88 NOTES ON AGRICULTURE IN CYPRUS 



tilation, ill-adapted premises were general. As a con- 

 sequence pebrine and flacherie played such havoc that 

 many people were beginning to abandon silkworm rearing 

 and uproot their mulberry trees. The expansion and 

 increased resources of the Agricultural Department happily 

 came just in time to check this backward move. 



Silk reeling is unfortunately done in the most primitive 

 manner with wooden appliances and hot water by village 

 hand labour. The locally reeled silk is used only for Island 

 consumption and the great bulk of cocoons is exported in 

 the raw state, mostly to Lyons and Milan. The burden of 

 freight on this bulky cargo is naturally a heavy handicap 

 and the local silkworm rearers have consequently to be 

 content with very low and inadequate prices for their 

 cocoons. During the reeling process 20 to 25 per cent, 

 of the silk is lost, and a further loss is incurred during 

 weaving owing to the numerous knots having to be cut 

 away and the silk threads rejoined. 



A considerable loss is said to take place in selling cocoons 

 in the European markets. The cocoons on arrival at 

 Marseilles are subjected to official tests and sold according 

 to the reports made by the official testers. It is of advant- 

 age to the buyers that the report should be made as un- 

 favourable as possible as the price is lowered proportion- 

 ately, and it is felt that the cocoons exported are thus 

 placed too much at the mercy of the testing officials. 



These Cyprus cocoons are reeled in France and Italy 

 and the silk is largely sold to England. It would be to 

 the mutual benefit of England and Cyprus if a direct 

 demand for Cyprus reeled silk could be created and 

 modern reeling plant introduced into the Island. A large 

 sum of money, now annually paid for freight, would thus 

 be saved to the Cypriot producers, which would stimulate 

 the local industry and tend to increase greatly the annual 

 production and improve the local weaving of silk stuffs, 

 an industry which has already gained considerable fame 

 and at which the Cypriot women are adepts. 



As the following table shows, the amount of raw silk 

 exported is a negligible quantity, but a fairly large 

 quantity is locally reeled and is used in making the silk 

 stuffs which are so much sought after in the local bazaars : 



