Notes on Agriculture in Cyprus and Its Products

Excerpt: ...not yet prepared to deal in it. It has been found resistant to disease, and further efforts are being made to bring it into popular favour. The Ochrus vetch (Lathyrus Ochrus), locally known as louvana, is a fairly common spring crop, being grown for the sake of the seed which provides a favourite Cypriot dish. The leaves are also used as a salad. This crop is sown in the plains in January, but in the Karpas and some other parts it is sown in the autumn. Chick-peas (Cicer arietinum), locally called revithia, grow well and are cultivated to a moderate extent. Samples examined at the Imperial Institute proved to be of normal composition. Two firms of produce brokers in London stated that if quantities of about 5 tons at a time could be delivered in England in as good a condition as the sample they could be sold for human consumption and would be worth (1917) 20 to 24 per ton c.i.f., United Kingdom ports. If of inferior quality to the sample they would be fit only for cattle food and fetch considerably less (see Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, vol. xv. 1917, p. 307). Chick-peas when roasted are locally called koudames and are eaten in the same way as ground-nuts, which they much resemble in flavour. They are little, if at all, used in Cyprus as a cattle food. Pg 55 Potatoes The potato-growing industry in Cyprus has developed considerably in recent years, as will be seen from the subjoined table of exports: Year.Quantity.Value. Cwts. 190912,5863,105 191014,9833,839 191136,2718,472 191245,33610,348 191331,3107,003 191454,20311,741 191582,30428,513 1916136,02774,632 1917224,453101,120 These figures, however, are a very inadequate indication of the actual increase of production, inasmuch as the local consumption of this vegetable before the war was confined almost entirely to the well-to-do residents in the towns, whereas now it is rapidly becoming a staple food of the people. This unascertainable but large local consumption must be added to...