districts of Cyprus, to investigate and report officially upon this subject. In forming the commission, care should be taken that the native element should predominate, and that no enthusiastic English engineer, blooming with new schemes, should thrust into shadow the Cyprian intelligence upon the working of their own systems. If I were an English engineer employed in any work, I should probably have the natural failing of enforcing my own opinions; but from many years' experience I have come to the conclusion that the inhabitants of a country are generally better qualified than strangers for giving practical opinions upon their own locations. There is plenty of intelligence in Cyprus; the people are not savages, but their fault is poverty, the natural inheritance of Turkish rule; and we, the English, have the power to make them rich, and to restore the ancient importance of the island. In England, at the time that I am writing, money is not worth 2 per cent. owing to the general depression of trade; the money-market has been in this plethoric or dropsical state for the last three years, and there appears to be no hope upon the commercial horizon of a favourable change. In Cyprus the resources are great, but the capital is wanting, and the strange anomaly is presented that the exchange of the British for the Turkish flag has not increased public confidence. Something must be done to change the present stupor; if Cypriotes were Candians (Cretans) their voices would be forcibly heard, and the Turkish rule beneath the British uniform would be quickly overthrown. The Cypriote, down-trodden for centuries, is like sodden tinder that will not awaken to the spark: he is what is called "easily governed;" which means an abject race, in which all noble aspirations have been stamped out by years of unremitting oppression and injustice; still, like the Cyprian ox, he ploughs the ground. It is the earth alone that yields the world's wealth: if we have no other thoughts but avarice, let us treat the Cypriote as we should his animal, and make him a wealth-producer. England has acquired the reputation of the civiliser of the world; it is in this character that we were expected to effect a magic change in the position of Cyprus; instead of which we have hitherto presented a miserable result of half-measures, where irresolution has reduced the brilliant picture of our widely-trumpeted political surprise to a dull "arrangement in whitey-brown" . . . which is the pervading tint of the Cyprian surface in the absence of artificial irrigation.
The life at our quiet camp at Trooditissa was a complete calm: there could not be a more secluded spot, as no human habitation was near, except the invisible village of Phyni two miles deep beneath, at the mountain's base. The good old monk Neophitos knitted, and taught his boys always in the same daily spot: the swallows built their nests under the eaves of the monastery roof and beneath the arch which covered in the spring, and sat in domestic flocks upon the over-hanging boughs within a few feet of our breakfast-table, when their young could fly. Nightingales sang before sunset, and birds of many varieties occupied the great walnut-tree above our camp, and made the early morning cheerful with a chorus of different songs. There was no change from day to day, except in the progress of the gardens; the plums grew large: the mulberries ripened in the last week of July, and the shepherd's pretty children and the monastery boys were covered with red stains, as though from a battlefield, as they descended from the attractive boughs. It was a very peaceful existence, and I shall often look back with pleasure to our hermitage by the walls of the old monastery, which afforded a moral haven from all the storms and troubles that embitter life. On Sundays we sent a messenger for the post to the military camp at Troodos, about five and a half miles distant, and the arrival of letters and newspapers restored us for a couple of days to the outer world: after which we relapsed once more into the local quiescent state of complete rest. It must not be supposed that we were idle; there were always occupations which by degrees I hope improved the place, and to a certain degree the people. Occasionally I asked the old monks to sit and smoke their cigarettes in our "rachkooba," when they sipped their hot coffee, and explained difficult theological questions to my intense edification; of course I always listened, but never argued. My particular friend old Neophitos treated me to long stories which he imagined must be new and interesting, especially the history of Joseph and his brethren, which he several times recounted from beginning to end with tears of sympathy in his eyes at Joseph's love for the youngest brother Benjamin. The Garden of Eden, the Deluge, including the account of Noah's Ark, and several equally modern and entertaining stories, I always listened to with commendable attention. Yet even in this solitude, where the chapel-bell on Saturday night, and at daybreak upon Sunday mornings, was in harmony with the external peaceful surroundings, and it appeared as though discord could never enter the walls of Trooditissa, the old monks had their cares and difficulties.
The principal cause of trouble was "servants!" I was quite surprised, as I thought we were nearer heaven in this spot than in any earthly locality I had ever visited; but even here the question of "servants" was an irritation to the nerves of the patient monks. My own servants were excellent, and never quarrelled or complained; they appeared to have been mesmerised by the placid character of their position, and to have become angelic; especially in not fatiguing themselves through over-exertion. With the monks the case was different. In this quiet retreat, where man reigned alone, as Adam in the Garden of Eden; where the cares and anxieties of married life were unknown within the sacred walls of celibacy, a single representative of the other sex existed in the ubiquitous shape of a "maid of all work;" and as Eve caused the first trouble in the world, so the monastery "maid" disturbed the otherwise peaceful existence of Neophitos.
This maid's name was "Christina," and she received the munificent sum of one hundred piastres per annum as wages, which in English money would be fifteen shillings and sixpence every year. The world is full of ingratitude, and strange to say, Christina was dissatisfied, which naturally wounded the feelings of the good monks, as in addition to this large sum of money she received her food and clothes; the latter consisting of full trousers, and a confusion of light material, which, having no shape whatever, I could not describe. Christina, though young, was not pretty, and she was always either crying or scolding, which would of course spoil any beauty; while at the same time she was either washing all the clothes belonging to the whole establishment of monks (a very disagreeable business), or hanging them out to dry near the spring; or she was sweeping the monastery; or arranging the very dirty rooms of the establishment; or baking all the bread that was required; or cooking the dinner; or repairing all the old clothes which the monks wore when they were only fit for a paper-mill. As there was no special accommodation in the shape of a laundry, Christina had to collect sticks, and make a huge fire beneath a copper cauldron in the open air, into which she plunged all the different vestments of the monks and priests, and stewed them before washing. This was a Cyprian "maid of all work," whose gross ingratitude troubled the minds of her "pastors and masters;" and one day a peculiar mental disturbance pervaded the whole priestly establishment and caused a monasterial commotion, as, after a violent fit of temper attended by crying, Christina had declared solemnly that she "would stand it no longer," and "she wished TO BETTER HERSELF!"
