Great quantities of mastic bushes covered the surface between the pines,
and even these exhibited the continual attacks of the woodcutter's
grubbing-axe, which had torn up the roots, in addition to the stems, for
the requirements of the lime-burner. The red soil is so propitious to
the growth of pines that, in spite of the unremitting destruction, the
ground was covered with young plants, self-sown from the fallen cones.
If these young forests were protected for twelve or fourteen years, the
surface would again be restored to the original woodland that once
ornamented this portion of the island. Under the present conditions of
Cyprus all wholesome laws and enactments are practically ridiculed by
the inhabitants, as there are no foresters or keepers to enforce the
orders of the government. A governor may sit upon the top of Olympus and
issue wise decrees like Jupiter, but unfortunately he does not possess
the thunderbolts, as the country is so poor that it cannot afford to pay
the salaries necessary for the support of foresters and the officers
required for this special department. I myself met droves of donkeys and
mules loaded with wood and accompanied by their owners with their
destructive axes, all wending their way through the forest to the town
of Morphu, which is thus supplied with fuel for baking, cooking, lime-
burning, and all other purposes.
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