The military road from Limasol might as well be a
railway without any branch traffic, as it is entirely independent of
other roads: thus, should carts be established to convey the wine of the
district to Limasol, they must be loaded by mules that will bring the
produce from the roadless vineyards in the usual manner by goat-skins,
and the wine will be tainted as before. A network of cheap useful
cart-tracks can be easily made throughout the wine districts, and they
MUST be made before any improvement in the quality of the wines can take
place. The goat-skins and the tarred jars must be thrown aside before
any change can be expected: these cannot become obsolete until the
necessary roads for the conveyance of casks shall be completed.
If we regard the present position of the vine-grower, we must advise
him thus:--"The first necessity is to improve your QUALITY, and thus
ensure a higher price. It costs no more either in labour or in plant to
produce a good wine than to continue your present rude method of
production. You may double the value of your wine by an improved system,
without adding materially to your expenses; you will then have a large
margin for profit, which will increase in the same ratio as the quality
of your wine."
The grower will reply, "We must have roads for carts if we are to
substitute barrels for goat-skins. So long as the mule-paths are our
only routes we must adhere to the skins, which we acknowledge are
destructive to the quality of the wine and reduce our profits.
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