422 
REPORT ON SHINTA LEAVES. 
Pistacia Lentiscus is the shrub that grows abundantly in most 
eal of Cyprus, and is called in pe LR Shinia. A cultivated 
of this Shinia which is so only met with here is the 
viata shrub of Chio (the modern ‘Scio). The leaves only of the 
Shinia have a eve cx value, as they serve as a tannic and 
dyeing substanc 
From the end of this rigid agite of good quality is made, 
and from its seed, which i en readily by goats and pigs, oil 
can be extracted which ate be good for burning purposes, and 
could, in case of necessity, be used for food as well. 
or some time Shinia leaves were exported from Cyprus to 
England by the Cyprus Company, but they were exported in 
small quantities, and, as I under euh price that was paid to 
those who collected the em was 8 para 
But the principal market for Shinia polnim is Palermo, in "a : 
to which there is cem annual omen from Tunis of about ten 
thousand tons. The Shinia leaves serve at Palermo, aa ek pos 
the adulteration ot Sumach (Jus rte sies * which is gro 
large quantities in Sicily, and is exported to England and cdm 
principally through Palermo. 
A quantity of Shinia leaves is also consumed at Lyons, 
France, as a pee pak ne for silk stuffs. 
The c e, then, we must pursue, is to get the Shinia — of 
which Tam is an Abunda yield in Cyprus, into those two 
markets. 
ry Shinia leaves are bought at Tunis by Italian merchants at 
2} francs (2 shillings) for onn 100 kilogrammes (78 okes), and 
being packed in sacks, are sent to Palermo, where they are sold 
at 4i to 7 franes (3/7 to 5/7) for every 100 kilogrammes. 
The Shinia leaves are collected from the month of April to the 
month of September. For that purpose the leafy branches of the 
shrub are cut off and laid in heaps on the ground and left there 
until they dry. Usually they dry in four or five Mh aie 
which the heaps are not disturbed, so t at as few 
ee should come into direct contact with the sun, prta 
ect is to bleach and overdry them, ibus depreciating their 
d e. 
After being dried, the branches are beaten with the flail, so 
that the leaves get detached ; the leaves are then placed in sacks 
and brought to the market for sale. Before the beating ae 
thrown away, hodine the leaves of those branches being Munt 
and burnt by the sun, are not only useless but also become 
injurious when they are rubbed and mixed with the rest of the 
produce. Shinia leaves should not be coliected after rain, because 
then a produce of inferior quality 2 obtained. 
Rs GENNAD 
Director of Agriculture. 
9th December, 1896. 
* See Kew Bulletin, 1895, p. 293, 
