Notes on Agriculture in Cyprus and Its Products Part 15

3. The ignorance and folly of rearers who undertook to rear far more worms than they could properly "educate," having regard to s.p.a.ce, leaves and labour.

In 1908 the Department of Agriculture set to work, with some success, to improve the methods of rearing up to that time in vogue, and during the six years ending 1913 (inclusive) the average annual quant.i.ty of eggs hatched out was 12,319 oz., the average annual export of "dry"

coc.o.o.ns was 45,551 okes, and the average annual estimated local consumption 4,449 okes, making a total annual production of 50,000 okes, as against 35,000 okes in 1896. The former total represents an average yield of about 4 okes of "dry" coc.o.o.ns, equal to about 18 kilograms of fresh coc.o.o.ns per ounce of seed, and marks a slight improvement upon the ratio of eighteen years previously.

Since 1914 this branch of work has received a larger share of attention from the Department. Five sericultural stations have been established, regulations have been issued, inspections by qualified persons have been systematically made, practical advice has been given to rearers in the matter of cleanliness, disinfection and so forth, the granting of licences to egg-raisers has been put on a better footing and the whole industry has been brought more under observation and control.

Numerous suggestions have been made from time to time for insuring that only a good quality of egg shall be imported. As an effective--perhaps the most effective--means to this end, the Department of Agriculture has set itself to improve the production of local eggs and thus indirectly discourage their importation: holders of licences to raise eggs are required to pa.s.s periodical examinations; several have in consequence had their licences cancelled, new licensees have been added, and many unlicensed persons have been prosecuted and convicted for illegally raising eggs.

The common method of hatching practised by villagers, by placing the eggs tied in cloth with a little cotton-wool in their beds or by carrying them on their persons, still prevails, but it is gradually yielding to a better system of incubation. The Department has designed a simple, inexpensive hatching-box, and these are now being used with good results.

Until about three years ago probably 25 per cent. of the local rearers were producing their own seed without any microscopical examination at all. Bad feeding, bad ventilation, ill-adapted premises were general.

As a consequence 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 coc.o.o.ns 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 coc.o.o.ns. 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 coc.o.o.ns in the European markets. The coc.o.o.ns on arrival at Ma.r.s.eilles are subjected to official tests and sold according to the reports made by the official testers. It is of advantage to the buyers that the report should be made as unfavourable as possible as the price is lowered proportionately, and it is felt that the coc.o.o.ns exported are thus placed too much at the mercy of the testing officials.

These Cyprus coc.o.o.ns 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 quant.i.ty, but a fairly large quant.i.ty is locally reeled and is used in making the silk stuffs which are so much sought after in the local bazaars:

___________________________________________________________________ Export of coc.o.o.ns. Export of Export of raw silk coc.o.o.ns waste. ------------------------------------------------------------------- _Year._ _Okes._ _Country._ _Okes._ _Country._ _Okes._ _Country._ -------------------------------------------------------------------

1909 41,013 France 2,120 France 6 Turkey 1910 44,550 " 1,105 " 259 "

157 Egypt 1911 57,422 " 2,704 " 246 Turkey 70 Egypt 1912 43,196 " 2,571 " 90 Turkey 70 Turkey 3 Greece 1913 48,884 " 2,502 France 118 Turkey ___________________________________________________________________

Efforts have been made by the Agricultural Department to improve the Cypriot race of silkworms. Two races of white colour, the j.a.panese and the Baghdad, have been separately crossed with the yellow race of Baghdad. These crossings began in 1912-13 and have been continued up to the present. The objects aimed at are to establish a new Cypriot race (_a_) giving good coc.o.o.ns of a fine structure and larger in size than the French variety and yielding a maximum quant.i.ty of silk; (_b_) producing coc.o.o.ns of a uniform colour and in demand in the European market and (_c_) with these characteristics constant.

The results obtained so far are promising, but uniformity of colour has not yet been attained, though it is hoped that, by careful selection, this will become more fixed every year. It may here be mentioned that the famous French cream-coloured race took seventy-five years to become fully established owing to the widespread damage caused by pebrine and, to a lesser extent, by flacherie.

It has been observed that silkworm eggs locally produced by qualified licensees are decidedly more immune to disease and less affected by adverse atmospheric conditions than imported seed.

The local conditions of sericulture in Cyprus have undergone a change of late years. Formerly Nicosia and Famagusta were the districts where this industry was chiefly carried on; but latterly whole mulberry groves have been uprooted and replaced by fruit trees which are considered to be more profitable. This was the inevitable result of the ignorant methods under which the silkworm-rearing industry was conducted and the use of bad seed permitted, whereby disease was spread and annual loss incurred. It is hoped that the industry is now again on the upward grade. One indication of this is that whereas a few years ago 1,000 to 1,800 coc.o.o.ns went to an oke, now the figure may be put at 500 to 1,000.

