Sketcli of tlie Physical Nature of I 'yprus 



Quite different from all older formations represented in Cyprus, they ai-e very rich in fossil remains. 

 Unger has already given a list of 226 species, chiefly of moUusea and foraminifera, belonging to the 

 Quarternary fauna of Larnaka.') In early Quarternary deposits near Hag. Chrysostomos in the Kyrenia 

 mountains and in the neighbourhood of Cape Pyla Miss Bate has recently found teeth and bones of extinct 

 mammals, viz. Hippopotamus minutus and Elephas Cypriotes, both akin to the dwarf species occurring in 

 Sicily aud Malta, and also a new species of genet (Genetta plesictoides).^) The plant-impressions in the 

 calcareous tufa at Kazan near Agridhi will be delt with in detail in a subsequent chapter of the present work. 



b. The Most Important Varieties of Soil. 



Gaudby has already pointed out, that the soft marls of the Messaria, which have from ancient 

 time made the fertility of this plain famous, are of Tertiary origin. They form a link of the Miocene formation, 

 which is so extensively developped in this part of the island. In the course of time the covering Pliocene 

 and Quarternary conglomerates and sandstones have been removed by denudation, and they are thus made 

 accessible to cultivation. 



This soil has been largely enriched with alluvial deposits. Every winter the torrents carry down 

 from the mountains a large amount of loamy silt, rich in organic matter. Partly through the natural 

 river courses, and partly by means of artificial irrigation-channels this loam is spread as a thin layer over 

 all the arable land. In the depressions near the Pedias in the eastern part of the Messaria the alluvium often 

 attains to a thickness of 5 or 6 metres and upwards. As a rule this earth is almost homogenous loamy, 

 and generally contains quite insignificant quantities of coarse sand and gravel. When glowed it assumes 

 a blackish colour, owing to its rich content of organic substances. When it is treated with acids, it 

 effervesces vividly. Ungee has given the following minute analysis of a typical wheat-producing soil near 

 Peristerona in the Messaria:^) 



Moisture y.9i; pr. cent 



Organic matter 4.53 — 



Insoluble silicious matter 48.04 — 



Oxide of aluininia 9.98 — 



Oxide of iron 6.7i — 



Oxide uf manganese Traces 



Phosphoric acid. 0.28 — 



Carbonate of lime 24.f>7 — 



Sulphate of lime O.ouc — 



Carbonate of magnesium l.su — 



Oxides of sodium, potassium and lithium 0.72 — 



Cloride of sodium O.oos — 



Carbonate of sodium O.20 — 



Ammonia 9.i4 — 



Great dunes of blown sand occur along the bays of Famagusta and Morphu and at several other 

 places along the coasts. Especially near the bay of Morphu they are of great dimensions, which may be 

 explained by the prevalent western and south-western winds. In the noi'thern part of this dune-area, 

 however, the progression of the sand has been successfully stopped by the Government by means of planta- 



^) Ungee und Kotschy, Cypern, p. 36 — 47. 



-) D. M. A. Bate. Preliminary Note on the Discovery of a Pigmy Elephant in the Pleistocene of Cyprus (Proc. 

 Roy. Soc. LXXI, p. 498— .500, 1903). Further Note on the Remains of Elephas Cypriotes, Bate, from Cave-Deposits in Cyprus 

 (ll)idem LXXIV, p. 120—121, 1904); On the Ossiferous Cave-Deposits of Cyprus (Geolog. Magaz. 1904, p. 324—32.5). — Cfr. 

 ('. J. Forsyth Major, On the Pigmy Hippopotamus from the Pleistocene of Cyprus (Proceed. Zool. Soc. II, p. 107—112. 1902). 



3) Unger und Kotschy, Die Insel ''yi)eni, p. 4.34. 



