68 NOTES ON AGRICULTURE IN CYPRUS 



grown. It has been found that the Cyprus origanum oil 

 is exceptionally rich in carvacrol (over 80 per cent.), a 

 powerful antiseptic, and to this substance the oil owes 

 mainly its characteristic thyme-like odour. Frequent 

 analyses have shown that the Cyprus origanum oil is 

 remarkably constant in character. 



This oil has the slight disadvantage of darkening con- 

 siderably on exposure to light and air, which renders it 

 unsuitable for use in light-coloured soaps, but a method has 

 been worked out at the Imperial Institute of refining the 

 oil so as to yield a product which will remain practically 

 colourless for long periods. 



A report furnished by the Imperial Institute 

 (BULLETIN OF THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE, vol. iv. 1906, p. 

 299), after giving a detailed description of the oil, states : 



11 The foregoing results show that this oil sells readily 

 in this country at prices which should be fairly remunera- 

 tive to producers in Cyprus. It should, however, be borne 

 in mind that the demand for this oil is somewhat limited, 

 and that it competes with the thyme oil produced in 

 France and Spain, and with the ' origanum oil ' produced 

 in Smyrna, and that consequently a sudden increase in 

 production in Cyprus might lead to a considerable fall in 

 price. The Cyprus oil has, however, the advantage that 

 it is very rich in the odorous and antiseptic constituent 

 carvacrol, and it is probably due to its richness in this 

 constituent, as revealed by the analyses made at the 

 Imperial Institute, that the comparatively high prices 

 realised for these consignments were obtained at a time 

 when ' red thyme oils ' were selling at lower rates. It 

 would be advantageous if a refined white oil could be pre- 

 pared by some simple method from this material, as this 

 probably would fetch an enhanced price, and be applicable 

 to other purposes for which the ' red oil ' is unsuitable." 



Until 1910 the distillation was made by the Depart- 

 ment, but since then it has been undertaken by private 

 contract, permission being given to collect the wild plant 

 from the forest. The annual production is now about 

 2,750 lb., and the price has steadily risen from about 35. 

 per lb. to 85. 6d. per lb. at the present time. But whereas 

 the cost of transport to London before the war was 8 pe r 



