REMARKS ON IRRIGATION.
The ancient prosperity of Cyprus must have been due to artificial
irrigation, which ensured a maximum of production, similar to the
inundated lands of Egypt. In the latter country the Nile is a "Salvator
Mundi," without which Egypt would be a simple prolongation of the Nubian
and Libyan deserts, in the absence of a seasonable rainfall. The
difference between the great cereal-producing portion of Cyprus and the
Delta of Egypt is, that, although the plain of Messaria has been formed
chiefly through the action of the Pedias river and other periodical
mountain streams, which have deposited a rich stratum of soil during
inundations, the rivers are merely torrents, or simple conduits, which
carry off the waters of heavy storms, or intervals of rain, and act as
drains in conveying the surplus waters during floods; while at other
times they are absolutely dry.
If the Nile were controlled by a series of weirs or dams, with sluices
to divert the high waters of the period into natural depressions within
the desert, to form reservoirs at high levels for the supply of Egypt in
seasons of scarcity, the command of the water-supply would be far
preferable to the chances of rain in the most favoured country. Water,
like fire, should be the slave of man, to whom it is the first
necessity; therefore his first effort in his struggle with the elements
should reduce this power to vassalage. There must be no question of
supremacy; water must serve mankind.
Many years ago I published, in the Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia, my
ideas for the control of the Nile and the submersion of the cataracts by
a series of weirs, with water-gates for the facility of navigation;
which with certain modifications will some day assuredly be carried out,
and will render Egypt the most favoured country of the world, as
absolute mistress of the river which is now at the same time a tyrant
and a slave. The Pedias of Cyprus may during some terrific rainfall
assume proportions that would convey a most erroneous impression to the
mind of a stranger, who, upon regarding the boiling torrent
overspreading a valley of some miles in width in its impetuous course
towards ancient Salamis, might conclude that it was a river of the first
importance. The fact is that no RIVER exists in Cyprus: what should be
rivers are mere channels, watercourses, brooks, torrents, or any of the
multifarious names for stream-beds that may be discovered in an English
dictionary. At the same time that the natural channels are dry during
the summer months, through the want of power in the water-head to
overcome the absorption of the porous soil throughout its course, it
must not be forgotten that a certain supply exists at the fountain head,
within practicable distance, which might be stored and led from the
mountains to the lower lands for the purposes of irrigation. When we
reflect that in the proverbially wet climate of England there is a
considerable difficulty in assuring a supply of wholesome water, and
that the various water companies have made enormous profits, it is not
surprising that in a neglected island like Cyprus there should be
distress in the absence of abundant rain. The uninitiated in England
seldom appreciate the labour and expenditure that has supplied the
response to the simple turning of a tap within an ordinary house. If
they would follow the artificial stream from the small leaden pipe to
the distant reservoir, they would discover that a glen or valley has
been walled in by a stupendous dam, which imprisons a hill-rivulet
before it can have descended to the impurities of habitations, and that
the pressure of waters thus stored at an elevated level forces a supply
to a town at a distance of many miles. This same principle might be
adopted in numerous localities among the mountains of Cyprus, where the
streams are perennial, but are now exhausted by the absorption of the
sandy beds before they have time to reach the villages in the lower
lands. Iron pipes might be laid to convey a water-supply to certain
districts, upon which a rate would be levied per acre and the crops
would be ensured.
The government at the present moment obtains a revenue in kind, or in a
money valuation of the corn taken at the threshing-floor; thus in the
absence of a crop through drought, or other accident, the revenue
suffers directly together with the owner: no crop, no revenue. The main
strength of a country lies in an annual income free from serious
fluctuations, and the extreme instability of Cyprus is the result of the
peculiar uncertainty of seasons which is a special feature in its
meteorological condition. It is therefore incumbent upon the government,
as an act of self-preservation, to take such measures of precaution as
will render certain the supply of water, which is all that is required
to ensure the average produce of the soil, and thereby to sustain the
revenue.
I do not indulge in engineering details, but, from the experience I have
gained by a personal examination of the localities, I am convinced that
no difficulty whatever exists that would not be overcome with a very
moderate outlay. The mountains are admirably situated, with a watershed
upon all sides, thus offering the greatest facilities for reservoirs and
pipes that would radiate in every direction. This subject will demand a
careful inquiry by hydraulic engineers, as it is a special branch of the
profession that requires wide experience, and large sums may be
fruitlessly expended through ignorance, where a trifling amount well
administered might achieve great results.
