"قبرص." [ظ‎‎٥‎٠] (١٨٤/١٠٠)

94
CYPRUS.
Nuts.
Vegetables.
Colocynth.
Sumac.
Sugar canes.
The culture of the tree is, however, almost entirely neglected, and
consequently the quality of the silk has deteriorated. The best
and finest mulberry trees are found near Baffo.
Walnut and almond trees are comparatively rare, but they are
found here and there in the island. General di Cesnola mentions
the “ two noble walnut trees ” close to his house at Dali.
The utilization of the fruit of the island as a means of profit is
but little thought of, as the amount sold in the bazaars of the
town bears but a very small proportion to what is, or might be,
produced. Yon Lbher says that even the celebrated vegetables of
Cyprus are but little cultivated, and some varieties are becoming
almost unknown, as the inhabitants content themselves with
gathering wild cresses, artichokes, purslane, and asparagus. Of
the vegetables which have been cultivated with success in Cyprus,
and which can be procured there at the present time, the folloAving
are those most worthy of notice:—potatoes, cabbages, cauliflowers,
pumpkins, cucumbers, gherkins, marrows, lettuces, tomatoes’
spinach, celery, broad beaus, french beans, lentils, onions and
brinjals.
The prices asked for these vegetables have hitherto been very
moderate.
Sweet potatoes are said to be indigenous to the country, but
are not cultivated, and the people appear to be ignorant of the
value of this esculent. Potatoes yield two crops a year, producing
from 50 to 75 cwt. per acre; they are of fair quality, and do not
appear to be affected by any disease.
It is said that Cyprus is the native place of the cauliflower,
which in its English form has been produced by the art of the
gardener from the Brassica oleracea, the part used for food being
the deformed flower stalks.
The cultivation of rhubarb, saffron, hemp, and other valuable
vegetable natural products is almost entirely neglected.
Colocynth is somewhat largely grown in the island and forms
an article of export. The plant is the cucumis colocynthis, or
citrullus colocynthis, but is known in Cyprus as colloquintida.
The plants spread over the ground like the water-melon, which
they also resemble in leaf and flower, as well as in fruit, whilst the
melons are young : the spongy inside, or pith of the fruit, is used
medicinally as a cathartic.
Sumac grows in a wild state in Cyprus, and is an indigenous
shrub. The quality of the Cyprian sumac is considered superior
to that of the Tyrolese, but in the European markets, the Sicilian
plants command a higher price. This may be due to want of special
cultivation, to imperfect preparation of the leaf, or to a natural
inferiority of the plant. It is generally exported from Limasol in
the leaf; very little goes to England; but in 1877, £500-worth was
sent to Turkey, and £450-worth to Greece. Various parts of the
plant are used for tanning, dyeing, and in medicine.
At the time when the Venetians possessed Cyprus, large
plantations of sugar canes were made, and it is said that the plant
succeeded in the districts of Episcopi and Lefca, as well as in Egypt.
Buildings in which the sugar was refined were erected on these