,the ,khedive's ,country1 by ,george    
,manville ,fenn4     ,,the ,,khedive',s 
,,country1 ,,by ,,george ,,manville     
,,fenn4    ,,chapter ,,one4  ,man's     
oldest pursuit was undoubtedly the      
tilling of the soil4  ,he may in his    
earliest beginnings have combined       
therewith a certain amount of hunting   
while he was waiting for his crops to   
grow1 and was forced into seeking wild  
fruits and turning up and experimenting 
on the various forms of root1 learning1 
too1 doubtless with plenty of bitter    
punishment1 to distinguish between the  
good and nutritious and the poisonous   
and bad4  ,as a matter of course1 a     
certain amount of fighting would ensue4 
,wild animals would be encountered1 or  
fellow savages would resent his         
intrusion upon lands where the acorns   
were most plentiful1 or some tasty form 
of fungus grew4  ,but whether from      
natural bent or necessity1 as well as   
from his beginnings recorded in the     
ancient ,book1 he was a gardener1 and   

the natural outcome of gardening was1 as
 ideas expanded1 his becoming a farmer4 
,the world has gone rolling on1 and many
 changes have taken place1 but these    
pursuits remain unaltered4  ,the love of
 a garden seems to be inborn2 and though
 probably there are children who have   
never longed to have one of their own1  
they are rarities1 for of whichever sex 
they be1 the love of this form of nature
 still remains4  ,there are those who   
garden or farm for pleasure1 and there  
are those1 of course1 who1 either on a  
large or small scale1 cultivate the soil
 for profit1 while the grades between   
are innumerable4  ,but here in ,england1
 towards the end of such a season as we 
have had--one that may be surely termed 
a record--one is tempted to say1 ,where 
does the pleasure or the profit come in8
  ,certainly during the present period1 
or cycle1 or whatever it may be termed1 
the ,english climate is deteriorating4  
,joined to that assertion is the patent 
fact that the produce of the garden and 

farm has largely gone down in price     
through the cheapness of the foreign    
imports thrown upon the market1 and the 
man with small or large capital who     
looks forward to making a modest living 
out of the land1 without any dreams of  
fortune1 may well pause before          
proceeding to invest his bawbees1 and   
ask himself1 ,where shall ,i go8        
,thousands have debated this question   
for generations1 with the result that   
the ,antipodes have been turned into    
,anglo-,saxon farms2 ,van ,diemen's     
,land has become another ,england1 with 
its meadows1 hedgerows1 and orchards2   
,new ,zealand1 the habitat of tree-fern 
and pine1 has been transformed4  ,even  
the very surface has changed1 and the   
land that in the past hardly boasted a  
four-footed animal is now rich in its   
cattle2 while ,australia1 the dry and   
shadowless1 the country of downs1 has   
been made alive with flocks1 its produce
 mainly tallow and wool till modern     
enterprise and chemistry rendered it    

possible for the frozen mutton to reach 
,england untainted after its long voyage
 across the tropics to our homes4  ,to  
keep to the temperate or cold regions1  
the name of ,canada or the great        
,north-,west springs up as does the corn
 which fills our granaries2 while the   
more enterprising cultivators of the    
soil1 who have had souls above the      
ordinary plodding of the farmer's       
life--the fancy tillers1 so to          
speak--with the tendency towards        
gardening1 produced our sugar from the  
,west ,indies and ,british ,guiana1 and 
tobacco and cotton from the ,southern   
,states1 long ere the ,stars and        
,stripes waved overhead2 while1 to      
journey eastward1 the gardens have      
flourished in ,india and ,ceylon with   
indigo1 spices1 and coffee2 and later   
on1 wherever suitable slopes and        
terraces were found1 the ,briton has    
planted the attractive glossy-leaved tea
 shrub1 until the trade with ,china for 
its fragrant popular produce has waned4 

,there are plenty of lands of promise   
for the cultivator1 unfortunately too   
often speculative and burdened by doubt4
  ,they are frequently handicapped by   
distance1 extremes of climate1 and      
unsuitability to the ,british           
constitution4  ,as in the past1 too1    
imagination often plays its part1 and   
the would-be emigrant hankers after     
something new1 in spite of the cloud of 
possible failure that may hover on his  
horizon4  ,there is1 of course1 a great 
attraction in the unknown1 and untried  
novelty is always tempting4  ,but1 on   
the other side1 there is the old and    
safe1 the cultivation of a land which in
 the past has been world-famed for its  
never-failing produce1 its mighty       
granaries1 and its vast fertility1 that 
can be traced back for thousands of     
years1 whose soil1 far from becoming    
exhausted1 is ever being renewed1 and   
which at the present time is undergoing 
a transformation that will make its     
produce manifold4  ,of course1 the      

country which contains these qualities  
is the familiar old land of ,egypt1 the 
dominion of the ,khedive1 which1 in     
spite of its wondrous fertility1 has had
 little attraction for the earnest      
cultivator of the earth4  ,it has been  
the granary of the world for ages2 but  
its cultivation has been left to its own
 people1 who have gone on with their    
old-time barbaric tillage1 leaving      
,nature1 in her lavish bounteousness1 to
 do the rest4  ,in every way wonderful  
changes are coming over ,egypt1 where   
for countless ages the policy of the    
people seemed to be devoted entirely1 as
 far as the vegetable world was         
concerned1 to the growth of food1 or    
such fibrous plants as proved their     
suitability for the manufacture of the  
light clothing they required4  ,any     
attempt to permanently beautify the     
country by taking advantage of its      
fertility1 and commencing the planting  
to any great extent of that which was so
 lacking in the shape of trees1 was left

 in abeyance till the coming into power 
of the great ancestor of the present    
,khedive1 ,mehemet ,ali4  ,this thinker1
 of broad intellect1 made some          
beginnings in this direction1 and later 
on ,ismail ,pacha gave a great impetus  
thereto by enlisting the services of a  
clever ,french gardener1 who1 fully     
awakened at once to the possibilities of
 climate and land1 and with ideas       
running very much in favour of landscape
 gardening1 began to introduce and      
encourage the growth of shade trees1 a  
complete novelty in a country where the 
ideas of the people seem to tend towards
 placing their dwellings in the full    
glare of the sun4  ,gardens began to    
spring up1 trees were planted in        
suitable places1 and the start having   
been once fairly made1 the love of      
imitation led to the establishment of a 
taste or fashion1 and planting has now  
gone on to such an extent that there are
 those who are ready to assert that     
while the face of ,egypt is becoming    

changed1 the presence of the            
rapidly-growing and increasing trees is 
having its effect1 through the          
attraction and formation of clouds1 upon
 the meteorology of the country4 ,if    
this continues1 as it may1 to a vast    
extent1 the fertility of ,egypt will no 
longer be confined to the narrow strips 
on either side of the ,nile1 but its    
deserts may become physical features of 
the past4  ,the idea of those in olden  
times was to pile up huge erections and 
to let what came spontaneously grow as  
was its wont4  ,now the enlightenment of
 the new rulers and the leavening of    
,western civilisation are working       
wonders4  ,that to which ,ismail ,pacha 
gave such a fillip is being fostered and
 advanced by the present ,khedive1 and1 
the ball being well set rolling1 his    
people are finding out that nearly      
everything that loves moisture and      
sunshine will grow prodigiously4  ,it   
takes time1 of course1 but many of the  
beautiful shade trees that have been    

