Part 14

Mavro (black). The commonest variety, medium-sized bunch, with dark, large, oval-shaped grapes.

Xinisteri (white). Common variety, with medium-sized bunch, white roundish grapes, thin skin. These are suited to a rich moist soil.

Voophthalmo (ox-eye). Equally common variety. Rather small bunch, with black, round and rather small grapes. Suited to a dry, calcareous soil.

The Muscat comes next, being mostly grown at Omodhos. It is the common early muscatel of the East.

The remaining kinds are locally known as Bastardico (bastard), Maratheftico or Kraseti, Morokanali or Spourta (flabby-berried), Promari or Glycopromo (early or early-sweet), Xantho, Axanthi or Phinikoto, Kouphorrhovo or Katin-parmak, Verico, Sultana, Razaki, Corinthiaki (currant), Malaga (Alexandria Muscatel), Rhodities. Of these, several are only to be found here and there in private gardens.

Five years ago several thousand Sultana vines were imported by the Agricultural Department from Crete, and these have now become fairly well distributed over the Island and the produce is beginning to appear in the market. These dried sultanas in 1918 sold for as much as 4s. per oke.

Three years ago the following varieties of table vines were imported from England by the Agricultural Department:

Black Hamburg Alicante or Black Tokay Canon Hall Muscat Lady Hastings Royal Muscadine Muscat of Alexandria

These are now being acclimatised, and it is hoped gradually to distribute a large number of grafts.

Vine cultivation covers an area of about 140,000 donums and is in the hands of some 15,700 vine growers.

Owing to defects of planting the vines of Cyprus do not in most cases begin to bear fruit before the third or fourth year, while, if modern methods were adopted, they would bear fruit in their second year and attain their full growth in their fourth year.

What is known as the "willow-head" system of pruning has been very general, with consequently poor results. Better methods have long been inculcated and are now being more and more adopted. Manuring is but rarely practised and ploughing is confined to lightly turning the surface soil with a wooden plough, and this not every year. On the higher slopes of the mountains terracing is common and necessary.

Grape mildew (Oidium Tuckeri) is prevalent in nearly all the vine areas. Other diseases and pests of the vine met with are anthracnose, pourridié, Septosporium Fuckelii, cuscute, Cochylis, Zygæna ampelophaga and Pyralis. Happily the stringent regulations which for many years have been in force prohibiting the importation of any kind of living plant have resulted in keeping the Cypriot vineyards free from the scourge of phylloxera.

Sulphuring has become more general of late years. The Government has done much to bring this about, and for fifteen years or more has imported sufficient sulphur from Sicily, which has been placed in the hands of village store-keepers and sold at a fixed price by the Agricultural Department. This has never more than exceeded the bare cost and more often has been issued at half cost and in times of distress even gratis.

The vine-owners have been stimulated by the recent high prices for wines to expend more time and money on this operation. The ignorant prejudice against the effectiveness of sulphur as a cure for grape mildew has to a great extent died out. False ideas of economy alone prevent its general use.

Fresh grapes are largely consumed locally, and considerable quantities are exported to Egypt, as shown by the following table:

Year. Quantity. Value.

Cwts. £

1904 12,025 1,854 1905 8,607 1,208 1906 9,563 1,487 1907 7,399 1,161 1908 6,807 1,331 1909 7,078 1,094 1910 7,588 1,216 1911 11,597 1,865 1912 12,565 2,028 1913 10,303 1,487

The average annual export of raisins for the ten years ended 1913 was 54,007 cwts. valued at £24,190. The lowest price was 5s. 4cp. per cwt. in 1909 and the highest 11s. 4-1/2cp. in 1911. During the war the exports have been: 1914, 16,395 cwts., £7,419; 1915, 54,189 cwts., £34,467; 1916, 34,361 cwts., £38,188; and 1917, 70,624 cwts., £90,040. The annual prices in these years were respectively 9s., 12s. 6-1/2cp., 22s. 2cp. and 25s. 4-1/2cp. per cwt.

Up to 1905, inclusive, by far the greatest quantity of raisins had been shipped every year to Austria; Rumania, Turkey and Egypt coming next in order. Since that date Rumania has easily taken the first place, being followed at a distance by Austria, Turkey and Egypt. Since the war the bulk has been shipped for military requirements and to France, Egypt, Malta and England for eating and for use in confectionery, and the industry has grown.

A marked improvement has taken place in the preparation of the raisins; and specially qualified officials of the Agricultural Department every year give practical instruction on this subject in the vine villages.

Citrus Fruits

Oranges and lemons are very extensively grown in Cyprus, whilst mandarines, citrons ("kitria") and sweet limes ("glykolemonia") are also found in every part of the Island. In addition, the shaddock ("phrappa") and the bergamot orange are cultivated in the Island.

The best and most common variety of the sweet orange is the oval (sometimes round) Jaffa, grown everywhere, but specially at Famagusta, where there are numerous orange groves. Another variety of good quality is grown at Lefka. The trees of both varieties produce large, firm, thick-fleshed fruit.

Bitter oranges are largely grown from seed for stock on which the better kinds are grafted. Many thousands of these, and also of the grafted plants, are annually issued from the Government Nurseries. Much loss has been sustained from time to time through disease, and in 1899 whole orange groves at Famagusta, Lefka and Kythrea were uprooted or cut right back. With the expansion of the Agricultural Department and a small qualified staff it has become possible to bring these diseases somewhat under control, and the orange and lemon production has much increased, though gummosis and scale disease still play much havoc.

In the Varosha orange groves the trees are grown in light, sandy soil, which is banked up round the trunk. They are irrigated by means of the native alakati, or noria, or more often by air-motors, which in this locality are much in vogue.

The two most common causes of failure are the persistent planting of trees too close together and over-watering. Growers turn a deaf ear to all advice aimed at changing these two bad habits. The native agriculturist is convinced, beyond the reach of argument, that the greater the number of trees on a given area the greater will be the profit. In a land where water is so precious the deep-rooted opinion is held that the more water a plant receives the better it will thrive, and too frequent irrigation accounts to a large extent for the widespread damage caused by gummosis. Until lately pruning was scarcely practised at all. Thanks to a system of model orchards lately instituted by the Agricultural Department, better methods are at last being introduced, and fruit-growers are able to model their practice upon the work carried out on the specimen trees, alongside their own, reserved by the Department for such demonstrations.