Bulbs of the local squill were submitted in 1917 to Kew and provisionally identified as _Urginea Scilla._ Like the asphodel, this root is found everywhere. If sliced and placed about the house they are said to drive away mice. It was intended by the Agricultural Department to make an attempt to find a market for these roots, in the hope that if they could obtain a small payment for them farmers might be induced to collect them off their lands, but the project had to be abandoned for the time owing to the war. There is a small demand for these roots, if sliced and dried, in Europe for medicinal purposes. Squill bulbs from Cyprus were examined at the Imperial Institute in 1916 (see BULLETIN OF THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE, vol. xv. 1917, p. 311). The samples, which were submitted to a firm of drug manufacturers, were objected to on account of their dark colour, and were valued at about 6_d._ per lb. as against a pre-war value of 3_d._ per lb. According to the report by the Imperial Institute there are two varieties of _Urginea Scilla,_ white and red, the scales of the former being yellowish-white and those of the latter having a reddish tint, and there are also many intermediate forms. Though the red and the white varieties have been stated to possess equal medicinal value, the white variety is preferred in England. In making stone irrigation channels which are lined with a coating of lime and sand or earth, local masons sometimes rub over this lining with a sliced squill which has been dipped in oil. It is found that this tends to harden and glaze the lining and prevent it from cracking. _Colocynth or Bitter Apple_ The colocynth (_Citrullus Colocynthis_), locally called "pikrankoura" or "petrankoura," grows wild in some parts of the plains. The round yellowish-green fruit, about the size of an orange or small melon, ripens in July to September and, after being gathered, is skinned and dried in the sun. It is used by druggists as a purgative. Until about ten years ago it was cultivated on a small scale and an annual export of about £400 in value took place, chiefly to England and Austria. It was then in demand, it is said, as an adulterant of quinine. The fruit is locally thought to be a remedy for rheumatism. For this purpose the fruits are picked and put in a saucepan and covered with olive oil. After cooking for six hours the pulp or ointment is rubbed into the affected part. The European demand having ceased, the plant is now only found in a wild state. _Asphodel_