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On Monday, Dec. 1, 1 returned from 

 Jerusalem to Jaffa, and took passage 

 on the steamer Oreste. At 4 o'clock I 

 left for Beyrout, and reached the latter 

 port at a. in. the following day. I left 

 the ship for the lovely Beyrout to take 

 a little rest and see as much as possible 

 •of a city very little more civilized than 

 Jaffa. 



I was unable to find bee-keepers 

 around t lie city, yet I gathered a few 

 bees on the fruits of the market. Then 

 1 repaired to the office of the English 

 Consul, and gave 24 lire ($5) for my pas- 

 sage to Lanarca. where I arrived at 7 

 <>n the morning of Dec. 3. 



Cyprus Island contains about 4,200 

 square miles and 240,000 inhabitants, 

 centered in 4 cities— Lanarca, Nicoda 

 (capital, with 24,000 inhabitants), Lim- 

 assol and Famagosta. There are also 

 about 600 villages. The English are 

 improving the island. They have en- 

 larged the fort, constructed a road from 

 Lanarca to Nicosia, and work now to 

 connect Lanarca to Limassol by a car- 

 riage road. 



The farms have already doubled in 

 price, but the taxes are also doubled, 

 and the cost of living has greatly 

 ■increased. The land is very fertile. 

 The wheat in the watered spots gives 

 30 seeds for one, and the barley 50. The 

 caroube is one of the best producers 

 of t he land. The area of cultivated 

 land is but 1-7 of the total superfices. 

 Several kinds of reptiles crawl in the 

 fields— among them is the phalarginni ; 

 the reapers during harvest attach small 

 bells to their feet in order to frighten 

 these pests. 



Lanarca, situated at about a kilome- 

 ter from the sea, is a poor city of 12,000 

 inhabitants. With the exception of a 

 few new buildings, the postoffice, a few 

 hotels, the houses are made with sun- 

 dried earth built with dirt. The roofs 

 of dirt are supported by beams ; they 

 are about level, so that rain can easily 

 run through. Our Italian Consul told 

 me that when it rains the inhabitants 

 use umbrellas in the houses. These 

 poor hovels are but 1 story high. Two 

 years ago, during winter, 200 of these 

 hovels gave way in Lanarca. 



After a visit to the postoifice, where 

 the longing for news from my family 

 directed me first, I hastened to see the 

 colonies that I had ordered to be bought 

 for me last October. I saw the 6 colo- 

 nies, and cannot tell the pleasure I ex- 

 perienced. The hives are cylindrical 

 and made with earth 2 centimeters 

 thick, with a border outside of both 

 the apertures, 60 or 65 centimeters long, 

 20 to 22 wide ; they have 3 projections 

 inside to receive a disc of soft stone, 



which closes the aperture. In one of 

 the stones a small hole is made for the 

 entrance of the bees. 



There is in the Island another kind 

 of earthern hive, cylindrical also, with 

 crossed sticks, but they are not very 

 solid. In Cyprus, as well as in Egypt, 

 the hives are placed horizontally, and 

 turned towards the south ; but they are 

 far from the houses in open apiaries. 



I had no time to spare, and I began 

 to work. I ordered 3 double hives for 

 the transportation, and, of course, I had 

 to overlook their manufacturing. On 

 Friday I began to hunt for colonies (for 

 I intended to bring a good many with 

 me on my return to Italy) with an in- 

 habitant who fluently spoke both Greek 

 and Italian, and a muleteer. We char- 

 tered each of us a mule, and went to the 

 village of Avdellero, about 6 leagues 

 from Lanarca. There we visited the 

 owner of an apiary, who, after great 

 difficulties and persistent prayers of the 

 muleteer, consented to show me 2 of 

 his numerous colonies— only 2. I asked 

 the price, and received for answer that 

 he would not sell 1 of his colonies for 

 whatever money I could offer, for the 

 other bees would follow to Europe the 

 colonies sold. Then he gathered some 

 dry cow-dung, put it on some burning 

 charcoal, smoked his hives and shut 

 them up, to prevent the bees from fol- 

 lowing me. After this first fiasco, we 

 repaired to a hovel, that pretended to 

 be a hotel, and, upon a painted table, 

 we were served with some eatables, pre- 

 pared Turkish fashion, and sugared 

 wine. 



As soon as the saddles were again 

 put on the backs of our mules, for I was 

 ready to prosecute my journey in search 

 of colonies, the landlady of the hotel 

 came with a pan of kindled charcoal on 

 which she spread some leaves of the 

 olive tree, and she perfumed our 3 

 mules, the muleteer, the interpreter, 

 who accepted readily this ceremony ; 

 then she neared me, but already ill-dis- 

 posed by the difficulties of my under- 

 taking, I refused to submit to this cu- 

 rious fumigation. 



We Avent to Athiam. There also I 

 was permitted, as a great favor, to see 

 a bee hive ; but there was no question 

 about the price, on account of the same 

 prejudice which pervades all the inhab- 

 itants. This colony was also almost 

 exorcised against the charm that my 

 eyes could have communicated to it. It 

 was thoroughly fumigated and shut up 

 immediately. In 3 apiaries of the same 

 town I saw bees, but to no purpose. 

 The bees were all beautiful, of a light 

 yellow, like those of the colony that I 

 owned already. 



