^ept. 2, 1908.] Af/riculfural Gazette of N.S.W. 761 



Assuming- that only one-quaiter of the wheat and cotton, and one-eighth of 

 the barley and oats, would have heen flestroved had no \'igorous mea'^ures 

 been taken to destroy the locusts, the loss to the island would have amounted 

 to £80,000. These figures are derived from the estimated value of the 

 •crops, based on the assessment of the tithes of the years 1882-83-84." 



From this date the Government had the locust plague well in hand, and 

 the operations were reduced, and the expenditure fell to £3,o98 in 1894, 

 though it rose again to £7,000 in 1S96. At the present time the only 

 methods adopted are the catching of the young hoppers with nets, as 

 previously described, and the amount expended has dwindled down, so that 

 the income-tax has been relaxed. 



I am informed on very good authority, however, that it must be also taken 

 into consideration that since the British occupation a'very large area of land, 

 in which the locusts laid their eggs, has been broken up for cultivation, so 

 that they have been driven into the barren lands, wheie they can be much 

 more easily dealt with than in the first years of the crusade against them. 



On Sunday (10 5/08), accompanied by Mr. Bevan, I left Nicosia and 

 travelled across the island to the town of Limasol, the centre and port for 

 the wine and carob bean industry. 



This was a distance of 55 miles, with four horses and a coach ; the road 

 was over rolling low chalk and marl lands for the first 10 miles, and then we 

 were well into the carob and olive tree country. The carob tree grows on 

 very poor soil beyond the area of irrigation, and is apparently as hai'dy and 

 as long-lived as the olive tree ; the trees are all grafted, and the beans are 

 picked about the end of June — the date upon which the picking is to com- 

 mence being fixed by the High Commissioner, on account of the fact that the 

 .ownership of the trees is so complicated, as many of the trees belong to per- 

 sons who do not own the ground on which thev grow, and if thev were al- 

 dowed to gather the harvest any time, there would be some trouble. In 1906 

 there were 44,965 tons of carob beans exported from Cyprus, valued at 

 £157,452 ; most of these are ground up and made into cattle foods, at least 

 half of the crop going to England. 



There is a wild species of this tree growing upon the island, but the pods 

 are of no value ; it is distinguished from the cultivated form by the natives 

 with a Greek name, meaning " Sent by God," otherwise, self-grown. 



I believe that at one time our Department proposed to plant the Carob or 

 Locust Tree in the dry parts of Australia, and, as a tree capable of growing 

 such immense crops of edible beans in our stock country, I think the experi- 

 ment could be revived ; young plants or seeds could be easily obtained in any 

 (juantity from the Forestry Department of Cyprus. The olive trees in some 

 parts of Cyprus are very old, so old that in many places the central portion 

 ot the tree has rotted out, and each angle has grown round, forming a bunch 

 of three or four trees. These are said to be in manv instances four or five 

 hundred years old ; yet when we passed through them they were one mass of 

 bleom, and as vigorous looking as the younger trees. However, as most of 

 the land suitable for olives will grow vines, they do not grow enough olives 

 for their own consumption, and import some olive oil. 



