The Land, Which Is Now Almost Valueless,
Owing To The Uncertainty Of Inundations, Would Be Rendered Fruitful, And
By An Arrangement Of Cattle-Wheels The Irrigation Could Always Be
Ensured, As The Water Exists Within Five Feet Of The Present Surface.
At
this moment, neither drains are made, nor any control of nature is
exercised by the fever-stricken population, who trust entirely to the
uncertain chances of the seasons.
We have an example in the original
fens of Lincolnshire, which, by a system of drainage, have been brought
into agricultural value; a series of large and deep open ditches, such
as are seen in every marsh or river-meadow throughout England, would
not only drain the surface of the Famagousta delta, but would supply the
water, to be raised by cattle-lifts and wind-pumps, for the purposes of
irrigation. There is much work for the agricultural engineer, but if
this important enterprise is seriously commenced the future results will
well repay the outlay.
Some persons have attributed the cause of unhealthiness to the existence
of the trenches made by the Turks during the siege in 1571, which are
considered to emit malarious exhalations. I do not think so; all these
low levels, surrounded by high banks which protect the crops from wind,
are most carefully cultivated with beans, cereals, cotton, and garden
produce, and I do not believe that successful gardens are malarious, but
only those localities where water is allowed to become stagnant, in
which case cultivation must be a failure.
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