planted have in forty years reached a   
height of eighty feet1 and become rich  
in their heavy foliage4  ,the varieties 
of the eucalyptus1 not always the most  
beautiful of trees from their greyish   
leafage and want of shadow1 are still a 
wonderful addition to a dry and thirsty 
land4  ,considering their original      
habitat in ,australia1 it was a foregone
 conclusion that they would do well     
here1 and they have proved to be most   
rapid of growth4  ,then there is the    
magnificent ,flamboyer des ,indes1 and  
scores of other beautiful children of   
,nature1 which only required care and   
fostering in their tender years to prove
 their liking for their new home4       
,endless are the trees that1 once given 
a start1 leave behind their scrubby1    
starved appearance1 and become in       
maturity well able to care for          
themselves and beautify the prospect on 
every hand4  ,acacias1 with their       
perfumed blossoms2 the deep green shady 
sycamore1 that good old favourite like  

the plane of the ,levant2 the feathery  
tamarisk1 and scores of ornamental      
trees1 flourish well2 while1 combining  
the ornamental with the useful1 there is
 the fine1 slow-growing old mulberry1   
with its rich juicy fruit1 and its      
suggestions of the soft straw-coloured  
or golden yellow rustling silk2 for if  
ever there was a country favoured by    
,nature1 in its dryness and absence of  
rain1 for the prosperity of the         
caterpillar of the silkworm moth1 it    
should be ,egypt1 where enterprise and a
 sensible use of capital ought to leave 
,asia and ,turkey in ,europe behind4    
,leaving trees and turning to flowers1  
gardens in ,egypt can be made1 and are  
made1 perfect paradises in the meaning  
of old ,gerard and ,parkinson2 for the  
country is a very rosery1 where the     
modern decorative sorts bloom well in   
company with the more highly scented    
old-fashioned kinds largely cultivated  
for the distillation of that wonderfully
 persistent essential oil1 the otto or  

attar of roses4  ,here the lover of a   
garden and of exotics can dispense with 
conservatory or the protection of glass1
 and1 giving attention to moisture and  
shade1 make his garden flush ruddily    
with the poinsettia1 and may also find  
endless pleasure in the cultivation of  
some of the more beautiful varieties of 
the orchid family1 which here in        
,england demand the assistance of a     
stove4  ,perhaps the most attractive    
time for the visitor from ,england1 who 
has thoughts of settling in this        
country1 to see it at its best is when  
the ,nile is rising to its height1      
bringing down from ,equatorial regions  
its full flow of riches and the means of
 supplying the cultivator with that     
which will reward him for his labours   
beneath the torrid sun4  ,at this time  
the crops are approaching maturity2 the 
vast fields of maize have been passing  
through the various stages of green1    
waving1 flag-like leaf1 and hidden      
immature cob1 with its beautiful1       

delicate tassel1 prelude of the golden  
amber or black treasure that is to come 
and gladden the eye of the spectator in 
every direction4  ,the grassy millet1 or
 dourra1 is equally beautiful in its    
wavy-wind-swept tracts2 the cotton crops
 are gathering strength prior to the    
swelling and bursting of the silky boll2
 and the majestic sugar-cane towers up  
in its rapid progress1 till the whole   
country is smiling in preparation for   
the gladsome laughter of the harvest    
that is to come1 for it has been a busy 
time4  ,the fellaheen1 in their         
thousands1 have been occupied in that   
wonderful irrigation which has been the 
careful distribution through meandering 
canal1 straight-cut dyke1 and endless   
little rill1 of the lurid thick water of
 the ,nile1 laden with its rich         
plant-sustaining fertility1 to the roots
 of the thirsty plants1 and stimulating 
them beneath the ardent sunshine into a 
growth that is almost startling4  ,in   
other parts the same waters are being   

ingeniously led to the cultivated lands 
that are being made ready for the more  
ordinary grain crops--the wheat1 the    
homely barley1 and the ,egyptian bean1  
the food of man and beast alike2 while  
in a country where grassy down and      
ordinary meadow1 such as form the       
pasture of sheep1 oxen and kine at home1
 are unknown1 tract upon tract is       
annually sown with ,egyptian clover1    
lentils1 and similar crops--ready for   
immediate use as cattle food in which   
the animals can graze bit by bit as far 
as their tethering lines will           
permit--for cutting and stacking up     
green in the form of ensilage1 and      
consumption when the crops are past--or 
for hay4  ,the granary of the world1 the
 vast store-house for nations3 people   
have gone there to buy1 but not to till2
 and yet it presents so many qualities  
that the wonder is that it should have  
been so long neglected2 while now1 in   
its state of transformation through the 
opening of the great dam and the cutting

 and forming of miles more irrigating   
canal1 there is no bound to what may be 
done in the future4  ,the time seems to 
be approaching when ,egypt will no      
longer be spoken of as a narrow strip of
 fertile soil running from north to     
south and bordering the ,nile1 for its  
future seems to be that the barren sand 
far back from its banks will be turned  
into fertile land1 adding its produce of
 corn and cotton to the store-house of  
the world4  ,as is well-known1 vast     
tracts of ,egypt are by nature sterile2 
but upon these barren primaeval sands   
there has been superimposed for         
uncountable ages the alluvium of the    
,nile1 so that1 as an old writer says1  
,egypt itself may be looked upon as the 
gift of one of the mightiest rivers of  
the world4  ,he speaks of the ,nile as  
being the father of this country1       
bounteous in its gift1 a strange1       
mysterious1 solitary stream which bears 
down in its bosom the riches of the     
interior of ,africa1 carrying onward    

from far away south the fertility of the
 luxuriant tropics1 and turning the     
sterile sand into the richest soil of   
the world4  ,it is this richness of the 
south that has changed the ,delta from  
an arid waste into a scene of matchless 
beauty4  ,one gazes upon it from the    
summit of one of the pyramids or some   
high citadel1 over cities and ruins of  
cities1 palm grove1 green savannah1     
palace and garden1 luxuriant cornfield1 
and olive grove4  ,far distant1         
shimmering in a silvery haze and        
stretching away into the dimness of the 
horizon1 lies the boundless desert1 now 
being rapidly reclaimed1 consequent upon
 the great barrage experiments for the  
supplying of the many winding canals    
with the fertile waters of the parent   
river4  ,and of these still growing     
distributors of life1 these bearers of  
commerce1 the numbers are almost beyond 
belief4  ,they are the veins and        
arteries of the country1 depositing as  
they do the rich soil which furnishes   

abundance1 and then acting as the       
waterways upon which1 in due time1 the  
harvests are borne throughout the length
 and breadth of the land4  ,there is a  
great discrepancy in the reports as to  
the number of these canals1 and         
statements made and chronicled a few    
years back are not of much use as       
statistics at the present day2 while the
 completion of the great dam will give  
such an impulse to their formation that 
the mileage1 even if properly estimated 
now1 will be useless as a basis ten     
years hence4  ,one traveller1 in his    
ignorance of the country1 estimated the 
number of these irrigating water        
distributors as only ninety1 while      
another of about the same date gives    
,upper ,egypt alone six thousand4       
,probably1 though1 in this instance he  
included every branch and branchlet that
 led the water amongst the cultivated   
lands4  ,the water of these canals1     
renewed as it is by the annual risings  
of the ,nile1 goes on steadily changing1

 wherever it is led1 the primaeval sand 
of the desert into rich deep soil1 after
 the fashion1 but on a grander scale1 of
 the ingenious way in which portions of 
fen and bog land in north ,lincolnshire 
and south ,yorkshire have been          
transformed into fertile farms4  ,as    
compared to what is going on in ,egypt1 
this process is trivial in the extreme2 
but by man's forethought and ingenuity  
many a peat bog and waste that aforetime
 grew nothing but reed and rush has been
 made1 by draining and leading upon it  
the muddy waters of the ,ouse1 ,trent1  
and their tidal tributaries1 into rich  
and prosperous farms1 producers of the  
necessities of life4  ,these warp farms1
 as they are termed1 stand high in      
favour with the cultivators of the soil4
  ,they have taken years to produce1    
perhaps1 and the process has consisted  
of but one treatment4  ,in ,egypt1 on   
the contrary1 this depositing of the    
rich mud goes on year by year1 adding   
fresh soil and additional fertility each

