Cyprus, as I Saw It in 1879Baker, Samuel White, Sir
History
Cyprus, as I Saw It in 1879
Baker, Samuel White, Sir
Cyprus -- Description and travel
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.
It is the fashion to accredit every portion of Cyprus as tree-bearing in
its early history, but if the student will compare the large population
reported to have existed at that time with the superficial area of the
island, it will be plainly seen that a very large proportion must have
been under cultivation, otherwise supplies must have been imported. I
have before mentioned my opinion that the hard bare surface of the
denuded cretaceous hills could never have borne timber, neither do I
believe in the traditions concerning forests in the plain of Messaria,
for the simple reason that it must have been the cereal-producing area
of the island.
The ancient forests must have existed where the vestiges remain to the
present day, in which localities the natural inclination of the soil is
to produce trees, which are still represented, in spite of the hideous
destruction perpetrated by the inhabitants during many centuries. These
positions include the entire Carpas district, together with the long
range of compact limestone mountains forming the northern wall of the
island, the northern coast and western, comprising the country between
Poli-ton-Khrysokhus, and Baffo, and the central and coast-line from
Baffo to Limasol, with exceptions of lands here and there cultivated
with cereals. The greater portion of the mountains that are now occupied
with vineyards were originally forests, which have been cleared
specially for the cultivation of the vine. I have seen ground at an
elevation of 4800 feet where the vineyards originally existed upon
cleared forest soil, which, having been abandoned, is relapsing into its
former state, becoming more or less covered with pines as birds may have
dropped the seeds, or the cones may have been driven from higher
altitudes by wind and rain.
The question that must now be determined is this: "What portions of the
island are to be restored to forest?" Any person who has carefully
examined the country can reply without hesitation, "Plant all useless
lands with trees; those useless lands are already more or less covered
with bush or woods, and denote their own position, in the Carpas, the
Troodos, and all mountain and hill ranges."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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