I Was
Surprised To See The Depth Which These Exceedingly Light Implements
Attained, With Apparent Ease To The Pair Of Oxen; This Was Not Less Than
Eight Inches, And The Furrows Were Regular, But Not Turned Completely
Over.
The ploughshare is not adapted for cutting the roots of weeds by
means of a flat surface and a sharp edge, but the rounded top of the
native iron passes beneath the soil and breaks it up like the wave
produced by the ram-bow of a vessel.
The plough, when complete, does not
exceed forty pounds in weight, and it is conveniently carried, together
with the labourer, upon the same donkey, when travelling from a distance
to the morning's work. European settlers in Cyprus should be cautious
before superseding the native plough by the massive European pattern;
there are certain soils where the powerful iron plough, or even the
double implement, might be worked with advantage, but as a general rule
I should advise an agriculturist to wait patiently at the commencement
of his operations, and to gain practical experience of the country
before he expends capital in the purchase of European inventions. There
can be no doubt that by degrees important improvements may be introduced
that will benefit the Cypriote farmer, although it will be long before
his primitive method will be abandoned. The great difficulty in Cyprus
consists in reducing the soil to a fine surface; huge lumps of tenacious
earth are turned up by the plough, which, under the baking influence of
the sun, become as hard as sun-dried bricks.
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