 season2 and the possibilities of       
increase are almost without limit2 while
 the drainage produced by the falling of
 the ,nile1 the sandy subsoil1 and the  
wonderful evaporation of this sunny1    
almost rainless land1 entirely preclude 
the newly fertilised tracts becoming    
sour and stale4  ,those interested      
should know somewhat of the constituents
 of this ,nile mud1 which is brought    
down from the south to be deposited1 it 
must be borne in mind1 upon sand which  
in the course of cultivation will       
naturally1 as it is mingled with the    
mud1 render it open1 porous1 and highly 
suitable for vegetable growth4  ,a rough
 analysis proves that quite half of the 
deposit is argillaceous1 or clayey      
earth1 one fourth carbonate of lime4    
,these constituents alone should be     
sufficient to gladden the heart of any  
farmer or gardener1 without counting the
 iron1 carbonate of magnesia1 and       
silica4  ,so many of our agricultural   
outposts are only to be reached by long 

and tedious journeys across ocean and   
then inland4  ,egypt is1 of course1 in  
,africa1 but only a few days' journey   
from our own shores4  ,the sea transit  
is short and frequent2 and the country1 
the ancient mysterious land of the ,dark
 ,ages1 is rapidly being opened out by  
rail4  ,the climate1 in spite of the    
heat1 is one of the finest in the world1
 and its healthiness is proverbial2     
while1 best of all for the would-be     
adventurer1 it is under an enlightened  
rule1 beneath which progress and        
civilisation are flourishing more and   
more4    ,,chapter ,,two4  ,reports from
 the highest quarters supply abundant   
statistics of the great advantage       
already manifested by the completion of 
the ,nile ,barrage4  ,the increase of   
land available for culture through the  
conservation of the water that has      
always run to waste1 and the augmented  
powers supplied for irrigation by       
holding up such vast bodies of water1   
have resulted in returns that are       

striking in the extreme1 and this after 
so short a time has elapsed since the   
sluices were completed and the great    
dams put to the test4  ,the value of    
land and rentals have gone up1 water has
 been utilised at earlier dates than    
were customary of old1 and everything   
points not only to stability but to a   
future for ,egypt such as could not have
 been dreamed of a score of years ago4  
,in connection1 therefore1 with its     
future prospects from an agricultural   
point of view1 and the encouragement    
given by the ,government to those who   
are disposed to enter upon a business   
career in this favoured country1 so as  
to bring to bear experience1 the        
knowledge of culture1 and the use of    
improved implements to add vastly to    
,egypt's produce1 a short sketch of what
 has been done by one whose faith in the
 delta as a vast agricultural centre has
 always been strong1 will not here be   
out of place4  ,we allude to the efforts
 made by his ,highness the ,khedive in  

acquiring and reclaiming tracts of land 
in the neighbourhood of ,cairo and      
turning them into fertile farms4  ,a    
trip to one of these nearest to ,cairo  
struck a visitor directly as being      
hall-marked by the stamp ,progress1 for 
it was reached by a little model railway
 which skirts his ,highness's estates4  
,after leaving the station1 a short     
drive brings the visitor almost at once 
to a series of scenes indicating careful
 management and model farming1 though   
there is much in it that is novel to an 
,english eye1 consequent on its being   
contrived to suit the exigencies of an  
,eastern country where but little rain  
is known to fall4  ,one of the first    
objects reached upon entering the       
cultivated land was the great granary or
 store1 composed of spacious erections  
of but one storey high1 low-roofed1 and 
enclosing a large central square4  ,in  
some of these buildings were stored up  
sacks of corn1 while in others lay large
 heaps of the newly picked cotton1 of   

whose cultivation more will be said     
elsewhere4  ,the land around this highly
 cultivated domain is very fertile1 and 
the air exhilarating2 and at present it 
is letting at the rate of #aj pounds per
 feddan1 which represents the ,egyptian 
acre1 something larger than our own4    
,this is the present price1 for         
enterprise so far has done little upon  
this side of ,cairo in the shape of     
market gardening1 although the district 
is only twelve minutes by rail from the 
centre of this important city1 and one  
hour's distance for a walking horse and 
cart4  ,attached to the building above  
referred to were well-erected ranges of 
cattle-sheds1 not occupied for fattening
 purposes1 but for the culture of the   
farm1 this culture being carried on not 
by horses1 but by oxen-- buffaloes and  
ordinary bullocks--which are regularly  
used1 as at one time in ,old ,england1  
yoked to the plough1 harrow1 or roller1 
and on some of the high grounds which   
are let by his ,highness1 for turning   

the water-wheels1 though on the model   
farms steam power only is used for the  
purposes of irrigation4  ,these sheds   
are built in the same fashion as the    
granary1 a noteworthy point in          
connection with the big1 sleek1 well-fed
 occupants being that instead of1 as in 
,english fashion1 standing in one long  
row with their backs to the visitor1    
they are ranged in ranks1 fifty-six in  
all1 sideways to the spectator1 facing  
so many feeding troughs1 and each       
provided with its tethering halter and a
 sliding iron ring attached to an iron  
bar1 giving freedom to each animal to   
stand or lie down at its pleasure       
without any risk of self-inflicted      
injury4  ,as a specimen of the          
model-farm-like erection of these       
buildings1 it may be stated that the    
feeding troughs are of solid masonry1   
made impervious and clean by an inner   
lining of zinc4  ,no partitions are used
 to separate these draught cattle1 but  
by the arrangement of the haltering they

 can be kept at such a distance that no 
two could come into contact4 ,everything
 was beautifully clean1 the great       
animals being amply supplied with dry   
earth for litter1 its disinfecting      
qualities being admirable from a cleanly
 point of view1 and valuable for the    
purposes of the farm4  ,one of the      
principal foods for cattle upon the farm
 is ,tibn1 as it is called by the       
,egyptians--chopped or bruised straw1   
made more nutritious1 according to the  
needs of the animal in feeding1 by the  
addition of beans or barley2 and in the 
progress across the place a huge stack  
of this chaff-like provender was passed1
 some ten feet high1 but totally        
unprotected from the weather by thatch4 
,the reply to questions by the manager  
was simple in the extreme1 yet in itself
 a chapter on the beautiful nature of   
the climate4  ,the reason why the stack 
had no protecting thatch was that there 
was no need1 the rain was so trifling1  
and when the wind and its habit of      

scattering stacks was mentioned1 the    
inquirer was told that it did no harm4  
,in passing one enclosure sheep were    
encountered--a class of farming1 as     
stated elsewhere1 little affected on    
account of the absence of grass downs   
and ordinary grazing fields2 but these  
were in a ealthy1 flourishing state1    
well fleeced1 with a fine white         
semi-transparent-looking wool1          
indicating relationship to the ,angora  
breed1 specimens of the latter being    
seen later on in fold4  ,some of the    
fields had been devoted to the growth of
 cotton4  ,this had lately been picked  
and transferred to the great store1 the 
wood of the beautiful plant so stored   
being yet upon the ground waiting for   
transfer to the stacks for fuel         
purposes1 it being utilised for the     
steam engines used upon the farm1       
especially for working the water-raising
 machinery so extensively needed in this
 occasionally thirsty land4  ,farther on
 an implement was being used in         

