Hide, that
were as dear to me as my rifle, were almost cut to pieces.
There was a terrible picture of destruction throughout the forests of
Troodos. Near the summit, the pines and cypress were of large growth,
but excepting the cypress, there were scarcely any trees unscathed, and
the ground was covered by magnificent spars that were felled only to rot
upon the surface.
I was not sorry to arrive at the shepherd's hut upon the ridge
overhanging the monastery upon my return. The good wife was as usual
busy in making cheeses from the goat's milk, which is a very important
occupation throughout Cyprus. The curd was pressed into tiny baskets
made of myrtle wands, which produced a cheese not quite so large as a
man's fist. I think these dry and tasteless productions of the original
Cyprian dairy uneatable, unless grated when old and hard; but among the
natives they are highly esteemed, and form a considerable article of
trade and export. Cesnola mentions that 2,000,000 (two million) cheeses
per annum are made in Cyprus of this small kind, which weigh from half a
pound to three-quarters. I have frequently met droves of donkeys heavily
laden with panniers filled with these small cheeses, which, although
representing important numbers, become insignificant when computed by
weight.
During our stay at Trooditissa we occasionally obtained eels from a man
who caught them in the stream at the base of the mountains; this is the
only fresh-water fish in Cyprus that is indigenous. Some persons have
averred that the gold-fish dates its origin from this island; this is a
mistake, as it is not found elsewhere than in ornamental ponds and
cisterns in the principal towns. It is most probable that it was
introduced by the Venetians who traded with the far East, and it may
have arrived from China.
The streams below the mountains contain numerous crabs of a small
species seldom larger than two inches and a half across the shell, to a
maximum of three inches; these are in season until the middle of June,
after which they become light and empty. When alive they are a brownish
green, but when boiled they are the colour of the ordinary crab, and are
exceedingly full in flesh, and delicate. The shell is extremely hard
compared to the small size, and the claws must be broken by a sharp blow
with the back of a knife upon a block.
We frequently had them first boiled and then pounded in a mortar to a
paste, then mixed with boiling water and strained through a sieve; after
which cream should be added, together with the required seasonings for a
soup. I imagine that the common green crabs of the English coasts, which
are caught in such numbers and thrown away by the fishermen, would be
almost as good if treated in the same manner for potage.