Whenever there was a difficulty the monks came to me; why, I cannot imagine. If the shepherd's goats invaded their gardens and destroyed the onions and the beet-root crops, they applied to me. Of course I advised them to "fence their gardens," and they went away satisfied, but did not carry out the suggestion so in due time their crops were devoured. They now told me that THEY ALWAYS HAD DIFFICULTY WITH WOMEN! This new theory startled me almost as much as the novelty of the old monks' stories. They explained that YOUNG WOMEN WOULDN'T WORK, AND OLD WOMEN COULDN'T WORK. It had not occurred to them that a middle-aged woman might have combined all that they desired. Knowing their strict moral principles, I had suggested an "old woman" as the successor of Christina; as I explained to them that, to be in harmony with the establishment, a woman of a "certain age" as general servant would not detract from the religious character of the place. However I might argue, the old monk hesitated; but while the monk wavered, Christina's "monkey was up," and, taking her child in her arms, she started off without giving a "month's notice," and fairly left the monastery, with monks, priests, deacons, servants and the dogs all aghast and barking. There was nobody to wash the linen, to bake the bread, to sweep the rooms, to cook the dinner, to mend the clothes! Christina was gone, and the gentle sex was no longer represented in the monastery of Trooditissa.
I was sorry for Christina, but I was glad the child was gone; although I pitied the poor abandoned and neglected little creature with all my heart. As a rule, "maids of all work" should not be mothers, but if they are, they should endeavour to care for the unfortunate child. This wretched little thing was about two years old—a girl; its eyes were nearly closed with inflammation caused by dirt and neglect; it was naked, with the exception of a filthy rag that hung in tatters scarcely below its hips; and as its ill-tempered and over-worked mother alternately raved, or cried, the child, which even at this age depended mainly upon her nursing for its food, joined in a perpetual yell, which at length terminated in a faint and wearied moan, until it laid itself down upon the bare, hard stones, and fell asleep. It was a sad picture of neglect and misery; the shepherd's pretty children shunned it, and in its abandoned solitude the little creature had to amuse itself. The face looked like that of an old careworn person who had lost all pleasure in the world, and the child wandered about alone and uncared for; its only plaything was my good-tempered dog Wise, who allowed himself to be pulled about and teased in the most patient manner. I cured the child's eyes after some days' attention, and my wife had it washed, and made it decent clothes. This little unusual care, with a few kind words in a strange language only interpreted by a smile, attracted the poor thing to the tent, where it would sit for hours, until it at length found solace in the child's great refuge, sleep. It would always follow Lady Baker to and fro along the only level walk we had, from the tent to the running spring, and would sit down by her side directly she arrived at our favourite seat—a large flat rock looking down upon a precipitous descent to the ravine some 500 feet below, and commanding a view of the low country and the distant sea. It was an obstinate and perverse little creature, and it insisted upon climbing upon rocks and standing upon the extreme edge overhanging a precipice. If it had been the loved and only offspring of fond parents, heiress to a large estate, it would of course have tumbled over, in the absence of nurses and a throng of careful attendants, but never having been cared for since its birth, it possessed an instinctive knowledge of self-preservation, and declined to relieve its mother of an extra anxiety. It was an agreeable change to lose the sound of a child's constant wailing, and I suggested to the monks that its presence was hardly in accordance with the severe aspect of the establishment. There was some mystery connected with it of which I am still ignorant, as I never ask questions; but it is at the least ill-judged and thoughtless on the part of "maids of all work" to engage themselves to any situation where the kissing of a rock, or a holy effigy, may lead to complications. It was of no use to moralise; Christina was gone, together with the child; there was absolute quiet in the monastery; neither the scolding of the mother, nor the crying of an infant, was heard. The monks looked more austere than ever, and remained in unwashed linen, until they at length succeeded in engaging a charming substitute in a middle-aged maid of all work of seventy-five!
About the 20th July the swallows disappeared, and I have no idea to what portion of the world they would migrate at this season. In the low country the heat is excessive, and even at the altitude of Trooditissa the average, since the 1st of the month, had been at 7 A.M. 70.7 degrees—3 P.M. 77.3 degrees.
The birds that had sung so cheerfully upon our arrival had become silent. There was a general absence of the feathered tribe, but occasionally a considerable number of hoopoes and jays had appeared for a few days, and had again departed, as though changing their migrations, and resting for a time upon the cool mountains.
I frequently rambled among the highest summits with my dogs, but there was a distressing and unaccountable absence of game; in addition to which there was no scent, as the barren rocks were heated in the sun like bricks taken from the kiln. The under-growth up to 4500 feet afforded both food and covert for hares, but they were very scarce. A peculiar species of dwarf prickly broom covers the ground in some places, and the young shoots are eagerly devoured by goats; this spreads horizontally, and grows in such dense masses about one foot from the surface that it will support the weight of a man.
When grubbed up by the root it forms an impervious mat about three or four feet in diameter, and supplies an excellent door to the entrance of a garden, to prevent the incursions of goats or fowls. The Berberris grew in large quantities, which, together with the foliage of the dwarf ilex, is the goat's favourite food. Not far from the village of Prodomos, upon the neighbouring heights, I found, for the first time in Cyprus, the juniper, which appeared to be kept low by the constant grazing of the numerous herds.
The walking over the mountains is most fatiguing, and utterly destructive to boots, owing to the interminable masses of sharp rocks and stones of all sizes, which quite destroy the pleasure of a lengthened stroll. The views from the various elevated ridges are exceedingly beautiful, and exhibit the numerous villages surrounded by vineyards snugly clustered in obscure dells among the mountains at great elevations above the sea. Prodomos is about 4300 feet above the level, and can be easily distinguished by the foliage of numerous spreading walnut-trees and the large amount of cultivation by which it is surrounded.
There was no difficulty in gaining the highest point of the island from our camp, as a zigzag rocky path led to the top of a ridge about 600 feet directly above the monastery, which ascended with varying inclinations to the summit of Troodos, about 2100 feet above Trooditissa; by the maps 6590 feet above the sea, but hardly so much by recent measurement.