preparing fields for irrigation2 and as 
in its simplicity of construction it was
 dragged over the great enclosure1 it   
drew up the well-tilled1 friable soil   
into ridges or slightly raised portions 
whose object was to regulate the flow of
 irrigating water equally all over the  
field1 so that when it was flooded no   
portion should get more than its due    
share1 one part being swamped while     
another would be comparatively dry4     
,simple in the extreme in its           
construction1 as the illustration shows1
 the implement was thoroughly efficient 
in the way in which it did its work1    
with but slight exertion on the part of 
the sluggish oxen by which it was drawn4
  ,all this was novel1 yet paradoxically
 old-world and strange1 but in the next 
field there was a combination of the old
 and new--a pair of oxen used as in     
,saxon times1 and down to not so many   
years back even near ,london1 patiently 
plodding along beneath their yoke and   
drawing an emanation from our ,eastern  

counties in the shape of a ,ransome and 
,sims' harrow1 light and effective1     
apparently as much at home and          
progressing as easily as if on a        
,suffolk farm4  ,there was a familiarity
 about these fields which took off the  
dead monotony of the level1 for they    
were surrounded by good-sized1          
well-grown trees1 whose aspect betokened
 health and a suitability of climate1   
while on a nearer approach they showed  
their foreignness to the soil1 proving  
to be a variety of the well-known       
,siberian crab1 or cherry apple1 beloved
 of boys1 but here grown in such bulk as
 to suggest being used for crushing and 
utilising in some special way4  ,one    
thing that strikes the ,european in     
,egypt1 when passing beyond the more    
carefully cultivated portions near the  
city1 is the absence of trees other than
 the indigenous palms2 but here1 in     
these newly-reclaimed portions1 much has
 been done1 as already mentioned1 in the
 way of planting4  ,for instance1 the   

approaches to a range of buildings in   
connection with this farm were studded  
with acacias1 ornamenting what proved to
 be the pigeon houses which are such a  
regular adjunct to an ,egyptian         
cultivator's home4  ,their occupants    
bear a strong resemblance to our own    
blue rocks1 or wood pigeons4  ,another  
building was the dairy farmhouse1       
well-built1 simple1 and most suitable2  
while in the neighbouring fields the    
cows were pasturing after the economical
 plan carried out in our ,channel       
,islands--where each milk-producer is   
not allowed to wander through and waste 
the precious herbage at her own sweet   
will1 but is tethered to a stake--while 
the calves had an enclosure to          
themselves4  ,here were many examples of
 experiments being tried to improve the 
breed1 the favourite animal being a     
cross between the ,swiss--,fribourg--and
 native2 and in this cross-breeding only
 those proved to be advantageous are    
retained4  ,such as do not show some    

marked advance upon the native stock1   
either for breeding or the production of
 milk1 are sold4  ,one very fine sire   
was close at hand--a ,swiss bull with a 
noble head and short curved horns1 fine 
and long of coat1 which about brow and  
neck formed itself into short1 crisp    
curls like those that cluster upon the  
brow of the classic ,hercules4  ,this   
grand animal greatly resembled1 save    
that it was much larger1 one of the     
choice and jealously guarded patriarchs 
of a ,jersey cattle-shed2 while his     
home-like aspect was added to greatly by
 the familiar ring in the nose1 which is
 not considered necessary for the native
 animals4  ,a little farther on were    
those rather uncouth-looking1           
heavily-horned animals1 the buffaloes1  
which run side by side in ,egyptian     
estimation with the ordinary cattle for 
all practical purposes4  ,the           
improvement in their breed is also      
studied by the addition of fresh blood  
and the choice of sires remarkable for  

special qualities4  ,one particularly   
good specimen was pointed out1          
distinguished by the heavy hump forward1
 a fine beast lately brought from the   
,soudan4  ,there are two distinct breeds
 of buffalo utilised in this            
country--the productions of ,upper and  
,lower ,egypt1 those from the latter    
district being reckoned the better4  ,in
 this portion of the farm and around the
 buildings fruit trees were plentiful1  
diversifying the scene and adding       
greatly to its attractiveness1 and      
looking novel to a visitor from ,europe1
 who saw an abundant growth of the      
,seville or bitter orange1 and the cool1
 greeny-grey picturesque olive of       
,southern ,europe and the ,east4  ,among
 other fruit trees seen here were some  
bearing long pods1 called chiar shambar 
by the natives4  ,the fruit of these    
trees1 which is long and green1 but     
which turns black soon after picking1   
seemed at a distance like a huge bean1  
suggesting that the fruit was akin to   

the carob or locust bean1 this idea     
being emphasised by the sweet glutinous 
pulp in which the seeds were buried4    
,this pulp is pleasant to the taste1 but
 slightly bitter1 and is largely used by
 the natives boiled up with water1 as a 
drink on account of its medicinal       
qualities4  ,taken all in all1 the visit
 to the ,khedive's farm was most        
attractive1 and pregnant with proofs of 
the fertility of the well-tended land1  
for on every side were examples of the  
successful culture of many of the       
agricultural products treated of in     
detail from the notes of the            
student-like superintendent1 who has all
 in his charge4  ,the place1 as before  
said1 may be regarded as a model and    
example of what can be done with land   
that has been looked upon for ages as so
 much desert1 when all that was required
 was industry1 application1 and the     
ingenuity necessary for extending the   
action of the ,nile flood4  ,nature has 
always been ready to do the rest4  ,the 

,khedive has another tract of farm land1
 which he purchased some time back1     
about two kilometres from the estate    
just described1 at ,koubbeh4 ,this is   
,mostorod1 where he has a simple-looking
 villa4  ,on the way here one of the    
first things that attract the attention 
of an ,englishman is that home-like     
contrivance so often missing in foreign 
countries--a hedge dividing the fields  
from the roadway and separating them    
from each other4  ,these were unknown   
before the time of ,abbas ,helmi the    
,second1 and what may be done in time to
 come in the surroundings of farms by   
means of the simple1 well cut back      
hawthorn remains to be proved4  ,here   
the shrubby growth1 chosen for its neat 
form and comparatively rapid            
development1 is the bitter orange4  ,at 
,mostorod many of the surroundings are  
marked by the energetic proceedings of  
the practical farmer4  ,here steam is at
 work1 like the patient slave it is1    
forming the motive power in one case for

 raising water for all farming purposes1
 in another setting in action the mills1
 which rapidly turn out and clean the   
meal ground from wheat and ,indian corn4
  ,buildings are here containing the    
various grains and seeds2 others are the
 storehouses for one or other of the    
three pickings produced in the          
cultivation of cotton2 and at the       
entrance of every building1 just inside 
the door1 there is a pitch pine wood    
frame1 with its glass covering1 and a   
paper on which is a record of the amount
 and nature of whatever is brought in or
 taken out of the building in the shape 
of corn1 cotton1 seed1 or whatever may  
be stored4  ,here1 in opposition to much
 that is modern1 there is a large1      
old-fashioned ,egyptian stable1 very    
thick of wall4  ,the building is divided
 into two chambers1 connected and lit   
from overhead1 the light coming through 
the roof of wood and rafters thickly    
thatched with reeds4  ,these rafters are
 supported by thick round columns formed