One of the first necessary steps in an examination of the subterranean
water-supply of Cyprus will be "borings" that will test the existence
of artesian springs. There are in many portions of the island extensive
plateaux at high altitudes that would absorb a considerable rainfall, in
addition to a large superficial area of mountains and hills that would
exert the requisite pressure to force the water above the surface of a
lower level upon boring, should it now lie beneath some impervious
stratum. Boring will alone solve this question. Should artesian wells be
practicable in certain localities, an immense blessing will be conferred
upon the island.
In the meantime the native method already described, of connecting
chains of wells from different springs converging to a main channel or
subterranean tunnel, is an original form of Cyprian engineering
thoroughly understood by the population, which should be strenuously
encouraged. It is a common fault among English people to ignore the
value of native methods, and to substitute some costly machinery which
requires skilled labour and expense in working; this must in time get
out of order and necessitate delay and extra outlay in repairs;
generally at a period when the machine is most required.
It is a curious fact that the shadoof or lever and bucket worked by
hand, which is so generally used throughout Egypt, is unknown in Cyprus,
where in many localities it would be easily worked when water is within
five to eight feet of the surface. This arrangement only requires a pole
of about twenty feet in length supported upon an upright post, so as to
play like a pump-handle by the balance of a weight attached to one end
to counterbalance the pail of water suspended to a long stick and short
rope at the other extremity. In Egypt the weight at the short end is
merely a mass of clay tempered with chopped straw beaten together to
represent about 150 lbs. or whatever may be required; this adheres, and
forms a knob to the end of the lever.
A man holds the long thin stick suspended at the other extremity to
which the bucket is attached, and pulls it down hand over hand until the
utensil is immersed in the water; when full, it is so nearly
counterbalanced by the weight at the end of the lever that a very slight
exertion raises it to the desired level, where it is emptied into a
receiver. Many years ago, when at Gondokoro, I arranged a double shadoof
of parallel levers and two galvanised iron buckets of four gallons each,
worked by two men. I timed the labour of this simple machine, and proved
that the two men delivered 3600 gallons within an hour. The men exerted
themselves to a degree that could not have been continued throughout the
day, and the buckets, of English make, were far more capacious than the
simple leather stretched upon a hoop of sticks that is used in Egypt;
but there is no reason for such inferior adjuncts. It may be safely
assumed that with proper appliances the double shadoof, worked by two
men, will deliver 2000 gallons an hour for a working day of six active
hours, or a total of 12,000 gallons. In Cyprus the wages of a labourer
are one shilling a day, therefore the cost of raising 12,000 gallons
would be only two shillings, provided the water is only five feet from
the surface. There are many portions of the Messaria plain where the
water is even nearer, but the shadoof could work profitably at six, and
even at eight feet, and it possesses the advantage of such extreme
cheapness of original cost that the outlay is insignificant.
Where fuel is expensive, and cattle and human labour cheap, the ancient
Egyptian water-wheel will deliver a supply at a cheaper rate than steam.
It has the merit of being always ready; there is no delay in lighting
fires and getting up the steam; there is no expensive engineer who may
be sick or absent when required; but the wheel is turned either by night
or day by mules or oxen, driven by a child. Wind vanes might be attached
to this principle, and could be connected on favourable occasions.
The peculiarity throughout the lower levels in Cyprus (specially
exhibited in the plain of Messaria) of a water-supply within a few feet
of the surface, at the same time that the crops may be perishing from
drought, is in favour of the general adoption of the Egyptian wheel.
Although this simple construction is one of the oldest inventions for
raising water, and is generally understood, I may be excused for
describing it when upon the important topic of irrigation.
A large pit is sunk to about three feet below the level of the water,
and should the earth not be sufficiently tenacious for self-support, the
sides are walled with masonry; this pit would usually be about twenty
feet long, four feet wide, and twenty feet deep for a first-class wheel.
When the wooden wheel of about seventeen feet diameter has been fixed
upon its horizontal shaft, it is arranged with a chain of large earthen
jars; those of Egypt contain about three gallons each, but the Cyprian
pots are very inferior, scarcely exceeding the same number of quarts.
These jars are secured upon a double line of stiff ropes formed in
Cyprus of the long twisted wands of myrtle, which are exceedingly tough,
and are substitutes for willows in basket-work. When completed, the
chain resembles a rope ladder, with the numerous jars sufficiently close
together to represent spokes separated by about sixteen inches. This is
suspended over the edge of the wheel, and hangs vertically; the lower
portion of this necklace-like arrangement being about three feet below
the water, or as near the bottom as is possible with safety to the jars.