The moufflon, or wild sheep, exists in Cyprus, but in the absence of protection they have been harassed at all seasons by the natives, who have no idea of sparing animals during the breeding season. The present government have protected them by a total prohibition, under a penalty of ten pounds to be inflicted upon any person discovered in killing them. In the absence of all keepers or guardians of the forests, it would be difficult to prove a case, and I have no doubt that the natives still attempt the sport, although from the extreme wariness of the animals they are most difficult to approach. The authorities should employ some dependable sportsman to shoot a certain number of rams which are now in undue proportion, as the ewes with young lambs have been an easier prey to the unsparing Cypriotes.
Absurd opinions have been expressed concerning the numbers of moufflon now remaining upon the island, and it would be quite impossible to venture upon a conjecture, as there is a very large area of the mountains perfectly wild and unoccupied to the west of Kyka monastery, extending to Poli-ton-Khrysokus, upon which the animals are said to be tolerably numerous. There are some upon the Troodos range, but from all accounts they do not exceed fifteen.
On 2nd July I started at 4 A.M. with a shepherd lad for the highest point of Troodos, hoping by walking carefully to see moufflon among some of the numerous ravines near the summit, which are seldom invaded by the flocks of goats and their attendants. I took a small rifle with me as a companion which is seldom absent in my walks, and although I should have rigidly respected the government prohibition in the case of ewes, or even of rams at a long shot that might have been uncertain and hazardous, I should at the same time have regarded a moufflon with good horns at a range under 150 yards, in the Abrahamic light of "a ram caught in a thicket" that had been placed in my way for the purpose of affording me a specimen.
On arrival at the top of the ridge above the monastery the view was superb. We looked down a couple of thousand feet into deep and narrow valleys rich in vineyards; the mountains rose in dark masses upon the western side, covered with pine forests, which at this distance did not exhibit the mutilations of the axe. At this early hour the sea was blue and clear, as the sun had not yet heated the air and produced the usual haze which destroys the distant views: and the tops of the lower mountains above Omodos and Chilani appeared almost close beneath upon the south, their vine-covered surface producing a rich contrast to the glaring white marls that were cleared for next year's planting. The top of Troodos was not visible, as we continued the ascent along the ridge, with the great depths of ravines and pine-covered steeps upon either side, but several imposing heights in front, and upon the right, seemed to closely rival the true highest point.
As we ascended, the surface vegetation became scanty; the rocks in many places had been thickly clothed with the common fern growing in dense masses from the soil among the interstices; the white cistus and the purple variety had formed a gummy bed of plants which, together with several aromatic herbs, emitted a peculiar perfume in the cool morning air. These now gave place to the hardy berberris which grew in thick prickly bushes at long intervals, leaving a bare surface of rocks between them devoid of vegetation. There was little of geological interest; gneiss and syenite predominated, with extremely large crystals of hornblende in the latter rock, that would have afforded handsome slabs had not the prevailing defect throughout Cyprus rendered all blocks imperfect through innumerable cracks and fissures. A peculiar greenish and greasy-looking rock resembling soapstone was occasionally met with in veins, and upon close examination I discovered it to be the base of asbestos. The surface of this green substance was like polished horn, which gradually became fibrous, and in some specimens developed towards the extremity into the true white hairy condition of the well-known mineral cotton.
We were near the summit of the mountain, and arrived at an ancient camp that had been arranged with considerable judgment by a series of stone walls with flanking defences for the protection of each front. This was many centuries ago the summer retreat of the Venetian government, and it had formed a sanatorium. This extends to the summit of the mountain, where fragments of tiles denote the former existence of houses. In the absence of water it would have been impossible to adopt the usual custom of mud-covered roofs, therefore tiles had been carried from the low country. It is supposed that the stations fell into decay at about the period of the Turkish conquest.
A rattle of loose stones upon the opposite side of a ravine suddenly attracted my attention; and two moving objects at about 230 yards halted, and faced us in the usual manner of inquiry when wild animals are disturbed to windward of their enemy. The rocks were bare, and their cafe-au-lait colour exactly harmonised with that of the two moufflon, which I now made out to be fine rams with large and peculiar heads. Motioning to my shepherd lad to sit quietly upon the ground, upon which I was already stretched, I examined them carefully with my glass. Had they not been moving when first observed I should not have discovered them, so precisely did their skins match the rocky surface of the steep inclination upon which they stood. They remained still for about two minutes, affording me an excellent opportunity of examination. The horns were thick, and rose from the base like those of the ibex, turning backwards, but they twisted forward from the first bend, and the points came round towards the front in the ordinary manner of the sheep. Like all the wild sheep of India and other countries, the coat was devoid of wool, but appeared to be a perfectly smooth surface of dense texture. It was too far for a certain shot, especially as the animals were facing me, which is always an unsatisfactory position even when at a close range.
I put up the 200 yards sight, and raised the rifle to my shoulder, merely to try the view; but when sighted I could not clearly distinguish the animal from the rocks, and I would not fire to wound. My shepherd lad at this moment drew his whistle, and, without orders, began to pipe in a wild fashion, which he subsequently informed me should have induced the moufflon to come forward towards the sound; instead of which, they cantered off, then stopped again, as we had the wind, and at length they disappeared among the rocks and pines. It would be almost impossible to obtain a shot at these wary creatures by approaching from below, as they are generally upon high positions from which they look down for expected enemies, and the noise of the loose rocks beneath the feet of a man walking up the mountains would be sure to attract attention. The only chance of success would be to pass the night on the summit of Troodos, and at daybreak to work downwards.
I made a long circuit in the hope of again meeting the two rams, during which I found many fresh tracks of the past night, but nothing more.
The summit of the mountain was disappointing, as the haze occasioned by the heat in the low country obscured the distant view. It was 8.10. A.M., and the air was still deliciously cool and fresh upon the highest point of Cyprus, which affords a complete panorama that in the month of October or during early spring must be very beautiful. Even now I could distinguish Larnaca, Limasol, Morphu, all in opposite directions, in addition to the sea surrounding the island upon every point except the east. The lofty coast of Caramania, which had formed a prominent object in the landscape when at Kyrenia, was now unfortunately hidden within the haze.