 of the ancient1 sun-dried brick for    
which ,egypt has long been famed4  ,near
 by something of the old-world fashion  
of the place was visible in a typical   
grinding mill such as may be seen in    
common use in pretty well every village4
  ,it had a chamber to itself1 and      
differed little from those which might  
have been seen in ,england fifty or a   
hundred years ago1 set in action by an  
often blindfolded horse1 but here worked
 by a bullock4  ,ornamentation is not   
wanting at ,mostorod1 for the villa has 
its garden brightened by fruit trees1   
and the pillar-stemmed palms1 with their
 leafy crowns1 are frequent objects in  
the transparent1 sunny air4  ,close at  
hand is the village on the ,khedivial   
estate4  ,in it the streets are narrow  
and the houses of one height1 thoroughly
 waterproof1 and of the familiar        
construction1 of sun-dried bricks       
covered with white plaster1 and1 being  
of an earlier date in the improvement   
the ,khedive is striving for in the     

poorer class dwellings1 not to be       
compared with the spick and span new    
houses he has lately had erected at     
,mariout1 not far from ,alexandria4     
,hard by this village is a very large   
barn or stack yard with more native     
pigeon houses1 the whole of the         
surroundings being extremely quaint and 
picturesque4  ,again1 a short distance  
onward stands the native village of     
,mostorod1 with its attractive little   
mosque and a tomb erected to the memory 
of a saint4  ,the ,ismailia ,canal      
supplies water to the ,koubbeh and      
,mostorod estates1 and in this          
neighbourhood is a good deal of very    
valuable agricultural land1 some        
portions of which are let to the        
fellaheen for three months in a year1 so
 as to enable them to grow a crop of    
maize4  ,hereabouts1 tethered in the    
clover fields1 a herd of the ,khedive's 
camels are pastured1 many of these being
 bred for carrying purposes1 others 7the
 slighter of build7 for riding and      

speed4  ,the scene is attractive from   
its verdure1 but comparatively treeless1
 though it is worthy of mention that two
 solitary weeping willows do their best 
to adorn the landscape--a plain with the
 suggestions of home in the shape of    
lapwings1 or birds bearing a very strong
 resemblance1 which fly up here and     
there4  ,this estate is close to        
,heliopolis--the ancient ,on--where     
almost the only suggestions of the ,city
 of the ,sun are the sunshine and a     
great square piece of white stone1      
bearing hieroglyphs1 and in perfect     
preservation1 while in the distance     
stands up in solitary state the         
far-famed ,obelisk4    ,,chapter        
,,three4  ,words1 words1 words6 quoth   
,hamlet1 and the reader of this sketch  
of the possibilities in the way of      
cultivation offered by the ,khedive's   
dominions may be disposed to            
contemptuously say the same4  ,but in   
the following pages it is proposed to   
give proof of what may be done in an    

ordinary way by one who is gardener for 
pleasure and health1 supplier of        
ordinary produce to the market1 or      
farmer upon a larger scale1 without     
looking for a moment upon the vast      
increase that is bound to follow the    
wider and wider distribution of that    
life of such a land--abundant water1 not
 merely for irrigation1 but in this case
 charged year by year with the rich     
fertilising mud of the vast equatorial  
regions regularly borne down by the     
,nile in flood4  ,among the first       
questions an intending settler might ask
 respecting the country that he intends 
to make his temporary or future home    
would naturally be1 ,what is the place  
like8  ,what sort of seasons are they8  
,egypt is a country which may be said to
 be blessed with four seasons4 ,there is
 that which begins in ,july with the    
inundation of the ,nile1 when for about 
two months the whole country of the     
,delta may be likened to a vast lake    
dotted with islands represented by the  

towns and villages4 ,naturally1 then1   
the air is moist1 and mornings and      
evenings have their mists4  ,in the     
second season1 answering to our winter  
and early spring1 we have cold nights2  
but the days are hot1 and the vegetation
 is rapid and luxuriant4  ,the third1   
corresponding to our spring1 is the     
least attractive2 while the fourth1     
which continues until the rising of the 
,nile1 is in the highest degree         
delightful4  ,everyone has praised the  
,egyptian nights--cloudless skies1 an   
intensely bright moon1 so bright that at
 harvest time1 for reasons in connection
 with the shedding of the grain1 it is  
the custom amongst the farmers and      
cultivators of the soil to take         
advantage of the coolness and light to  
commence garnering their crops at       
midnight4  ,so bright is the moon in    
this extraordinarily clear atmosphere   
that the peasantry who sleep in the open
 air are careful to shade their eyes    
from the rays1 which are often said to  

produce a more painful effect than those
 of the sun4  ,these pages contain the  
experience of long years of patient     
study of the cultivation of ,egypt1 of  
that carried on by the native1 who for  
ages past has looked to the soil for his
 sustenance4  ,and of his practical     
knowledge1 that which is valuable has   
been adopted2 while experiment1         
experience1 and the effects of modern   
cultivation have run with it side by    
side4  ,every gardener and farmer knows1
 however enlightened he may be and fond 
of the modern ways of doing things1 that
 it is not wise to look slightingly upon
 old-fashioned customs4  ,experientia   
docet is a well-known maxim1 and the    
experience taught often by generations  
of disappointments is worthy of all     
respect4  ,men go on cultivating and    
growing certain things which excite the 
contempt of a stranger1 but too often he
 lives to learn that there was good     
reason for the practice1 hence1 animated
 by the spirit of respect for the old1  

while striving to introduce the new and 
improved1 the notes and descriptions    
herein contained may be depended upon as
 being thoroughly practical and well    
worthy the attention of every cultivator
 who has at heart the future of the     
,delta and the higher irrigated lands of
 ,egypt4  ,further1 it may be presumed  
that every reader is fully acquainted   
with the fact that lower ,egypt         
possesses a climate without extreme     
variations of temperature2 that winter  
is hardly known but as a name2 and that1
 though changes have taken place of late
 years1 probably from increased         
cultivation and planting1 the rainfall  
is extremely small4  ,and yet the       
fertility of ,egypt is proverbial1 and  
due to this annual flooding of the lands
 by the ,nile1 which--after the fashion1
 already referred to1 of the northern   
midlands of ,england1 where so many     
acres have been flooded and drained     
after a lengthened deposit of mud1 or   
warp1 as it is termed-- become rich in  

the extreme4  ,the warping in ,yorkshire
 and ,lincolnshire is an artificial and 
protracted process1 carried out once    
only2 the warping of the land of ,egypt 
is natural1 and repeated year by year2  
while as soon as the water has run off1 
the coating of mud1 rich in all the     
qualities of fertility1 is ready to     
bear1 after the merest scratching of the
 soil1 its abundant one1 two1 or even   
three crops in a year4  ,here are       
possibilities1 then1 for the cultivator 
who is ready to bring to bear all the   
appliances of modern science1 the       
discoveries of practical agricultural   
chemistry1 and1 above all1 the          
mechanical and ingenious inventions so  
admirable in a flat1 open country1      
unbroken by hedge or tree4  ,among the  
minor objects familiar to the tourist in
 his journey up the ,nile are the       
various means of raising water for the  
irrigation of the crops4  ,these have   
been1 and still continue to be in many  
places extremely primitive1 for1 as     

before stated1 the fellaheen in their   
conservative fashion are prone to cling 
to the inventions of their forefathers4 
,hence they may still be seen           
laboriously at work with their shadoofs1
 sakiehs1 and other water-wheels worked 
by hand or mule power1 raising the      
fertilising fluid to a sufficient height
 to be discharged and flow of itself1   
spreading over the patches of land      
requiring irrigation4  ,but these clumsy
 contrivances are giving place in the   
newly-reclaimed and cultivated parts of 
the ,delta to modern machinery1 urged by
 motive power1 notably by steam1 though 
to a great extent advantage is taken of 
the wind2 for it is a common thing to   
see in the landscape the circular       
disc-like object1 as noted at a         
distance1 formed by a windmill with its 
many fans1 or vans1 standing at the edge
 of some canal or by one of the many    
wells that have been dug upon the higher
 grounds4  ,for though tract after tract
 may be desert1 presenting nothing but  

