prickly species of wild thyme: this is always sought for, and at all
times responds to the match.

The first night is always novel, in spite of old experiences. We pricked
our hands in raking up thorny plants, but a useful implement, which
combined the broad hoe on one side with a light pick on the other,
lessened our labour, and we produced a blaze; this was bright but
transient, as the fuel was unsubstantial. The dinner was quickly warmed,
as it consisted of tins of preserved meats; and, climbing up the ladder,
the gipsy van presented such a picture of luxury that if the world were
girded by a good road instead of a useless equator I should like to be
perpetually circum-vanning it.

On the following morning the thermometer marked 40 degrees. The natives
were early at work, ploughing land that was to remain fallow until the
following season. The oxen were sleek and in good condition, and not
inferior in weight to the well-known red animals of North Devon.
Although the native plough is of the unchanged and primitive pattern
that is illustrated on the walls of Egyptian temples, it is well adapted
for the work required in the rough and stony ground of Cyprus. I was
surprised to see the depth which these exceedingly light implements
attained, with apparent ease to the pair of oxen; this was not less than
eight inches, and the furrows were regular, but not turned completely
over. The ploughshare is not adapted for cutting the roots of weeds by
means of a flat surface and a sharp edge, but the rounded top of the
native iron passes beneath the soil and breaks it up like the wave
produced by the ram-bow of a vessel. The plough, when complete, does not
exceed forty pounds in weight, and it is conveniently carried, together
with the labourer, upon the same donkey, when travelling from a distance
to the morning's work. European settlers in Cyprus should be cautious