From this elevated position I could faintly hear the military band practising at the camp of the 20th Regiment, invisible, about a mile distant among the pine-forests, at a lower level of 700 feet. There were no trees upon the rounded knoll which forms the highest point of Cyprus: these must have been cleared away and rooted out when the ancient camp was formed, and the pines have not re-grown, for the simple reason that no higher ground exists from which the rains could have washed the cones to root upon a lower level.
I now examined every ravine with the greatest caution in the hopes of meeting either the two rams, or other moufflon, but I only came across a solitary ewe with a lamb about four months old; which I saw twice during my walk round the mountain tops. Upon arriving during my descent at the highest spring of Troodos, where the cold water dripped into a narrow stream bed, I lay down beneath a fine shady cypress, and having eaten two hard-boiled eggs and drunk a cupful of the pure icy water mixed with a tinge of Geneva from my flask, I watched till after noon in the hope that my two rams might arrive to drink. Nothing came except a few tame goats without a goatherd; therefore I descended the abominable stones which rattled down the mountain side, and by the time that I arrived at our camp at Trooditissa, my best shooting boots of quagga hide, that were as dear to me as my rifle, were almost cut to pieces.
There was a terrible picture of destruction throughout the forests of Troodos. Near the summit, the pines and cypress were of large growth, but excepting the cypress, there were scarcely any trees unscathed, and the ground was covered by magnificent spars that were felled only to rot upon the surface.
I was not sorry to arrive at the shepherd's hut upon the ridge overhanging the monastery upon my return. The good wife was as usual busy in making cheeses from the goat's milk, which is a very important occupation throughout Cyprus. The curd was pressed into tiny baskets made of myrtle wands, which produced a cheese not quite so large as a man's fist. I think these dry and tasteless productions of the original Cyprian dairy uneatable, unless grated when old and hard; but among the natives they are highly esteemed, and form a considerable article of trade and export. Cesnola mentions that 2,000,000 (two million) cheeses per annum are made in Cyprus of this small kind, which weigh from half a pound to three-quarters. I have frequently met droves of donkeys heavily laden with panniers filled with these small cheeses, which, although representing important numbers, become insignificant when computed by weight.
During our stay at Trooditissa we occasionally obtained eels from a man who caught them in the stream at the base of the mountains; this is the only fresh-water fish in Cyprus that is indigenous. Some persons have averred that the gold-fish dates its origin from this island; this is a mistake, as it is not found elsewhere than in ornamental ponds and cisterns in the principal towns. It is most probable that it was introduced by the Venetians who traded with the far East, and it may have arrived from China.
The streams below the mountains contain numerous crabs of a small species seldom larger than two inches and a half across the shell, to a maximum of three inches; these are in season until the middle of June, after which they become light and empty. When alive they are a brownish green, but when boiled they are the colour of the ordinary crab, and are exceedingly full in flesh, and delicate. The shell is extremely hard compared to the small size, and the claws must be broken by a sharp blow with the back of a knife upon a block.
We frequently had them first boiled and then pounded in a mortar to a paste, then mixed with boiling water and strained through a sieve; after which cream should be added, together with the required seasonings for a soup. I imagine that the common green crabs of the English coasts, which are caught in such numbers and thrown away by the fishermen, would be almost as good if treated in the same manner for potage.
The calm monotony of a life at Trooditissa was disturbed every now and then at distant intervals by trifling events which only served to prove that peculiar characters existed in the otherwise heavenly atmosphere which showed our connection with the world below.
One night a burglar attempted an entrance; but the man (who was a carpenter) having been previously suspected, was watched, and having been seen in the middle of the night to place a ladder against the outer gallery, by which he ascended, and with false keys opened a door that led to the store-room of the monastery, he was suddenly pounced upon by two strong young priests and fairly captured. On the following morning the monks applied to me, and as usual I vainly pleaded my unofficial position. I was either to do or to say something. If the man was sent to Limasol, thirty-five miles distant, the monks would have the trouble and expense of appearing as prosecutors; the robber would be imprisoned for perhaps a couple of years, during which his family would starve. I could offer no advice. I simply told them that if any robber should attempt to enter my tent I should not send him to Limasol, but I should endeavour to make the tent so disagreeable to him that he would never be tempted to revisit the premises from the attraction of pleasing associations. I explained to the monks that although a severe thrashing with stout mulberry sticks would, if laid on by two stout fellows, have a most beneficial effect upon the burglar, and save all the trouble of a reference to Limasol, at the same time that the innocent wife and family would not be thrown upon their relatives, they must not accept my views of punishment as any suggestion under the present circumstances.
About half an hour after this conversation I heard a sound of well-inflicted blows, accompanied by cries which certainly denoted a disagreeable physical sensation, within the courtyard of the monastery, and to my astonishment I found that my interpreter and willing cook Christo had volunteered as one of the executioners, and the burglar, having been severely thrashed, was turned out of the monastery and thrust down the path towards the depths of Phyni. Christo was a very good fellow, and he sometimes reminded me of a terrier ready to obey or take a hint from his master upon any active subject, while at others, in his calmer moments, he resembled King Henry's knights, who interpreted their monarch's wishes respecting Thomas a-Becket.
On 6th June we had been somewhat startled by the sudden appearance in the afternoon of a man perfectly naked, who marched down the approach from the spring and entered the monastery-yard in a dignified and stage-like attitude as though he had the sole right of entree. At first sight I thought he was mad, but on reference to the monks I discovered he was perfectly sane. It appeared that he was a Greek about forty-five years of age, who was a native of Kyrenia, and for some offence twenty years ago he had been ordered by the priests to do penance in this extraordinary manner. His body, originally white, had become quite as brown as that of an Arab of the desert; he possessed no clothing nor property of any kind, not even a blanket during winter; but he wandered about the mountains and visited monasteries and certain villages, where he obtained food as charity. He would never accept money (probably from the absence of pockets), neither would he venture near Turkish villages, as he had several times received a thrashing from the men for thus presenting himself before their women, and it is to be regretted that the Cypriotes had not followed the Turkish example, which would have quickly cured his eccentricity. He was a strong, well-built man, with good muscular development; his head was bald with the exception of a little hair upon either side, and he was interesting to a certain extent as an example of what a European can endure when totally exposed to the sun and weather. Sometimes he slept like a wild animal beneath a rock among the mountains, or in a cave, when such a luxurious retreat might offer a refuge; at other times he was received and sheltered by the priests or people. This individual's name was Christodilos, and according to my notes taken at the time, he is described as "originally a labourer of Kyrenia; parents dead: one brother and two sisters living."
