576 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. VII., No. Ill 



less extent, often wholly, so that the chalk be- 

 comes entirely structureless ; and it has been shown 

 that the absence of structure becomes more appar- 

 ent in proportion to the greater thickness of beds 

 formed. The further transformation was traced 

 by Walther in a recent tertiary formation at Syra- 

 cuse, where he found, in the exposed quarries of 

 Latomia dei Capuccini, the remains of Lithotham- 

 nia sufficiently distinct for determination, espe- 

 cially where the interstitial material had been 

 weathered out. The stone, however, blended from 

 this indistinctly structural form to the wholly 

 structureless or homogeneous. 



The explanation of this complete transformation, 

 as given by the author, is also of interest. The 

 organic substances, which in the living plant 

 amount to about five or six per cent, were found, 

 in the tertiary chalk above referred to, to be about 

 a third of one per cent. The larger part had thus 

 disappeared ; and as the chalk was purely white, 

 showing the absence of all bituminous matter, it 

 was evident that the remaining organic matter 

 had slowly been oxidized, producing carbonic 

 matter, which had obliterated by its dissolving 

 action in the surrounding or percolating water all 

 evidences of structure. In such cases where the 

 plants were exposed to water not impregnated with 

 the carbonic acid, the structure is retained more 

 or less unimpaired. 



This explanation of the formation of chalk in 

 shallow waters — for algae must live within a few 

 hundred feet of the surface, where light can reach 

 them — gives a solution of various problems in 

 geology, especially of the more recent chalk-beds. 

 Whether it will apply to the extensive structure- 

 less chalk-beds of western Kansas at all, is doubtful. 



CYPRUS UNDER BRITISH RULE. 

 At a recent meeting of the Society of arts, in 

 London, Mr. G. Gordon Hake read a paper on the 

 condition of Cyprus since its occupation by the 

 British, his object being to show the improvements 

 that have taken place under the new administra- 

 tion. 



In ancient times Cyprus was one of the most 

 fertile and prosperous countries in the world, its 

 copper and its timber being important articles of 

 commerce. But under the Turkish administra- 

 tion the island deteriorated greatly, as most coun- 

 tries do under Turkish rule. One traveller, near 

 the end of the last century, describes Famagusta, 

 at the time of his visit, as a " melancholy picture 

 of Turkish desolation," and as " almost depopu- 

 lated, although, in the time of the Venetians, the 

 finest city in the island, and renowned for its 

 brave defence against the infidels." He adds, 

 " The desolation we observed at Famagusta ex- 



tended itself along the country. We passed by 

 the ruins of several Greek villages." Another 

 traveller also gives a sad account of Cyprus at a 

 rather later date. "The island," he says, "was 

 formerly one of the richest and most fertile in the 

 world. It is much exposed to the ravages of 

 locusts. On their approach, every kind of ver- 

 dure disappears, and they even gnaw the very 

 bark off the trees. The Turks will not permit 

 their destruction, because they consider them as 

 sent by the Almighty." 



This melancholy condition of the island was 

 due in part to maladministration of justice, and 

 in part to a vicious system of taxation. The 

 Turkish government took tithes of the produce 

 of the land, and these tithes were farmed in the 

 spring of each year to merchants and speculators. 

 This system had its natural results in a loss of reve- 

 nue to the state, and the impoverishment of the 

 cultivator, whom it involved in the toils of the 

 money-lender, as well as the tithe-farmer, and 

 thus checked the productiveness of the island to 

 an enormous extent. The land, falling out of 

 cultivation, became the breeding-ground of locusts. 

 The cultivators of the soil in many cases gave up 

 their calling in despair, and obtained a living by 

 cutting down and selling trees, and the collection 

 of resin. The wholesale destruction of trees reacted 

 on the climate, and restricted the rainfall ; so that 

 between locusts, tithe-farmers, and neglect of the 

 forests, the island, at the time of the occupation, 

 was rapidly becoming more like a barren, rocky 

 desert than a fertile and naturally favored coun- 

 try. 



These, then, were the chief evils to be remedied 

 by the English on their arrival in Cyprus. It 

 was at once made plainly known that no farming 

 of tithes would be allowed under British rule ; 

 and it was decided to adopt the following course 

 in regard to the same. The Turkish plan of as- 

 sessment was to be followed, but, instead of col- 

 lecting the tithes in kind, they were to be valued, 

 and, leaving the peasant free to deal with his 

 crop as he pleased, the money value was to be 

 collected as an ordinary tax later in the year. 

 The sole exceptions to this were the tithes on silk 

 and carobs. The greater portion of these two 

 products being exported from the island, it was 

 arranged to collect the tithe on export, and so 

 save the cost of assessment ; and the result, be- 

 sides being successful from the imperial point of 

 view, has given great satisfaction to the agricul- 

 turists. 



After this financial reform the locust and 

 timber questions remained to be dealt with. The 

 Cyprus locust is indigenous to the island ; and its 

 presence is, without doubt, largely due to past 



