IRRIGATION 9 



or donkey by means of a horizontal wheel and beam, or by 

 modern air-motor. Myrtle branches are mostly employed 

 for attaching the cups to the wheels, as these are pliable 

 and resist the action of water. 



These " alakatia " were formerly made entirely of 

 wood, but in the nineties, iron ones (" noria ") were intro* 

 duced from Greece, and these have become fairly general, 

 and are gradually supplanting the older types. They 

 have the advantage of being more durable and lighter tf 

 work. Good iron wheel wells are now locally made. 

 Water-wheels of this description cannot be used for raising 

 water from a depth of more than ten fathoms below the 

 surface of the ground. 



Of late years a large number of air-motors of Canadian 

 pattern have been introduced and are found satisfactory. 



There is abundant evidence in the remains of old disused 

 Venetian wells and cisterns that in pre-Turkish times, 

 when the country was far more densely populated than at 

 present, a larger quantity of underground water was 

 utilised than now. Abundant subterranean water for 

 agricultural and gardening purposes is to be found in almost 

 all the coast lands as well as in many parts of the interior. 

 Such waters are either brought to the surface along sub- 

 terranean channels or by means of wells, and, for the most 

 part, have their origin in the mountain ranges, specially 

 in the southern range, which is the rainy region of the 

 Island. 



Artesian well-boring experiments have been made in 

 recent years in different parts of the Island, but without 

 substantial results. In the Famagusta district large 

 reservoirs were constructed several years ago for im- 

 pounding the surplus water of the rivers of Pedias and 

 I alias, but these have only been very partially successful 

 as the water is mostly lost before it reaches them. 



A satisfactory solution of the water problem is of 

 supreme importance to the Island. There are large fertile 

 areas which every year remain fallow, but which, if capable 

 of irrigation, would grow excellent cotton and other summer 

 crops, thus providing a better system of rotation. Veget- 

 able growing and fruit culture could then also be very 

 greatly extended. 



