THE NATTJEAL HISTOET Or CTPETJS. 391 



Agriculture is mainly carried on by means of irrigation. The 

 rivers, which in the hills run in deep valleys, in the open country 

 cut deep channels in the plains. In ^\dnter, however, in their lower 

 course they overflow their banks, and the great eastern river, the 

 Pedias, spreads fertility over the rich alluvial plain like a little Nile. 

 The rest of the country is in general barren, and unfortunately its 

 natural sterility is not compensated for by any display of energy on 

 the part of the inhabitants. Of corn-plants, wheat and barley are 

 most cultivated, and of the two barley is preferred, because it ripens 

 earlier, and is thus more likely to escape the destructive locusts ; 

 of the ravages of which our travellers draw a melancholy pic- 

 ture. The mode of cultivation is extremely rude, and the pro- 

 duce scarcely sufficient for the supply of the scanty population. 

 The ground is scratched by a wretched plough, drawn with difficulty 

 by a pair of lean cattle. The grain is sown at the end of September 

 or beginning of January, according to situation. Its chief growi;h is 

 during the rainy months, and it is harvested at the beginning of 

 May. It is cut with the sickle, the sheaves carried home on the 

 backs of mules or asses, and thrashed in the open air by drawing 

 over the ears of corn a rude sledge formed of a flat board, with pro- 

 jecting teeth below. Many kinds of pulse are also cultivated. 

 Of these the most common is the vetch {Ervwn ervilid), which suc- 

 ceeds on the poorest soil, and the lentil (^Ervum lens) . The common 

 bean is more rarely cultivated, and the other sorts only occasionally 

 seen. As in Egypt, from which it was in all probability introduced, 

 the Colocasia antiquorum is much cultivated for its edible roots. 



Cotton was once so great a favourite that it threatened entirely 

 to supersede grain crops. A good deal is still grown, but it requires 

 a good soil, and to be well manured and plentifully irrigated. The 

 best is the produce of the fields of Soli and Evriko, which unfor- 

 tunately are not extensive. The cotton is sown in May, and the 

 pods are picked in October, just before the rains set in. The plants 

 last two years. Sugar-cane was once an object of cultivation, but 

 has now quite disappeared. Madder is still grown on light, sandy 

 soil, and comes to perfection the second or third year. A good deal 

 of it is used in the island, and about 90 tons are exported annually. 



The liilly parts of the island are very well adapted for the culti- 

 vation of the vine, which is in fact the most important crop grown 

 by the Cyprians, and might be enormously extended without in any 

 way encroaching on the ground appropriated to other things. The 



