82 
THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST 
ago. The river Pediseus, bursting its banks at a 
point just outside the western gate of the city, 
forced open that gate, which had been closed, and 
rushing through the town to the Famagusta Gate 
on the east side, the waters closed that gate, and, 
finding no egress, flooded all the lowlying central 
parts of the city, causing great damage and loss of 
life. The inhabitants of the Mesaorea are never 
more pleased than when the rivers come town | 
abundantly, but from the want of proper storage 
and direction, much of the water runs waste into 
the sea, and much land is rendered uncultivable 
from being hooded. Since the British occupation 
an ancient canal has been repaired which carries 
off some of the surplus waters of the Pediaeus, and ; 
irrigates a considerable tract of country but the I 
question of water storage in Cyprus in one for j 
which there is much scope. 
Considerable supplies of water for irrigation 
purposes are obtained by sinking wells. A long 
chain of wells are sunk at distances of five or six 
yards apart, and being connected b;y underground 
galleries, a channel is thus formed which conveys 
the water to a reservoir constructed at the foot of 
the last well, and it is thence raised to the surface 
by the waterwheel; or in some cases the level of 
the ground admits of the channel being brought 
out on the surface. In this way the town of Ni- 
cosia is supplied with excellent water, which is 
brought in two aqueducts from a distance of some 
miles. Larnaca and Famagusta and other towns 
have similar aqueducts. 
Closely connected with the water supply is the 
forest question. 
Cyprus was anciently clothed with forests. In 
Old Testament times much shipbuilding took 
place. In Balaam’s prophecy we read that “ships 
shall come from the coast of Chittim”, and it 
was with Cyprus timber that Alexander the Great 
built the fleets which he launched on the Tigris 
and Euphrates. At the present time the forests 
are confined to the mountain ranges, and threaten 
to disappear altogether. 
At the time of the Egyptian occupation of 
Cyprus, vast quantities of timber were cut down, 
and carried to Egypt. In this way the whole 
country round Larnaca was completely denuded 
of trees. Previous to that time, the low hills to 
the west of Larnaca were covered, with forest. Now 
but a few dwarfed and scattered specimens remain. 
It is not till we approach the mountain of Troodos 
that we find anything like a real forest. Here, 
on the spot where the summer encampment of 
the troops is fixed, there are some magnificent 
specimens of the Pinos Laricio , which clothe the 
mountains from an altitude of 4500 feet upwards. 
The Aleppo pine furnishes, however, nine-tenths 
of the forests. It attains very fine dimensions in 
Cyprus, and flourishes on all sorts of mineral 
soils to an altitude of 4500 to 5000 feet. Trees 
of 10 feet in circumference are frequently met 
with. The forests continue westward from Troodos, 
though much encroached upon, and cruelly 
misused by reckless felling, and tapping for resin, 
until we pass the monastery of Kikko. Between 
this point and the sea, to the extremity of tht 
watershed, there are real forests, and those cl a 
very considerable extent, covering an area of 
over 200 square miles. These owe their immu- 
nity partly to their large extent; but more espe- 
cially because the spurs and valleys leading to 
them are of so difficult a nature that the transport 
of timber is not easily effected. It is here that the 
few remaining cedars of Cyprus are to be found; 
occupying a space of seven or eight square miles, 
at a mean altitude of 4500 feet. They resembled 
the Atlas cedar; none of the trees exceed 80 years 
of age, an insignificant age for a species that 
reaches 2000 yeais. 
The crest of the northern range is also fringed 
with trees, and there are other patches of forest 
land containing brushwood and a few trees. On 
the whole, the forest lands of Cyprus occupy an 
area of 400 square miles. At the time of the 
British occupation, the ravages of the woodcutter 
were to be seen in full operation, and it cannot be 
doubted that it was only a question of time when 
the last remaining forests of Cyprus should 
antirely disappear. 
The destruction of the forests dates, however, 
from modern times. For many centuries a vigorous 
felling went on, which gave to the wood of Cyprus 
an unique reputation in the Eastern world. 1 have 
already alluded to the fleets built by Alexander 
the Great from Cyprus timber; the Venetians also 
took immense quantities for their commerce and 
marine. But this would only affect the old and 
f fine trees, because young trees are of no use for 