Again, the waste due to excess of floss is much less than formerly, and if only reeling by machinery can be introduced a very much better return will result to the coc.o.o.n producer.

In the Karpas and in and around Nicosia a bi-voltine race is reared. The results are poor, but the two rearings are made because in these localities there is an ample supply of leaves. From this race are produced small coc.o.o.ns locally called "Confetti." They are only used for local silk manufacture.

An inferior silk called "Koukoularika" is made from the coc.o.o.ns of the ordinary or univoltine race, both those which have been stoved and those which have been badly stained when the moths emerged.

These coc.o.o.ns, which, during the process of boiling in lye, have been bleached, are turned inside-out and the excrement of the larva removed.

The silk is then spun by hand with the "atrachtos." These coc.o.o.ns are mostly from laggard worms and of inferior quality.

The silk industry has suffered greatly from unscrupulous dealing on the part of the dealers in eggs. It is a common custom for these persons to sell imported seed at 2_s._ and even less per ounce, although the law requires all such seed to be accompanied by a Consular certificate and affidavit showing that the price paid was not less than 4_s._ per ounce, exclusive of freight, carriage or insurance. Secret discounts, presumably, render this practice possible. The dealer does not ask for payment in cash, but requires it in kind at the rate of 1 oke in every 4 okes of coc.o.o.ns raised. If 28 okes of coc.o.o.ns are obtained from 1 ounce of seed the dealer would get 7 okes, valued at say 2_s._ 6_d._ per oke = 17_s._ 6_d._ for each ounce of seed. The dealer mostly gives a cash advance of 10_s._ or 1 with the seed, stipulating that the crop is to be sold exclusively to him, the price being left open. The unfortunate producer is therefore in his toils.

The establishment of small Sericultural Societies would do much, both to encourage and cheapen the cost of growing mulberry trees and a.s.sist the industry. A few such societies have lately been formed.

_Mulberry_

This tree (_Morus alba_) is grown extensively for silkworm feeding and is mostly found in those parts of the Island in which the silk industry is centred, viz. in the Maratha.s.sa valley and in the Karpas, fairly generally in and around Nicosia, Kyrenia and in the southern parts of the Paphos district.

Little care is given to its cultivation. For the most part, in all the older plantations, the trees are set too close together. This is less noticeable in the newer plantations. Pruning, where given, is defective and so is the method of gathering the leaves.

The usual method is to cut off, every year, the shoots with the leaves on them, from about one foot above the main branches. Two reasons are given for this by villagers. (1) It is quicker and easier to cut off these shoots than to pick off the leaves while still on the tree. The shoots are brought into the "magnanerie" and there placed upright in water and the leaves can then be removed more conveniently and at leisure. In this way the leaves remain fresh two days. (2) By cutting these shoots in the spring, _i.e._ during the silkworm-rearing season, which begins in early April, fresh shoots are formed which bear leaves in late summer and autumn. The latter afford very welcome green food for cattle and sheep. These leaves are stripped direct from the growing tree. The effect of this second gathering is prejudicial to the tree, which is thereby exhausted. The leaves produced the following spring are fleshy and watery and in the uncertain weather of spring are apt to induce flacherie.

_Agaves and Aloes_

_Agave americana_, _A. rigida_ var. _sisalana_, _Furcraea gigantea_, _Aloe ciliata_ and _A. frutescens_ all grow well and, if properly cultivated and handled, might be worth more attention than they at present receive.

In 1913 a Cypriot from German East Africa who had been engaged in the production of Sisal hemp there was struck by the few excellent plants he found growing in Cyprus, and, had sufficient suitable land been then obtainable, with transport facilities, was desirous of undertaking cultivation on a commercial basis.

Samples of fibre prepared from the leaves of the abovementioned plants were reported on by the Imperial Inst.i.tute in 1912, but as the leaves had been retted, and not sc.r.a.ped or scutched, their value was depreciated, and this was estimated at from 14 to 18 per ton with best Mexican Sisal hemp at 25 per ton.

The outlay for fencing against wandering flocks of goats and for decorticating machinery and other expenses would deter the ordinary cultivator from planting, and this could only be profitably undertaken if ample capital were forthcoming.

_Broom Corn_

Until the end of last century all brooms of European type were imported.