coarse growth and sand ready to drift   
before the wind1 there is not much      
difficulty in finding water1 notably in 
the wide plateau known as ,mariout1     
spreading out in the direction of the   
,libyan ,desert from ,alexandria4  ,here
 the sinking of wells results in the    
finding of water at depths varying from 
twenty to forty feet1 and boring to a   
greater depth would doubtless produce a 
fuller supply1 for in so flat and porous
 a land1 within easy measurable distance
 of the great inland sea1 there is every
 probability that an inexhaustible      
supply is within touch4  ,and nowadays  
the various ingenious contrivances of   
the mechanical engineer are always      
ready1 and at small cost1 to supplement 
during the dry times the abundant supply
 offered by the great river4  ,of       
course1 this deals solely with the      
higher grounds that are not reached     
without mechanical help by the          
dam-supplied network of canals that     
already veins the country1 and projects 

for the increase of which are1 since the
 opening of the great works at ,assiout 
and ,assouan1 either under              
consideration1 or already planned4  ,the
 slow1 clumsy hand labour of the shadoof
 and the awkward cattle-worked sakieh1  
or earthen pot surrounded water-wheel1  
is now being superseded in the larger   
tracts of cultivation by such ingenious 
pieces of mechanism as the centrifugal  
pump1 worked by steam1 and so contrived 
that it can be utilised on the bank of  
river or canal1 and with a suction tube 
turned down at any angle1 so that it can
 be lowered into any of the common wells
 that are sunk in all directions4  ,the 
portable steam engine used in connection
 therewith is one of the grandest slaves
 of civilisation1 playing its part on   
the large farms for traction1 threshing1
 straw chopping1 or other of the many   
necessities of cultivation4  ,by means  
of these centrifugal pumps after the    
middle of ,november on large estates the
 water has to be forced into the service

 7estate7 canals4  ,a ten-horse power   
engine1 driving a ten-inch pump1 will   
irrigate the same number of acres in    
twelve hours1 lifting the water five    
feet1 the cost of raising water being   
two shillings per acre4  ,the small     
occupiers of land sometimes raise their 
supply from wells and canals by means of
 ,persian wheels or ,archimedean screws4
    ,,chapter ,,four4  ,at ,cairo when  
the ,nile commences its annual rise1 for
 the first few days its tint seems to be
 green2 but the general tone during the 
inundation is of a dirty red1 of course 
due to its being thickened with the mud 
brought down from the south4  ,during   
this rising1 irrigation can be sent     
freely flowing over all cultivated      
lands1 as the river continues about the 
level of the banks till the middle of   
,november4  ,in simple language1        
irrigation means the turning of desert  
into richly fertile producing land4  ,a 
great deal has been said and done1 but  
everything points to the fact that1     

however great and productive a garden   
,egypt has been for countless years1 it 
is still almost1 as it were1 in its     
infancy4  ,the erection of that         
stupendous piece of engineering1 the    
,assouan ,dam1 has already had effects  
that have surpassed the expectations of 
its projectors2 and writing upon this   
subject1 ,sir ,william ,willcocks1 a    
gentleman whose knowledge of the        
position is of the highest value1 points
 out a series of facts that are almost  
startling in their suggestions4  ,he    
draws attention to the fact that there  
are still two million acres of excellent
 land waiting to be reclaimed after the 
simple fashion herein described1 and    
then requiring to be irrigated to the   
full extent needed--that is to say1     
perennially4  ,these are large figures  
to deal with1 but ,egypt is a vast      
country1 and its powers of production   
almost beyond belief2 but everything is 
bound up in the one need--water supply2 
and it is this furnishing of life to    

plants1 and enabling them to find it    
latent1 as it were1 in the far-spreading
 plains that are as yet but sand and    
dust1 that is taking the attention of   
our great engineers4  ,here they find   
room to exert their powers4  ,it is only
 a year ago that we had the inauguration
 of the first great stride2 and now we  
are told that the thirsty country asks  
for more4  ,to fully carry out the      
perennial irrigation that shall         
fertilise the two million acres still   
waiting1 the country requires one       
milliard of cubic metres of water per   
five hundred thousand acres--that is to 
say1 four times that quantity4 ,at the  
present time1 with the height to which  
it has been already erected1 the        
,assouan ,dam holds up and supplies one 
milliard of these cubic metres of water 
in all1 a sufficiency for five hundred  
thousand acres of agricultural and      
garden land4  ,it is proposed to raise  
it twenty-one feet higher1 with the     
result that its holding powers will be  

so vastly increased that the supply will
 be doubled1 and hence be sufficient for
 another five hundred thousand acres4   
,but even then there will be a milliard 
acres still waiting for a supply of     
water to the extent of two milliards of 
cubic metres of water for themselves4   
,whence is this supply to come8  ,the   
engineers are ready with their answer1  
and only ask for the capital1 not to    
float some mad scheme1 but to spread    
bounteously the rich water which turns1 
as above said1 the desert into fertile  
land4  ,the plan1 or project1 is to form
 a huge reservoir in the ,wady ,rayan1  
which will with ease supply the water   
needed at a cost of about two million   
pounds--a large sum of money1 but       
ridiculously small in comparison with   
the results4  ,there is1 however1 a     
drawback in connection with this        
reservoir--a weakness1 so to speak1     
which alone would render its value      
questionable1 for while in ,april and   
,may1 during the flood time1 its supply 

would be enormous1 it would fall off    
very much in ,june1 and furnish but very
 little in ,july4  ,but now in          
connection therewith we find the truth  
of the old proverbial saying1           
,co-operation is strength4  ,alone it   
would be weak1 but if made now and      
worked in connection with the ,assouan  
,reservoir it becomes strong1 and the   
two being tapped in turn as the need    
arose1 the combination would have       
tremendous results1 one reservoir so    
helping the other that sufficient water 
could be depended upon to keep up a     
perennial supply4  ,to give ,sir        
,william ,willcocks' words3    ,let us  
now imagine that both reservoirs are    
full of water1 and it is   ,april #ast4 
,the ,wady ,rayan ,reservoir will be    
opened on to the ,nile and   give all   
the water needed in that month1 while   
the ,assouan ,reservoir   will be       
maintained at its full level4  ,in ,may 
the ,wady ,rayan ,reservoir   will give 
nearly the whole supply1 and the        

,assouan ,reservoir will give   a       
little4  ,in ,june the ,wady ,rayan     
,reservoir will give a small part of    
the supply1 and the ,assouan ,reservoir 
will give the greater part4  ,in   ,july
 the ,wady ,rayan ,reservoir will give  
nothing1 and the ,assouan   ,reservoir  
will give the whole supply required4    
,working together in   this harmonious  
and beautiful manner1 these reservoirs1 
which are the   true complements of each
 other will easily provide the whole of 
the   water needed for ,egypt4  ,now1   
this raising of the ,assouan ,dam to the
 height proposed means an expenditure of
 five hundred thousand pounds1 and the  
time for the completion of this addition
 and raising of the works two years1 at 
the end of which period1 as we have     
seen1 its power for irrigation will be  
doubled2 while to make the additional   
reservoir1 and enable it to discharge   
its vast extra supply at the cost named1
 will take three years2 four years will 
then be required to bring the water to  

its proper height--seven years in all2  
so that in that time full arrangements  
can be made for the perennial irrigation
 of the whole of ,egypt4  ,huge sums of 
money these to spend or put into the    
soil1 two millions and a half sterling2 
but let us see what there is to be said 
on the credit side4  ,take one point    
alone4  ,the increase in the cotton crop
 of ,egypt would be most extensive1 and 
its value enormous4  ,then there is the 
land itself4 ,here we have so many extra
 acres1 only partially irrigated1 but   
which by this raising of the supply of  
water will be changed from partial      
supply land into constant--that is1 each
 acre will be enabled to tap the        
reservoirs at all times of the year1    
according to the cultivator's need1 with
 the consequent rise in value of the    
land of thirty pounds per feddan1 or    
acre2 and that means1 according to ,sir 
,william ,willcocks1 an increase in the 
wealth of ,egypt to the extent of sixty 
million pounds4  ,from one bold stroke6 