The monastery gardens of Trooditissa at the close of July exhibited the great fruit-producing power of the soil and climate at this high altitude, but at the same time they were examples of the arbitrary and vexatious system of Turkish taxation, which remains unchanged and is still enforced by the British authorities. I shall describe this in detail, and leave the question of possibility of development under such wholesale tyranny to the judgment of the public. It is difficult to conceive how any persons can expect that Europeans, especially Englishmen, will become landowners and settle in Cyprus when subjected to such unfair and irritating restrictions.
NO PRODUCE CAN BE REMOVED FROM ANY GARDEN UNTIL IT SHALL HAVE BEENVALUED FOR TAXATION BY THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL APPOINTED FOR THATPURPOSE, at the rate of 10 per cent. ad valorem.
At first sight this system appears incredible, but upon an examination of the details our wonder ceases at the general absence of cultivated vegetables and the propagation of superior qualities of fruits. If the object of the government were purposely to repress all horticultural enterprise, and to drive the inhabitants to the Nebuchadnezzar-like grazing upon wild herbs, the present system would assuredly accomplish the baneful end. The Cypriotes are called indolent, and are blamed by travellers for their apathy in contenting themselves with wild vegetables, when their soil is eminently adapted in the varying altitudes and climates for the production of the finest qualities of fruits and green-stuffs. I will imagine that an Englishman of any class may be placed in the following position of a cultivator, which he assuredly would be, if foolish enough to become a proprietor in Cyprus.
I am at this moment looking down from the shade of the great walnut-tree upon the terraced gardens and orchards beneath, which are rich in potatoes of excellent quality, onions, beet-root, &c.; together with walnuts, pears, apples, plums, filberts, figs, and mulberries. The pears and plums are of several varieties, some will ripen late, others are now fit to gather, but nothing can be touched until the valuer shall arrive; he is expected in ten days; by which time many of the plums will have fallen to the ground, and the swarming rats will have eaten half the pears. The shepherds' children and the various monastery boys live in the boughs like monkeys, and devour the fruit ripe or unripe, from morning till evening, with extraordinary impunity; women who arrive from the low country with children to be christened place them upon the ground, and climb the pear-trees; neither colic nor cholera is known in this sanctified locality. The natives of the low country who arrive at the monastery daily with their laden mules from villages upon the other side of the mountains, en route to Limasol, immediately ascend the attractive trees and feast upon the plums; at the same time they fill their handkerchiefs and pockets with pears, &c., as food during their return journey. "There will not be much trouble for the valuer when he arrives," I remarked to the monks, "if you allow such wholesale robbery of your orchards."
"On the contrary," they replied, "the difficulty will be increased; we never sell the produce of the gardens, which is kept for the support of all those who visit us, but we have much trouble with the valuation of the fruits for taxation. It is hard that we shall have to pay for what the public consume at our expense, but it will be thus arranged. . . . The valuer will arrive, and he will find some trees laden with unripe fruit, others that have been stripped by plunder; the potatoes, &c., will be still in the ground. We shall have a person to represent our interests in the valuation as a check upon the official; but in the end he will have his own way. We shall explain that certain trees are naked, as the fruit became ripe and was stolen by the boys. 'Then you ought to have taken more care of it,' he will reply; `how many okes of plums were there upon those trees?' We shall have to guess the amount. `Nonsense!' he will exclaim to whatever figure we may mention, 'there must have been double that quantity: I shall write down 1500 (if we declared 1000), which will split the difference.' ("Splitting the difference" is the usual method of arranging an Oriental dispute, as instanced by Solomon's well-known suggestion of dividing the baby.).
"We shall protest," continued the monks, "and this kind of inquisitorial haggling will take place concerning every tree, until the valuer shall have concluded his labour, and about one-third more than the actual produce of the orchards will have been booked against us; upon which we must pay a tax of 10 per cent., at the same time that the risks of insects, rats, and the expenses of gathering remain to the debit of the garden. In fact," said the poor old monks, "our produce is a trouble to us, as personally we derive no benefit; the public eat the fruit, and the government eats the taxes."
There were curious distinctions and exceptions in this arbitrary form of taxation: if a fruit-tree grew within the monastery courtyard it was exempt; thus the great walnut-tree beneath which we camped was free. It was really cheering to find that we were living under some object that was not taxed in Cyprus; but the monk continued, and somewhat dispelled the illusion . . . "This tree produced in one year 20,000 walnuts, and it averages from 12,000 to 15,000; but when the crops of our other trees are estimated, the official valuer always insists upon a false maximum, so as to include the crop of the courtyard walnut in the total amount for taxation."
The potatoes, like all other horticultural productions, are valued while growing, and the same system of extravagant estimate is pursued.
This system is a blight of the gravest character upon the local industry of the inhabitants, and it is a suicidal and unstatesmanlike policy that crushes and extinguishes all enterprise. What Englishman would submit to such a prying and humiliating position? And still it is expected that the resources of the island will be developed by British capital! The great want for the supply of the principal towns is market-gardens. Imagine an English practical market-gardener, fresh from the ten-mile radius of Covent Garden, where despatch and promptitude mean fortune and success: he could not cut his cauliflowers in Cyprus until his crop of unblown plants had been valued by an official and while he might be waiting for this well-hated spirit of evil, his cauliflower-heads would have expanded into coral-like projections and have become utterly valueless except for pig-feeding. I cannot conceive a more extravagant instance of oppression than this system of taxation, which throws enormous powers of extortion into the hands of the official valuer. This person can oppose by delays and superlative estimates the vital interests of the proprietors; if the property is large, the owner will be only too glad to silence his opposition by a considerable bribe; the poor must alike contribute, or submit to be the victim of delays which, with perishable articles such as vegetables, represent his ruin. Is it surprising that the villages of the desolate plain of Messaria are for the most part devoid of fruit-trees? We are preaching to the Cypriotes the advantage of planting around their dwellings, as though they were such idiots as to be ignorant that "he who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind." If they plant fruit-trees under the present laws they are planting curses which will entail the misery of inquisitorial visits and the most objectionable and oppressive form of an unjust taxation. As the law at present stands, the amount of fruit is ridiculously small, and the quality inferior, while cultivated vegetables are difficult to obtain. Can any other result be expected under the paralysing effect of Turkish laws? which unfortunately British officials have the questionable honour of administering.
