At The Present Time, And For Many Years Past, Alexandria Has Been
Supplied With All Fruits From Jaffa, Beyrout, And
Various ports on the
coast of Syria, but there is no reason why Cyprus should not eventually
monopolise the trade,
If special attention shall be bestowed (by the
suggested department of Woods and Forests) upon the qualities and
cultivation whenever an arrangement for an extension of planting shall
be carried out. I have never seen any fruits of high quality in Cyprus,
but they are generally most inferior, owing to the neglect of grafting,
and the overcrowding of the trees. The cherries which grow in the
villages from 2500 to 4500 feet above the sea are taken down to Limasol
and the principal towns for sale, but they are small and tasteless,
although red and bright in colour. They grow in large quantities, and
are never attacked by birds which render the crop precarious in England,
and necessitate the expense of netting; should the best varieties be
introduced, every natural advantage exists for their cultivation.
The apricots are not much larger than chestnuts, and would be classed as
"wild fruit," from the extreme inferiority of size and flavour; but
there is no reason except neglect for the low quality of a delicious
species of fruit that seems from the luxuriant growth of the tree to be
specially adapted to the soil and climate. It is useless to enumerate
the varieties of fruits that are brought to market; all are inferior,
excepting grapes and lemons.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 381 of 524
Words from 103816 to 104069
of 143016
