BEANS AND PEAS 53 



Beans and Peas 



Beans are grown for market mainly at Marathassa and 

 Pitsillia and generally in the higher regions, but only to a 

 small extent in the plains. 



Before the war there was a comparatively large im- 

 portation of beans from Anatolia. This having stopped, 

 local prices rose and stimulated production in the Island. 



The Cypriot is a lover of dried vegetables, and there 

 might well be an extension in the cultivation of beans, 

 similar to that which has lately taken place in the case of 

 green peas. Except in one or two places, these were not 

 sown by the villagers until about four years ago, but so 

 valuable have they been found, especially in recent years 

 of scarcity and high cost of other foodstuffs, that now 

 whole districts are being devoted to their cultivation. 



The French or kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is 

 locally known under the general term " louvia." This 

 name is applied both to Phaseolus vulgaris and to Dolichos 

 melanophthalmus (Vigna Catjang var. sinensis). To dis- 

 tinguish the two kinds the Cypriot describes the P. vul- 

 garis as " louvia gliastra " (i.e. lustrous, owing to its shiny 

 appearance), or " louvia peratica " (i.e. foreign), as D. 

 melanophthalmus was introduced and had become accli- 

 matised some time before. Gennadius, however, de- 

 scribes the " louvia peratica " as Dolichos Lablab or 

 lablab bean. 



Both the dwarf (" koutsoulia ") and the climbing 

 (" makrya " or " anarichomena ") varieties of P. vulgaris 

 are grown. There are two white kinds, the large (" adra ") 

 and the small (" psintra "). 



Beans of various colours are grown here and there, 

 and one spotted variety (" patsaloudhia ") merits greater 

 attention than it receives at present, both on account of 

 its greater productiveness and for its excellent flavour. 

 Two of these are stringless, but a drawback to them is 

 that they discolour the water in which they are boiled. 



There are several newly imported kinds which are 

 privately grown, and these are gradually coming into the 

 local markets. 



The lubia or cow-pea (Dolichos melanophthalmus = 