I have heard officials condemn in the strongest terms the laws they are obliged to enforce. There are few persons who are obtuse to the sense of injustice, but at the same time the suggestion has been expressed that an extreme difficulty would be experienced should the taxes be collected in any other form than dimes. I cannot see the slightest truth in this disclaimer of responsibility for Turkish evils, and I believe the present difficulty might be overcome with little trouble by a system of rating the land ad valorem.
The soil and general value of properties in Cyprus vary as in England and other countries according to quality and position. There is land contiguous to market towns of much higher value than the same quality of soil in remote districts; there are farms supplied with water either naturally or artificially, which are far more valuable than others which are dependent upon favourable seasons. Land which formerly produced madder was of extreme value, and should have been adjudged accordingly; but why should not all properties of every description throughout Cyprus be rated and taxed in due proportion? The valuation should be arranged by local councils. The vineyards which produced the expensive wines should be rated higher than those of inferior quality. Gardens should be rated according to their distance from a market; fields in proportion to their water-supply and the quality of the soil. The Cypriotes do not complain of the amount of 10 per cent. taxation under the name of dimes, but they naturally object to the arbitrary and vexatious system of inquisitorial visits, together with the delays and loss of time occasioned by the old Turkish system. "Rate us, and let us know the limit of our responsibility"—that is the natural desire of the inhabitants. If the industries of the country are to be developed they must be unfettered; but if weighed down by restrictions and vexatious interference, they will hardly discover the benefit of a change to British masters.
Some people in Cyprus make use of an argument in favour of the present system of dimes or collecting in kind by tenths, which does not commend itself by logical reasoning. They say, "if you rate the land ad valorem, and establish a monetary payment of 10 per cent., you will simply burden the poor land-holder with debt during a season of drought, when his property will produce nothing. According to the present system he and the government alike share the risk of seasons; if the land produces nothing, there can be no dimes." It does not appear to have occurred to these reasoners that in such seasons of scarcity the taxation could be easily reduced as a temporary measure of relief according to the valuation of the local medjlis or council; but I claim the necessity of artificial irrigation that will secure the land from such meteorological disasters, and will enable both the cultivator and the government to calculate upon a dependable average of crops, instead of existing upon the fluctuations of variable seasons.
The district of Larnaca will offer a fair example of the usual methods of taxation, and as the figures have been most kindly supplied by the authorities of the division, they can be thoroughly relied upon.
The revenues of the district (Larnaca) are derived from the following sources:—
1. Dimes (i.e. tenths of the produce)—in some instances maybe paid in kind.2. Property Tax—4 piastres per 1000 upon the value ofimmovable property, such as buildings, land, trees;this is classed as 1st class Verghi.3. Charge upon Income derived from Rents—40 piastresper 1000; classed as 2nd class Verghi.4. Charge on Trade Profits—30 piastres per 1000; 3rd classVerghi.5. Exemption from Military Service—this tax levied uponChristians only, at the rate of 5000 piastres for 180 males.6. Duty upon Sale of Horses, Mules, Donkeys, Camels, andCattle—1 piastre in every 40 upon price; also tax on goodsweighed by public measurer.7. Tax on Flocks of Sheep and Goats—2.5 piastres per head.This is not levied until the animal shall be one year old.
In 1877 the amount received was—
Piastres. Paras. 1. Dimes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822,000 2. Property Tax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221,897 24 3. Rent Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,089 32 4. Tax on Trade-Profits . . . . . . . . . . . 65,340 20 5. Military Exemption. . . . . . . . . . . . . 153,333 25 6. Sales of Animals, Measures, &c. . . . . . . 450,000 7. Sheep and Goats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200,000 _______ ___
1,932,659 101
The return of sheep and goats in the district of Larnaca during the year 1878, and comprising 36 villages, was rendered as 47,841.
The following taxes are payable by inhabitants ofScala and the neighbourhood:—
1. The tithe of agricultural produce, including silk, payable in some cases in kind, in others in money. 2. Tax in lieu of military service, 5000 copper piastres for 180 Christian males. 3. Verghi (a), 4 per 1000 on the purchasing value of houses, land, or immovable property. 4. Verghi (b), 4 per cent. on the rent of immovable property, or houses not occupied by their owners. 5. Verghi (c), 3 per cent. on profits and professions. 6. Tax on sheep, 2.5 silver piastres each. 7. Tax on goats, 2 silver piastres each. 8. Tax on pigs, 3 silver piastres each. 9. Tax on wood and charcoal. Wood for carpenters' uses pays 20 per cent. on the value at the place of production, and a further 5 per cent. on the amount of the tax on coming into the town.
Firewood pays 12 per cent. on the value at the place of production, and a further 5 per cent. as above.
Charcoal pays 2 piastres per 100 okes.
10. Tax on goods weighed, one half para per oke. (In the case ofwood and charcoal, hay, chopped straw, lime, and onions,the tax begins at a weight of 50 okes, and at a rate of 5paras for 50 okes.)11. Tax on grain measured, 2 paras per kilo paid by the buyer,and 2 paras per kilo paid by the seller. If measured for thesole convenience of the owner, 2 paras per kilo.12. Octroi. Every load brought from the villages to the town paysa tax of one oke per load, or in money, according to themarket rate of the goods.13. Tax on the sale of mules, horses, donkeys, oxen, andcamels in the town, 1 para per piastre of the price.14. Property tax (municipal) paid by owners:—On houses let to tenants, 5 per cent. per annum.On houses inhabited by the owners, 3 per cent. per annum.15. Tax on camels (M.) 2 shillings each per annum.16. Tax on carts (M.) belonging to and working in Larnaca andMarina townships, 1*. each per annum.17. Corvee. Forced labour on roads four days a year.18. Shop licences (M.) in classes, 10*, 5*., 2*., 1*., 10 shillings.19. Wine licences (C.H.) in classes, 25 per cent., 12.5 per cent.,6.25 per cent. on rental.20. Licences to merchants, bankers, &c., (M.) in classes, 10*.,5*., 2*., 1*.21. Monopolies. Salt, gunpowder.22. Custom House duties 8 per cent. on imports, 1 per cent.exports.
