Of course all
these attempts ended in failure. There should have been an experienced
gardener specially appointed for the purpose of raising and planting out
the young trees adapted for the various soils and altitudes of the
country, and such trees should have been ready for their positions at
the commencement of the winter months in November. The commissioners
worked in this new occupation with the same praiseworthy energy that
distinguished them throughout all the trying difficulties of their
appointment as rulers in a strange country, where, without a knowledge
of the language or customs, they were suddenly called upon to confer
happiness and contentment upon an oppressed population by administering
TURKISH laws in the essence of their integrity.
The Cypriotes had expected to see England and the English as their
rulers; but like the well-known saying, "Scratch a Russian and you
discover the Tartar," they might have "scratched an Englishman and have
found the Turk," in the actual regime that we were bound to maintain
according to the conditions of the British occupation.
The native mind could not understand the reason for the stringent rule
prohibiting the cutting of trees and they came to the conclusion that
our government contemplated some selfish advantage, and that the forests
were eventually to be leased to a company. When they shall see
tree-planting commenced by the government upon an extensive scale they
will believe in the undertaking as intended for the welfare of the
island.
Whenever this important and necessary work shall be organised, it is to
be hoped that "common sense" will be employed in the selection of trees
adapted for the various localities, and that no absurd experiments will
be made upon a large scale by introducing varieties foreign to the
island until they shall have been tested satisfactorily in botanical
nurseries established at various altitudes.
There are various local difficulties that must be considered in addition
to soil and climate; the most important is the presence of vast numbers
of goats throughout the mountains, that would utterly destroy certain
varieties of young plants. There can be no doubt that the climate and
soil are specially adapted for the introduction of the common larch,
which would grow quickly into value for the much-needed poles for
rafters and beams for the flat-topped roofs; but this tree is eagerly
devoured by sheep, goats, and cattle, and would be destroyed in its
first stage unless protected by fencing. It will be a safe rule to adopt
the native trees as a guide to future extension, as the varieties of
such classes as are indigenous will assuredly succeed. The two existing
pines are shunned by goats even when in their earliest growth, and they
are so ineradicable that were the forests spared and allowed to remain
without artificial planting, in ten years there would be masses of young
trees too thick for the success of timber. The rain, when heavy, washes
the fallen cones from the highest points, and as they are carried by the
surface water down the steep inclines they hitch among the rocks and
take root in every favourable locality. Here we have two native trees
that will plant themselves and flourish without expense, invulnerable to
the attacks of goats, and only demanding rest and time. On the other
hand, they might be planted at regular intervals with so small an outlay
that their artificial arrangement would be advisable.
The cypress may be extended in a similar manner.
The presence of several varieties of oak would naturally suggest the
introduction of the cork-tree and the species which produces the
valonia, which forms an important article of trade, and is largely used
in England by the tanner. This cup of the acorn of the Quercus aegilops
is extremely rich in tannin, and ranges in price from 20 to 30 pounds
sterling per ton delivered in an English port. It is exported largely
from the Levant, and there can be little doubt that its introduction to
Cyprus would eventually supply a new source of revenue.
The climate and soil of the Troodos mountains would be highly favourable
to the cork-tree,* which would after thirty or forty years become
extremely valuable. The box might be introduced from the mountains of
Spain, also the Spanish chestnut, which for building purposes is
invaluable, as not only practically imperishable, but fire-proof. It is
not generally known that the wood of the Spanish chestnut is so
uninflammable that it requires the aid of other fuel to consume it by
fire; it might be used with great advantage in massive logs for upright
pillars, to support beams of similar wood in warehouses.
(*The cork oak is mentioned in some works on Cyprus as indigenous to the
island; this is a mistake. The ilex is plentiful, but not the cork-tree.)
Although the walnut cannot be classed with forest-trees indigenous to
Cyprus, it flourishes abundantly at a high elevation, ranging from about
2500 to 5000 feet above the sea. At Trooditissa monastery there are
trees that were planted by the hands of the old monk, my informant, only
twenty years ago, which are equal in size to a growth of fifty years in
England. The planting of walnuts should certainly be encouraged, as the
wood is extremely valuable; at the same time that the crop yields an
annual revenue.
The preservation and extension of the woods and forests throughout the
mountainous districts of Cyprus are a simple affair, which only requires
capital and common sense combined with the usual necessary experience.
There are other portions of the island which require a different
treatment.
