Upon The Highest Altitudes There Is Not
A Dwarf Shrub To Cover The Surface Of The Loose Coffee-Coloured Rocks,
Where in the winter the snow accumulates to a depth of twenty feet, yet
there we find the pines and
Cypress in their greatest vigour; but even
to these solitary heights the Cypriote has penetrated with his unsparing
axe, and has created a desolation that must be seen to be understood.
There is no sight so exasperating as this uncalled-for destruction; it
is beyond all belief, and when the amount of labour is considered that
must have been expended in this indiscriminate attack upon forest-trees
THAT ARE LEFT TO ROT UPON THE GROUND where they have fallen, the object
of the attack is at first sight inconceivable. The sight of a mountain
pine-forest in Cyprus would convey the impression that an enemy who had
conquered the country had determined to utterly destroy it, even to the
primaeval forests; he had therefore felled, and left to rot, the greater
portion of the trees; but finding the labour beyond his means, he had
contented himself with barking, ringing, and hacking at the base of the
remainder, to ensure their ultimate destruction.
The extreme heights of Troodos, shoulders and head, are about 6300 feet
above the sea, from which altitude the pines and cypress descend to
within 1500 feet of the level. There are rough native mule-paths
throughout the mountains, and the sure-footed animals will carry a man
with ease where walking would be most fatiguing, owing to the loose
rocks and smaller stones, which cover every inch of the surface.
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