Custom House duty on wine, 10 per cent.Custom House duty on imported tobacco, 75 per cent;on home grown, or imported unmanufactured,10 pence a pound.23. Stamps, transfer and succession duties. Mubashine. Votedto remain in force until March 1st, 1879.
[Transcriber's Note: Omitted table of villages on page 388 which was hard to read.]
There are other taxes according to the laws of succession upon the death of an individual which I give in the same words as furnished to me by the authority:—
Memorandum of the Defter Hakkani about the Transfer in Succesion ofProperty.
When a man dies his properties must be duly transferred to his heirs, who must apply to the authorities within six months, in order to have the transfer made.
The transfer is made by giving a new Kotshan (Title), to the heirs in exchange for the Kotshan of the deceased.
The right to the inheritance is stated by the laws as follows:—
1st, To the son or daughter; in want of which, 2nd, to the grandson and granddaughter; in want of which, 3rd, to the father and mother; in want of which, 4th, to the brother from the same father and mother; in want of which, 5th, to the sister from the same father and mother; in want of which, 6th, to the brother from the same mother; and in want of which, 7th, to the sister from the same mother.
The grandson and the granddaughter from right to the inheritance of the share belonging to their father, who may have died before the death of their grandfather; they inherit together with their uncles and aunts as another direct son or daughter of the grandfather.
In all above stated degrees of inheritance, except in the 1st and 2nd, the husband or wife has right to the fourth share of the land left by the husband or wife.
This is for property in land (Arazi).
As to the freehold property (Emlak), the male inhabitants two-thirds and the female one-third; but it is very difficult to enumerate the various shades of division which are always made by the cadis according to the Cheni law; there is no Nizam law in this respect.
All system of endorsment on Kotshan is abolished.
The duty on transfer in succession of a freehold property is half the fees on transfer by sale.
In transferring by sale the fees are 1 per cent. on the value, if this freehold property is a real one (Emlaki Serfi); and 3 per cent. if it is vacouf freehold property (Emlak Meocoofi). Besides this 3 piastres as price of paper, and 1 piastre as clerks' fees (Riataki) are paid for every new Kotshan.
The lands (Arazi) pay 5 per cent. indifferently on transfer by sale and on transfer by succession.
The custom is to value lands at one year's rental, or value of products.
If a house is occupied by the owner no tax on rental is demanded; the only tax demanded in that case being that on the proportionate value.
The proportionate values of real properties are not assessed for a fixed period. Therefore the value, once assessed, can remain the same for many years, or it can be altered in the annual inspections of the Vakouat Riatibs according to an increase or decrease of value that may take place on account of repairs, a general rise of value, or partial or entire destruction by fire, rain, &c.
The poverty of the agricultural classes was so generally acknowledged even by the Turkish administration that it was absolutely necessary to relieve them by some external assistance; it was therefore resolved in 1869 to create an "Agricultural Bank and a Locust Fund;" the principles of this establishment are sufficiently original to attract attention.
In 1871 the Turkish government issued a decree that all cultivators of the ground should pay to the authorities a sum of money equal to the price of one kilo of wheat and one of barley for every pair of oxen in their possession, in order to create a capital for the new bank. The number of oxen would represent the scale of every holding, as they would exhibit the proportion of ploughs required upon the farm, and thus yield an approximate estimate of the area.
This arbitrary call upon the resources of the impoverished farmers was an eccentric financial operation in the ostensible cause of assistance, but it produced a capital of 169,028 piastres. The rate of interest upon loans to individuals, or for particular districts, for the purpose of destroying locusts was 8 per cent. previous to the year 1875, and was increased to 12 per cent. since that period. Receipts for all sums borrowed for the public benefit of locust destruction were signed by the head-men and members of councils of villages.
At first sight the establishment of an agricultural bank sounded propitious as a step in the right direction, but, according to the conditions of all loans, it became usurious, and saddled the unfortunate farmers after a few bad seasons with debts that could never be paid off. If X borrowed 1000 pounds, he received only 880 pounds, as the year's interest was deducted in advance, but he was afterwards charged compound interest at 12 per cent. upon the whole 1000 pounds. Compound interest at 12 per cent. means speedy ruin.
Upon an examination of the accounts, the whole affair represents apparently large figures in piastres, which when reduced to pounds sterling presents a miserable total that proves the failure of the enterprise. As I have already stated, a "bank" could not succeed in Cyprus if it were established specially to benefit the agriculturist; money can always command 10 per cent., while the farmer should obtain the loans necessary for irrigation at a maximum of 6 per cent. if he is really to be encouraged. This can only be accomplished through a Government or National Bank, expressly organised for the purpose of developing the agricultural interests. As the government can obtain any amount at 4 per cent., the National Bank could well afford to lend at 6, especially as the loan would be secured by a first mortgage, to take precedence of all other claims upon the property.
The "Locust Fund" was an admirable institution which has achieved great results. There can be little doubt that throughout the world's history man has exhibited a lamentable apathy in his passive submission to the depredations of the insect tribe, whereas by a system of organisation he would at the least have mitigated the scourge which has in many instances resulted in absolute famine. At one time the plague of locusts was annually expected in Cyprus as a natural advent like the arrival of swallows in the usual season, and when the swarms were extreme the crops were devoured throughout the island, and swept completely from the surface, entailing general ruin. The cultivation of cotton, which should be one of the most important industries, has been much restricted from the fear of locusts, as they appear in May, when the tender young plants are a few inches above the ground and are the first objects of attack.