,sixty million pounds for the           
expenditure of five4 ,not bad1 this1 for
 the engineers4  ,but still1 it is but  
the beginning of what may be done in the
 ,khedive's country1 for it is full of  
suggestions to be carried out by an     
enterprising people for the making of   
the native and those of our own country 
who are prepared to look far ahead4     
,the amount of land to be reclaimed is  
enormous2 and what land6 ,for countless 
ages the ,nile has flowed down1 bringing
 with it its fertile mud1 depositing    
some by the way1 carrying other some out
 to sea1 to be lost in the depths of the
 ,mediterranean2 but still1 as time     
rolled on1 adding to1 and raising       
higher1 the huge ,delta through which   
the various mouths made their way2 so   
that in these lowest portions of ,egypt 
the depth of rich soil must be enormous4
  ,here lie the lakes and canals of     
olden formation1 shallowed and choked   
with mud1 and rendered almost impassable
 for transit1 but only waiting for the  

engineers to contrive modern works1 the 
result of survey and level1 feeding     
canals and the forming of reservoirs to 
supply irrigation water for freeing the 
land of its salt1 making easy the       
navigation of the district1 and         
simplifying the conveyance of its grain 
and other crops4  ,all this development 
is awaiting enterprise and capital low  
down in the ,delta4  ,but the engineers 
have not stopped near home and the      
,khedive's capital2 they have cast their
 eyes afar across that vast extent of   
barbarism1 the re-conquered ,soudan1    
where1 bordering upon the ,nile1 it is  
often water1 water everywhere1 and not a
 drop for the crops to drink4  ,sir     
,william ,garstin has been busy here1   
surveying and examining what can be done
 towards and beyond ,khartoum4  ,here   
rich tracts of fertile land are lying on
 both sides of the ,blue ,nile1 to the  
extent1 roughly speaking1 of some three 
millions of acres4  ,this land of ,upper
 ,egypt is as rich in its capabilities  

as that of the ,delta2 but it has       
qualities which the latter does not     
possess1 and is more suitable for the   
production of excellent cotton1 which   
can be sown as a flood crop and reaped  
in winter1 an advantage which the       
seasons will not permit in ,egypt4      
,here1 again1 then1 is an opening for   
enterprise and capital in the future1   
for it must not be forgotten that the   
,suakin-,berber ,railway1 well in       
progress1 opens up this part of the     
country1 one which some of these days   
will be brought well in touch with      
,liverpool and the northern             
manufacturing towns1 as the             
cotton-growing capabilities of ,upper   
,egypt extend4    ,,chapter ,,five4  ,in
 a country which depends upon floods and
 their deposit for its fertility1 one of
 the first questions likely to be asked 
by a practical man is1 ,what about the  
drains8  ,he knows perfectly well1 from 
reading and report1 that the evaporation
 of the waters that have for the time   

being turned vast tracts of land        
literally into swamps must be enormous1 
but at the same time some plan for      
carrying off the superabundant moisture 
must be in force4  ,let him learn at    
once that in ,egyptian agriculture there
 are no underground tiled drains in use2
 but open ones are formed upon land that
 requires improving1 such as the rice   
fields and those which1 when cultivation
 has commenced1 are found to be         
impregnated with salts1 while a great   
deal is done by the ,government1 under  
whose direction large main cuts are dug 
to drain off the water on low-lying     
lands4  ,on the rich soils water may be 
lying to a depth of four inches after a 
flood1 but it is so readily absorbed    
that in six hours none will be left on  
the ,surface2 but infiltration from     
irrigation canals sometimes damages the 
crops alongside1 and in such a case as  
that a small catch drain will prevent   
further mischief4  ,with regard to      
irrigation1 two systems are carried out1

 the one peculiar to ,lower ,egypt1 the 
other being utilised in ,upper4  ,in    
,lower ,egypt the canal is used for the 
supply of water to the crops4  ,in      
,upper ,egypt the manner adopted is     
technically termed the basin system4    
,in this latter method embankments are  
formed to enclose tracts of land well   
within reach of the ,nile flood1 which  
may contain from two thousand to forty  
thousand acres1 according to the means  
of1 or facilities offered to1 the       
agriculturist4  ,afterwards the         
proceedings are exceedingly simple4     
,when the inundation is at its greatest 
height1 openings are made and the water 
is allowed to flow from the river till  
the sandy surface is covered to a depth 
of six feet4  ,then the matter1         
suspended in the muddy waters1 is slowly
 deposited and goes on sinking till     
,november1 when openings are made into  
canals1 and the water is allowed to     
slowly drain off and make its way back  
into the river1 when the surface of     

glistening mud that is left is          
considered ripe for cultivation1 and    
according to the season may measure     
perhaps four inches in depth4  ,as soon 
as the water is gone1 the farming       
operations begin1 and in the simplest   
and probably the oldest form4  ,there is
 nothing more to be done in these cases1
 no ploughing or harrowing2 but wheat1  
barley1 beans1 clover1 linseed1 and     
lentils are sown broadcast by the       
patient labourers1 the sowers often     
sinking knee deep in the mud as they    
slowly plod or almost wade to and fro4  
,the next proceeding is the burying of  
the seed1 which is generally effected by
 drawing a large beam of timber over the
 muddy surface1 though at times1 when   
the consistency is greater1 the seed is 
covered in by hand-hoeing4  ,that is    
all1 and the agriculturist leaves the   
rest for the time being to the efforts  
of the sun4  ,germination soon begins1  
and rapid growth succeeds in the moist  
mud2 while these crops do not need or   

receive any further irrigation except   
from rain1 which may fall two or three  
times in the course of growth4  ,but    
there are times when no rain at all will
 come to help the crops1 which1 however1
 seem to suffer very little1 from the   
simple fact that the thorough saturation
 of the subsoil by the flood1 and the   
constant gentle evaporation going on1   
make up to a certain extent for the want
 of genial showers1 and the failure     
seems to be confined to the straw alone1
 which is shorter than if its growth had
 been influenced by the dropping clouds4
  ,the floods of ,european lands are1 of
 course1 only occasional1 accidents due 
to a prevalence of storm waters1 which  
the regular rivers and the artificial   
drainage of the country have not power  
to carry off2 while generally they last 
but a short time1 and instead of being  
beneficial are destructive4  ,the ,nile 
flow is in every respect the reverse4   
,instead of being occasional and of     
short duration1 it is a part of         

