atissimum_), which began to develop
some twenty years ago, has declined during the last ten years or so. The
reasons for this are that it is considered to exhaust the soil, the
later handling of the crop for fibre is troublesome and the market is
liable to rather violent fluctuations. It grows well in the Messaoria
plain, and when chemical manures are more generally used it may come
more into favour. Attempts have been made to improve the quality by the
introduction of Riga flax seed, but so far without success. There is a
small export of linseed, but owing to the primitive methods of winnowing
and cleaning it does not fetch the best price. The quality of the
cleaned seed is excellent. Knowledge and care are needed in picking the
crop at exactly the right time. The imperfect methods of general
cultivation prevent the uniform ripening of the seed, and this means an
uneven and unsatisfactory sample. Defective screening accounts for the
presence in excess of foreign substances, weed seeds, etc. These
difficulties are capable of remedy, and it may reasonably be hoped that
when once overcome the cultivation will be extended.

In Cyprus the cultivation is the same whether intended for seed or
fibre, and consequently the latter is of an inferior quality, as is
indicated in a report on Cyprus flax published in the BULLETIN OF THE
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE (vol. vi. 1908, p. 4). Seed is sown in
November-December at the rate of 17 to 22 okes per donum. Retting is
done by steeping in the large stone irrigation tanks which are a feature
on most farms. In the Messaoria, about Ano and Kato Zodia, where flax is
commonly grown, the plant is retted in the river Ovgos, which retains
sufficient water usually until August. The yield per donum varies from
100 to 300 okes of seed, 80 to 100 okes of fibre and 50 to 70 okes of
tow.

_Wool_

The exports of wool for the three last pre-war years were as follows:

Year. Quantity. Value.
_Cwts._ L
1911 . . . . 5,535 13,452
1912 . . . . 4,627 11,362
1913 . . . . 4,707 12,181

This went chiefly to France, and next, though in much smaller
quantities, to Italy.

The wool is of moderate quality; this is partly due to the breed of
sheep and partly to the conditions under which they are kept. Attempts
have been made by the Agricultural Department to impress on the native
breeders the necessity of keeping the sheep well fed, and experiments