It is related that when under the Venetians, Cyprus annually exported 30,000 bales or 6,600,000 lbs. of cotton. In 1877 the consular reports estimated the entire produce of the island at 2000 bales of 200 okes per bale, or 1,100,000 lbs., equal to only one-sixth of the original Venetian export.
The steps taken to destroy the locusts have so far diminished their numbers that in certain districts the production of cotton might be largely extended. M. Mattei, and Said Pacha when governor of Cyprus, combined to make war upon the locust swarms by means of a simple but effective method, which will render their names historical as the greatest benefactors in an island that has seldom known aught but oppressors.
The idea originated with Signor Richard Mattei, who is the largest landed proprietor in Cyprus. It is much to be regretted that professional entomologists can seldom assist us in the eradication of insect plagues; they can explain their habits, but they are useless as allies against their attacks. M. Mattei had observed that the young locusts invariably marched straight ahead, and turned neither to the right or left; he had also remarked that upon arrival at an obstacle they would endeavour to climb over, instead of going round it. Under these peculiarities of natural instinct a very simple arrangement sufficed to lead them to destruction. Pits were dug about three or four feet deep at right angles with the line of march, and screens of cotton cloth edged at the bottom with oil-skin were arranged something after the fashion of stop-nets for ground game in covert-shooting in England. This wall, with a slippery groundwork, prevented the insects from proceeding. As they never turn back, they were obliged to search sideways for a passage, and were thus led into the pits in millions, where they were destroyed by burying the masses beneath heaps of earth. If a few gallons of petroleum were sprinkled over them, and fire applied, much trouble would be saved. This is a crude method of insect destruction which could be improved upon, but great praise is due to the efforts of M. Richard Mattei and Said Pacha for having devoted their energies so successfully to the eradication of a scourge which proved its ancient importance from the Biblical registration of a curse upon the Egyptians.
There is a reward given by government for the destruction of locust eggs. Each female deposits two small cases or sheaths beneath the ground, containing thirty or forty eggs in each. The position is easily distinguished by a shining slimy substance. A certain sum per oke is given, and the people gladly avail themselves of the opportunity of earning money at the same time that they destroy the common enemy.
The British administration is keenly alive to the importance of this warfare, and I have frequently met commissioners of districts galloping in hot haste, as though in pursuit of a retreating enemy, towards some quarter where the appearance of locust swarms may have been reported, in order to take immediate measures for their destruction.
Unfortunately the locust is not the only enemy of cotton cultivation, but the (to my mind) abominable system of dimes, or tenths of produce to be valued while growing, restricts the cultivator to an inferior variety that will remain within the pod, instead of expanding when liberated by ripening.
The cultivation of cotton differs according to the many varieties of the plant. Pliny described the "wool-bearing trees of Ethiopia," and I have myself seen the indigenous cotton thriving in a wild state in those parts from whence they were first introduced to Egypt, during the reign of Mehemet Ali, grandfather of the Khedive. It is well known that although comparatively a recent article of cultivation in Egypt, it has become one of the most important exports from that country. Cotton of the first quality requires a peculiar combination of local conditions. Water must be at command whenever required during the various stages of cultivation; and perfectly dry weather must be assured when the crop is ripe and fit to gather. The collection extends over many days, as the pods do not burst at the same period. Some of the most valuable kinds detach easily from the expanded husk and fall quickly to the ground, which entails constant attention, and the quality would deteriorate unless labour is always at hand to gather the cotton before it shall fall naturally from the plant.
It will be therefore understood that, although many soils may be highly favourable to the growth of fine qualities of cotton, there is an absolute necessity for a combination of a peculiar climate, where neither rain nor dew shall moisten, and accordingly deteriorate the crop. Egypt is specially favoured for the production of first-class cotton, as in the upper portions of the Delta rain is seldom known; but the extreme carelessness of the people has reduced the average quality by mixing the seeds, instead of keeping the various classes rigidly separate.
The dry climate, combined with the fertile soil of Cyprus, would suggest a great extension of cotton cultivation, when artificial irrigation shall be generally developed, but so long as the present system of collecting the dimes is continued, the farmer cannot produce the higher qualities which require immediate attention in collecting. During the delay in waiting for the official valuer, the pods are bursting rapidly, and the valuable quality is falling to the ground; the cultivator is therefore confined to the growth of those inferior cottons that will adhere to the pods, and wait patiently for the arrival of the government authority.
Consul Hamilton Lang, in his interesting work upon Cyprus, suggests that the duty should be collected upon export, to relieve the farmer from the present difficulty, which would enable him to cultivate the American high qualities. It is almost amusing to contrast the criticisms and advice of the various British consuls who have for many years represented us in Cyprus with the ideas of modern officials. There can be no doubt concerning consular reports in black and white, and equally there can be no question of existing ordinances under the British administration; but what appeared highly unjust to our consuls when Cyprus was under Turkish rule, is accepted as perfectly equitable now that the island has passed into the hands of Great Britain.
For many years I have taken a peculiar interest in cotton cultivation, and in 1870 I introduced the excellent Egyptian variety, known as "galleen," into Central Africa, and planted it at Gondokoro, north latitude 4 degrees 54', with excellent results. In the first year this grew to the height of about seven feet, with a proportionate thickness of stem, and the spreading branches produced an abundant crop of a fine quality, which detached itself from the seeds, immediately reducing the operation of the cleaning-machine or "cotton-gin" to a minimum of labour. I have been much struck with the inferiority of Cyprian cotton; scarcely any of the crop finds its way to England, but is exported to Marseilles and Trieste. Should Consul Lang's suggestion be carried out, and the duty be taken upon export to relieve the grower from the vexatious delays of the inquisitor or government valuer, there can be no question of immediate improvement. There is no more trouble or expense in producing a first-class cotton than in the commonest variety, when climate and soil are so peculiarly favourable as in Cyprus. If the government continues the system of ad valorem taxation, common sense will suggest that the highest quality would alike be favourable to the revenue and to the cultivator; therefore, in the interests of the country and of individuals, every encouragement should be afforded to the farmers to ensure the best of all species of produce throughout the island. The excellent compilation of Captain Savile, officially and expressly printed for the service of the government, contains the following passages:—