When the wheel turns the necklace of pots must of necessity obey the
movement, and as they dip successively and fill in the deep water, they
in turn rise to the surface with the revolutions of the wheel; upon
passing the centre they invert, and empty their contents into a large
trough connected with a reservoir capable of containing many hundred
hogsheads. A circular chain or ladder of twenty feet diameter will
contain about twenty jars of three gallons each--equalling a delivery
of about two and a half gallons per jar, as there is generally a loss of
water during the movement; therefore one complete revolution of the
wheel would deliver fifty gallons into the reservoir.
The wheel is turned by a simple contrivance of wooden cogs and drivers,
worked by a long revolving lever, to which, for a powerful machine such
as I have described, a pair of mules or oxen would be necessary. A child
sits upon the pole or lever and keeps the animals to their work.
There is no specified limit to the depth at which this instrument can
work, as it must depend upon the length of chain and the number of jars,
which of course increase the weight and strain upon the machinery and
animals. In Cyprus, where the water is generally near the surface, the
advantages are obvious, and I feel convinced that no modern invention is
so well adapted for the Cypriote cultivator.
The cost of erection of such a machine complete, together with the
sinking of the pit, is calculated, at an average of localities, as 12
pounds; a pair of oxen will cost 10 pounds: thus the water-wheel in
working order will amount to 22 pounds. One wheel will irrigate eighty
donums, or about forty acres of cereals, but the same instrument would
only suffice for about six acres of garden ground, which requires a more
constant supply of water. It may therefore be understood that in
calculating the power of a water-wheel, various conditions must be
considered, and I shall confine myself to the farm, upon which it will
be necessary to establish one water-wheel or sakyeeah for every forty
acres; this entails a first outlay of eleven shillings per acre; and at
once ensures the crop and renders the farmer independent of the seasons.
But including the cost of constructing the numerous water-channels of
clay to conduct the stream to the desired fields, together with the
expense of erecting the reservoirs of masonry upon a sufficient scale, I
should raise the original outlay for irrigation by cattle-wheels to 20
shillings per acre (1 pound). This would include the services of a pair
of oxen for other work when the sakyeeah should not be required.* (*The
wheel I have described is double the power of those in general use in
Cyprus, where a single animal works the sakyeeah, and it would irrigate
a larger acreage.) According to this calculation, which exceeds by a
large margin the figures given to me by several native farmers, the
owner of a hundred acres must only expend 100 pounds to ensure his
annual crops! To us this appears nothing, but to the Cypriote it is
everything. Where is he to obtain one hundred pounds? To him the sum is
enormous and overpowering.
In times of scarcity, which unfortunately are the general conditions of
the country, owing to the deficiency of rain, the farmer must borrow
money not only for the current expenses of his employment, but for the
bare sustenance of his family; he has recourse to the usurer, and
henceforth becomes his slave. The rate of interest may be anything that
can be imagined when extortion acts upon one side while poverty and
absolute famine are the petitioners. The farm, together with the stock,
are mortgaged, and the expected crops for a stipulated number of seasons
are made over to the usurer at a fixed sum per measure of corn, far
below the market price. Another bad season adds to the crushing burden,
and after a few years, when the unfortunate landowner is completely
overwhelmed with debt, perchance one of the happy years arrives when
propitious rains in the proper season bring forth the grand
cereal-producing power of Cyprus, and the wheat and barley, six feet
high, wave over the green surface throughout the island. The yield of
one such abundant crop almost releases the debtor from his misery;
another year would free him from the usurer; but rarely or never are two
favourable seasons consecutive; the abundant harvest is generally
followed by several years of drought. This pitiable position may be
quickly changed by government assistance without the slightest risk.
The first necessity is capital, and the usurer must disappear from the
scene. I do not think that an agricultural bank will be practically
worked, as the value of money in the east is above 6 per cent., which is
the maximum that the Cyprian cultivator should pay. The government must
advance loans for the special erection of water-wheels, or other methods
of irrigation, at 6 per cent., taking a mortgage of the land as their
security; this loan upon water-works to take precedence of all others.
The government can borrow at 4 per cent., and will lend at 6, which is
not a bad beginning for a national bank. The water-wheels can be
constructed in a few weeks, and their effect would be IMMEDIATE; there
would be no doubtful interval of years, but the very first season would
leave the cultivator in a position to repay the loan; at the same time,
the government would reap the direct benefit of a certain revenue from
the irrigated and assured production of the land.