Seed of broom corn (_Sorghum vulgare_), known locally as "tchihri" or "skoupa," was then introduced, and gradually the cultivation has extended and a good number of brooms of very fair quality are now locally made. The process of broom-making is very simple and the high price of the imported article during the war has led to a marked extension of the industry. The plant grows well, especially on irrigated land. The seed provides a good food for chickens and the stalks and leaves can be used as fodder. It is a profitable crop, especially when the cultivator makes and sells the brooms himself, and is princ.i.p.ally grown in the Karpas and at Athienou.

TOBACCO

In Turkish times tobacco was grown in several parts of the Island, though not to any large extent.

"For centuries it was produced in many districts of the Island, and particularly in the Karpas, near Kilani, Omodhos and Paphos, but from the time it became an article of monopoly its production was subjected to rigorous restrictions, and its cultivation has been entirely abandoned." (Reports, pt. ii. (1896), P. Gennadius).

The quant.i.ty grown before the occupation appears to have been very fluctuating and to have averaged about 56,000 lb. annually, and the Government revenue, according to British Consular reports, would not have been more than 300 to 400 per annum. The Regie was introduced in 1874, but owing to the hampering restrictions the industry had been pretty well crushed out by the time of British occupation in 1878.

Meanwhile the revenue from tobacco, imported mainly from Volo and Salonica, increased greatly.

The monopoly ceased at the British occupation, but the regulations and imposts remained. Those responsible for controlling the industry, collecting dues, and checking illicit consumption had a troublesome task, while on the other hand the cultivator became averse to engaging in a cultivation which was hedged round with so many restrictions and formalities.

These exist at the present time and may here be quoted:

The grower has to notify the Customs authorities of his intention to sow, giving the locality and area. Before picking he must again notify the Customs, so that a Customs officer may be present at the picking and weigh the freshly picked leaves. After storing, but before delivering the tobacco to the factory, the Customs officer must again weigh the now dry leaves.

The excise duties leviable are: Tobacco leaf, 4-1/2_cp._ per oke, payable on transfer of leaf from grower to wholesale dealer. Tobacco manufactured in Cyprus, whether made into cigarettes or otherwise, in addition to the import duty or transport duty, pays a banderolle duty of 3_s._ 6-1/2_cp._ per oke.

These regulations are a relic of the Turkish times, as in those days the State received a definite due called "City Toll" by charging the tobacco cutters and tobacco sellers with a trade tax. They appear to have been administered with more laxity in Turkish than in post-occupation times, and it is said that the abandonment of tobacco cultivation was mainly due to the severity with which these rather vexatious and irritating regulations were enforced.

For many years the tobacco imported by local cigarette manufacturers came almost entirely from Macedonia. This tobacco was of very superior quality and cheap, and locally grown tobacco could not compete with it.

Of late years the price of Macedonian tobacco has risen considerably and the manufacturers have therefore been induced to import Thessalian tobacco instead, which is not of so fine a flavour and approximates more closely to Cyprus produce. Cypriot smokers have thus had their palates prepared for the flavour of the locally grown tobacco.

About the year 1912, when Houry's Cyprus Tobacco a.s.sociation, Ltd., was formed, a revival in the industry set in. This has since received considerable impetus from the war, which, temporarily, has thrust Macedonian tobacco out of the market. The primary object of the a.s.sociation was to manufacture tobacco and cigarettes from Cyprus-grown tobacco, although foreign tobacco could also be used. Tobacco then began to be regularly grown by the a.s.sociation at a Chiftlik near Lima.s.sol and elsewhere, and cigarettes made therefrom have had a fair local sale. The arrival of well-to-do refugees from Latakia and other parts of Syria, skilled in tobacco cultivation, led to great extension of this crop. A large part of the produce was at first converted into Latakia tobacco.

Owing possibly to the lack of care and skill on the part of native labour, partly perhaps to the unsuitability of the herbs and brushwood used in the fuming, the market was not found sufficiently encouraging and the Latakia, for which at best there is a very restricted market, has almost ceased to be produced. Tobacco for cigarettes, however, continues to be grown on a fairly large scale, but in order that land suitable for corn and other foodstuffs should not be sacrificed to tobacco, the cultivation of the latter is permitted only by special licence. In 1916 and 1917 the industry fell almost entirely into the hands of the richer refugees, who were expert growers, and they contracted with the small farmers and peasants. A number of speculative growers, professional men, merchants, etc., were tempted by the prevailing high prices to embark in the industry, but the licensing system has tended to throw it more into the hands of the _bona-fide_ farmers, who are allowed only to cultivate small areas which can be looked after mainly by their own families. In 1916 the total production was 89,065 okes, and the estimated yield for 1917 is 487,674 okes.