Part 17

The leaves of this shrub are largely used for tanning purposes and were at one time regularly exported to England, though in small quantities. The principal market for shinia leaves is Palermo. They are employed to no small extent for the adulteration of sumach, for which Palermo is also the leading market. Shinia leaves were also in demand at Lyons as a dyeing material for silk stuffs.

There are also a few specimens of a variety of P. Lentiscus (mastic tree) from which in the Island of Chios the famous Chios mastic is obtained by incisions made in the trunks of the male stocks.

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The terebinth tree (P. Terebinthus), locally called "tremithia," is a bush very widely grown throughout the higher regions. It is used as a stock on which to graft P. vera. The berries are used for extraction of oil which has a value for culinary purposes. They are also made into a cake called "tremithopites." The berries are much smaller than those of the P. palæstina.

VEGETABLES

The cultivation of vegetables has considerably extended of late. Good market gardens have existed in and around the principal towns for many years, but more attention is now being paid to this industry in the villages, wherever water is available, and a considerable amount of skill is shown in production.

Among the best and most generally grown vegetables are spinach, cauliflowers, cabbages, egg-plants, lady's fingers, leeks, artichokes, broad beans (also grown as a field crop), radishes, celery, beet-root, pumpkins, marrows, cucumbers, lettuces, tomatoes, lentils, kohl-rabi ("kouloumbra"), kidney beans ("phasoulia"), peas, kolokas, onions and potatoes.

There is a considerable demand in Egypt for fresh vegetables, and to meet this the land around the "ports" of Famagusta, Larnaca and Limassol has been for some years specially devoted to their cultivation. In the mountain valleys a continuous series of small vegetable gardens may be seen flanking the sides of the river-banks. The exports of vegetables to Egypt in recent years are given in the following table:

Beans and Other Year. Onions. Peas. Vegetables. Cwts. Cwts. Cwts. 1909 6,664 1,729 49 1910 3,807 858 60 1911 5,512 2,346 122 1912 3,659 2,583 135 1913 2,854 1,670 32

Beans and Peas

Beans are grown for market mainly at Marathassa and Pitsillia and generally in the higher regions, but only to a small extent in the plains.

Before the war there was a comparatively large importation of beans from Anatolia. This having stopped, local prices rose and stimulated production in the Island.

The Cypriot is a lover of dried vegetables, and there might well be an extension in the cultivation of beans, similar to that which has lately taken place in the case of green peas. Except in one or two places, these were not sown by the villagers until about four years ago, but so valuable have they been found, especially in recent years of scarcity and high cost of other foodstuffs, that now whole districts are being devoted to their cultivation.

The French or kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is locally known under the general term "louvia." This name is applied both to Phaseolus vulgaris and to Dolichos melanophthalmus (Vigna Catjang var. sinensis). To distinguish the two kinds the Cypriot describes the P. vulgaris as "louvia gliastra" (i.e. lustrous, owing to its shiny appearance), or "louvia peratica" (i.e. foreign), as D. melanophthalmus was introduced and had become acclimatised some time before. Gennadius, however, describes the "louvia peratica" as Dolichos Lablab or lablab bean.

Both the dwarf ("koutsoulia") and the climbing ("makrya" or "anarichomena") varieties of P. vulgaris are grown. There are two white kinds, the large ("adra") and the small ("psintra").

Beans of various colours are grown here and there, and one spotted variety ("patsaloudhia") merits greater attention than it receives at present, both on account of its greater productiveness and for its excellent flavour. Two of these are stringless, but a drawback to them is that they discolour the water in which they are boiled.

There are several newly imported kinds which are privately grown, and these are gradually coming into the local markets.

The lubia or cow-pea (Dolichos melanophthalmus = Vigna Catjang var. sinensis), being a good drought-resister, is grown more or less throughout the Island. It is frequently sown in mixed crop with cotton, sesame, Indian corn, etc.

Two kinds are cultivated--the larger, "lubia melissomatia" (having the eye like a bee), and the smaller, "lubia mavromatoudhia" (dark-eyed).

The dried pods of Phaseolus and Dolichos are fed to animals and are also used for stuffing mattresses.

The broad bean (Vicia Faba) has been grown for some years on irrigated land in the plains, where it takes a recognised place in the rotation. Its cultivation is now spreading to the higher parts.

The soy bean was introduced a few years ago by the Agricultural Department, but has failed hitherto to attract attention. Villagers find it requires different cooking from what they are accustomed to, and local dealers are not yet prepared to deal in it. It has been found resistant to disease, and further efforts are being made to bring it into popular favour.

The Ochrus vetch (Lathyrus Ochrus), locally known as "louvana," is a fairly common spring crop, being grown for the sake of the seed which provides a favourite Cypriot dish. The leaves are also used as a salad. This crop is sown in the plains in January, but in the Karpas and some other parts it is sown in the autumn.

Chick-peas (Cicer arietinum), locally called "revithia," grow well and are cultivated to a moderate extent. Samples examined at the Imperial Institute proved to be of normal composition. Two firms of produce brokers in London stated that if quantities of about 5 tons at a time could be delivered in England in as good a condition as the sample they could be sold for human consumption and would be worth (1917) £20 to £24 per ton c.i.f., United Kingdom ports. If of inferior quality to the sample they would be fit only for cattle food and fetch considerably less (see BULLETIN OF THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE, vol. xv. 1917, p. 307).

Chick-peas when roasted are locally called "koudames" and are eaten in the same way as ground-nuts, which they much resemble in flavour. They are little, if at all, used in Cyprus as a cattle food.

Potatoes

The potato-growing industry in Cyprus has developed considerably in recent years, as will be seen from the subjoined table of exports:

Year. Quantity. Value. Cwts. £ 1909 12,586 3,105 1910 14,983 3,839 1911 36,271 8,472 1912 45,336 10,348 1913 31,310 7,003 1914 54,203 11,741 1915 82,304 28,513 1916 136,027 74,632 1917 224,453 101,120