These Gardens Commence Just Outside The Walls, And, Running Parallel With The Sea Below The Large Village Of Varoschia, Extend For About Two Miles Along The Shore.

Oranges, lemons, pomegranates, apricots, figs, prickly pears and mulberry-trees, are the chief products, and it was here that we obtained the largest and best oranges that I had tasted in the island; generally this fruit is much inferior to the varieties imported into England.

The pomegranates of Cyprus are very celebrated, and are exported to Egypt, but it is a fruit that is not generally appreciated by Europeans. There are extensive gardens inland, but they do not convey the idea of "gardens" as understood by Englishmen, but are merely dense groves of various fruit-trees, irrigated by a cattle-wheel, and planted with an utter disregard of all taste or arrangement.

The large village, or town of Varoschia is an important adjunct to Famagousta, from which it is hardly separated. It was originally founded by the Venetian Christians, who were expelled from Famagousta after the Turkish conquest. There is a large Greek Church, extensive bazaars, and several manufactures of pottery, for which the locality is celebrated. We saw a vessel loading in the harbour entirely with these--jars, water-bottles, dishes, &c.--but the earthen-ware is of a coarse description, and the quality of the clay does not admit of sufficient porosity for the purpose of cooling water or of filtering, like the Egyptian ware; at the same time it is not sufficiently impervious for the retention of wine or oil without a considerable loss by absorption. Varoschia has been always celebrated for a large production of a high quality of silk, but the quantity has fallen off, as in all other parts of the island. There are some good houses in this thriving and busy little town, and it is said that decent accommodation may be had; but I preferred the cleanliness and independence of our own tent.

Varoschia is not much healthier than Famagousta, as it suffers from the same cause, in addition to an enormous accumulation of filth on the heights at the rear of the town. If this were carefully stored to manure the numerous gardens, it would be profitably utilised; but it belongs to nobody in particular, and is a public nuisance. A fine should be inflicted upon the municipal authorities in the sanitary interests of the population, and the refuse of the neighbourhood should be periodically collected into heaps and burned. Captain Inglis and the various British officials moved their quarters from Famagousta to the healthy village of Derinia, about three miles distant, during our stay near Varoschia. The new station is to the south-west of the port, and completely beyond the influence of the marshes, the elevation being about 250 feet above the sea. Should this locality become a permanently healthy settlement, the sanitary difficulty of our position will be considerably modified, as the troops might be quartered at Derinia in time of peace, and even during war they would be immediately within call.

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