This is no visionary theory; the fact is already patent in the few farms
belonging to wealthy land-owners that I have already described, as
exhibiting the simple power of a few water-wheels to produce abundance,
while upon the margin of such verdant examples the country is absolutely
desert, parched and withered by a burning sun, yielding nothing either
to the owner or to the revenue, while at the same time the water-supply
is only four or five yards beneath the feet of the miserable proprietor,
who has neither capital nor power to raise it to the surface.
There is no necessity for the government to embark in any uncertain
enterprise, neither should they interfere with the native methods of
irrigation; and above all things, no money should leave the island to
fill the pockets of English contractors in the purchase of pumps, or
other inventions. All that is required by the Cypriote is capital; lend
him the money at 6 per cent.: the government will be saved all trouble,
and the profit to all parties will be assured. The money expended in the
erection of water-wheels or other works will circulate throughout the
island in the payment of native labour, and will relieve the wants of
many who, in the absence of land, must earn their livelihood by manual
labour. "Water!" is the cry throughout this neglected island; it has
been the cry in Eastern lands from time immemorial, when in the thirsty
desert Moses smote the rock, and the stream gushed forth for multitudes;
when Elijah mocked the priests of Baal with, "Call him louder!" in their
vain appeal for rain, and the "little cloud, no bigger than a man's
hand," rose upon the horizon in answer to his prayer. In the savage
tribes of Africa, the "rain-maker" occupies the position of priest and
chief. In England, the clergy offer prayers for either rain or for fine
weather. In Cyprus the farmer places the small picture of the Virgin
upon his field, before which he lights his tapers, which the wind
extinguishes; at the same time THE WATER-SUPPLY IS CLOSE BENEATH HIS
FEET, and the expenditure of a few pounds sterling would produce a
permanent blessing and uninterrupted prosperity by practical common
sense and labour, without any miraculous interposition in his behalf.
There are few countries where such facilities exist for irrigation, and
the work should be commenced without delay. Should next year be one of
drought like the spring of 1879, the greatest misery will befall the
population; there is already sufficient disappointment in the want of
progress since the British occupation, and the feeling will be
intensified should the assistance of government be withheld in this
crying necessity of artificial irrigation.
The Cypriote well-sinker is wonderfully clever in discovering springs,
and I have already described the method of multiplying the water-power
of one source by securing and concentrating the neighbouring sources.
This work only requires money, and the inhabitants, without further
assistance than loans secured by a water-rate upon the district, will
rapidly develop the natural supply. There should be a special commission
appointed, in each of the six districts of Cyprus, to investigate and
report officially upon this subject. In forming the commission, care
should be taken that the native element should predominate, and that no
enthusiastic English engineer, blooming with new schemes, should thrust
into shadow the Cyprian intelligence upon the working of their own
systems. If I were an English engineer employed in any work, I should
probably have the natural failing of enforcing my own opinions; but from
many years' experience I have come to the conclusion that the
inhabitants of a country are generally better qualified than strangers
for giving practical opinions upon their own locations. There is plenty
of intelligence in Cyprus; the people are not savages, but their fault
is poverty, the natural inheritance of Turkish rule; and we, the
English, have the power to make them rich, and to restore the ancient
importance of the island. In England, at the time that I am writing,
money is not worth 2 per cent. owing to the general depression of trade;
the money-market has been in this plethoric or dropsical state for the
last three years, and there appears to be no hope upon the commercial
horizon of a favourable change. In Cyprus the resources are great, but
the capital is wanting, and the strange anomaly is presented that the
exchange of the British for the Turkish flag has not increased public
confidence. Something must be done to change the present stupor; if
Cypriotes were Candians (Cretans) their voices would be forcibly heard,
and the Turkish rule beneath the British uniform would be quickly
overthrown. The Cypriote, down-trodden for centuries, is like sodden
tinder that will not awaken to the spark: he is what is called "easily
governed;" which means an abject race, in which all noble aspirations
have been stamped out by years of unremitting oppression and injustice;
still, like the Cyprian ox, he ploughs the ground. It is the earth alone
that yields the world's wealth: if we have no other thoughts but
avarice, let us treat the Cypriote as we should his animal, and make him
a wealth-producer. England has acquired the reputation of the civiliser
of the world; it is in this character that we were expected to effect a
magic change in the position of Cyprus; instead of which we have
hitherto presented a miserable result of half-measures, where
irresolution has reduced the brilliant picture of our widely-trumpeted
political surprise to a dull "arrangement in whitey-brown" . . . which
is the pervading tint of the Cyprian surface in the absence of
artificial irrigation.