,nature's routine1 and perfectly        
wondrous in its regularity2 while in    
place of being temporary1 as in the     
floods of our own islands1 we have here 
a lasting overflow4  ,again1 a flood in 
the ,british ,islands1 where the rivers 
burst their banks and spread over       
meadow-land and arable fields1 leaves   
the soil soured1 sodden1 and obnoxious  
to the plants which are still alive1    
whole crops and plantations being often 
swept away1 while those that remain are 
on the high road to perishing from      
rottenness4  ,in ,egypt the subsoil of  
sand is ready to absorb1 and the ardent 
sun to rapidly dry1 the surface of the  
mud as soon as the flood sinks1 after   
its stay of months2 while the rapidity  
of growth soon makes up for the1 so to  
speak1 dormant state of the cultivated  
ground that has been flooded1 and1 as   
aforesaid1 the water departs1 leaving   
its fertilising riches behind4  ,then1  
as stated1 follows without further      
tilling the sowing of the crops1 which  

result in abundant growth4  ,this annual
 regularity is only marred by the extent
 of the inundation1 which is calculated 
and divided by the ,egyptians into high 
flood1 mean flood1 and poor flood1      
according to how far the waters extend  
when they leave their natural bed4  ,it 
is calculated that in the first case1   
when the ,nile has reached its highest  
point1 it has risen to thirty-three     
feet2 in the second case1 the mean      
flood1 thirty feet2 and in the third1 or
 poor flood1 twenty-three feet above its
 bed4  ,as a matter of course1 the      
higher the flood the wider spread is the
 inundation1 and the deeper the deposit 
of fertile mud left upon the land when  
the river has returned to its ordinary  
limits4  ,stay-at-home people are       
accustomed to look upon ,holland as the 
land of canals1 and the face of this    
carefully cultivated country is         
monumental as a specimen of a nation's  
industry in cutting waterways for the   
double purpose of draining and traffic1 

while its drains are as admirable as    
they are great4  ,wide tracts of land   
have been turned from sandy wastes and  
swamps into fertile meadows and         
carefully cultivated fields by the      
,dutch engineers1 who have also left    
traces of their handiwork upon the east 
coast of ,england in the drainage of the
 fens4  ,but1 leaving the supposed      
canals of the planet ,mars to the       
imaginations of astronomers1 it is safe 
to say that ,egypt bears off the palm   
for works of this description4  ,the    
ancients knew of their value1 and       
enormous cuts were made by the help of  
slave labour1 and were left to survive  
the rolling away of centuries1 and where
 not duly cared for1 and filled up by   
the drifting sand1 have lain ready to be
 cleared out1 deepened and brought into 
use again4  ,these have been added to1  
till at the present time it can be said 
that the system of canals connected with
 the main river for the purposes of     
portage and for perennial irrigation    

cannot be equalled anywhere in the      
world4  ,the barrage of the ,delta is of
 incalculable value1 since by closing   
the sluices the head of water is raised 
and irrigation made more easy1 while the
 works of this description lately       
carried out upon the ,nile at ,assiout  
and ,assouan conserve immense bodies of 
water1 which have formerly flowed       
regularly down to the sea1 carrying with
 them millions of tons of fertilising   
mud or warp1 with the equatorial        
washings of the rich1 untrodden land4   
,this solution of plant-making soil has 
gone on downward towards the sea from   
untold ages1 forming by degrees the vast
 ,delta1 beside that which was lost to  
the service of man1 merely choking up   
and making shallow the many watercourses
 into which the ,nile waters have been  
broken up1 and altering the positions of
 ancient ports and maritime cities now  
distant from the sea4    ,,chapter      
,,six4  ,a good old ,english gardener   
once said1 ,you can't grow things well  

without plenty of manure1 and this the  
,egyptians found out years ago4 ,they   
have the great advantage of the fertile 
mud deposited by the river1 but to bring
 it to its highest state of production  
land seems to ask for the crude form of 
animal plant food as well as the        
vegetable and mineral4  ,it is to be    
presumed that there must be a great deal
 of vegetable fertilisation swept down  
by the ,nile in a decayed state from the
 forests and swamps of ,central ,africa1
 but ,egypt itself is no land of forests
 and that wondrous help to vegetation1  
leaf mould1 may be said to be entirely  
absent1 while the ordinary animal       
excreta so carefully collected in most  
civilised countries for application to  
the land is sadly wanted and neglected  
here for farm and garden purposes4  ,it 
is carefully collected1 it is true1 and 
dried2 but here1 in a country where wood
 is exceedingly scarce1 it is used for  
fuel4  ,as a rule1 the resulting ashes  
are regarded as of little worth1 whereas

 they contain1 in a mineral form1 so    
many of the constituents of vegetable   
life that1 if preserved1 they would be  
most valuable4  ,in fact1 the fellaheen 
look upon the ashes in the same light as
 they are regarded here in ,england1 if 
they are thought of at all1 as a coarse 
ingredient to mix with a clayey soil to 
lighten it in the place of sand4 ,but in
 these islands there is the excuse that 
for the most part they are coal ashes   
and wanting in fertilising powers4      
,where they are wood or vegetable ashes 
the ,english cultivator has long known  
their value from the extent to which    
they are impregnated with potash4       
,still1 there can be no doubt that the  
ash of the ,egyptian fuel1 though not   
returned to the earth in a              
well-thought-out and business-like way1 
does play its part to some extent in    
restoring exhausted soil4  ,the term    
farmyard manure is common of            
application1 but an ,english farmer     
would look at it in amazement and not   

know his good old friend again1 for the 
,egyptian farmyard manure seems to have 
been invented by the sanitarians of our 
dry earth system1 being composed of     
desiccated ,nile mud which has been     
carefully spread over the floors of the 
cattle-sheds as litter wherever         
bullocks1 cows1 horses1 sheep1 etc41 are
 kept4  ,in this fine1 dry state1 the   
once mud1 now earth1 is remarkably      
absorbent and sweetening2 most healthy1 
too1 for the animals1 who are not seen  
here trampling nearly knee deep in the  
soon-made foetid swamp of a country     
crew-yard4  ,moreover the earth is      
frequently removed--to be kept lying in 
the manure heap for about a year to     
mature1 when it is considered ready for 
use1 and the cattle enclosures and sheds
 of a farm are remarkably wholesome and 
clean4  ,this dry mud is one great      
source of plant food for the farm1 but  
it is largely supplemented by what the  
,egyptians term coufri1 or sabbakh4     
,this is not always available1 and      

depends upon the position of the farm2  
but there are parts of the ,delta where1
 to all appearance1 the tract being     
reclaimed or taken up for bringing into 
cultivation is so much level1 or nearly 
level1 land1 with a mound or slight     
elevation here and there where the winds
 have drifted the sand apparently to a  
considerable depth4  ,except to the eye 
of the experienced there is nothing to  
show that flourishing cities and        
villages have existed there in the past2
 but many of these slight elevations are
 the sites where teeming populations    
once existed1 and all has gone back1    
with some few exceptions--dust to dust4 
,the exceptions are where the spade of  
the fellah comes upon the remains of a  
tomb or priestly edifice1 these1 as is  
well-known1 being the lasting part of   
man's work1 which are being discovered  
constantly even now1 with their         
builders'1 sculptors'1 and painters'    
handiwork looking1 when the sand has    
been removed1 almost as fresh and       

uninjured as if they were the traces of 
two or three generations back instead of
 having been buried many centuries ago4 
,these solid remains1 or ruins1 may be  
comparatively few2 but in all           
probability have been surrounded by an  
enormous population1 whose houses1      
originally built of the sun-dried       
,egyptian brick1 have in the course of  
time gone back1 like everything animal  
that surrounded them1 to a rough earth  
ready for the worker's spade1 which digs
 up from an almost inexhaustible        
mine--with nothing to tell of the past  
but a few broken shards--a splendid     
fertiliser for the farm4  ,but this     
coufri manure requires discrimination in
 its use1 too strong an application     
being likely to prove hurtful to a crop1
 seeing that analysis shows that its    
plant-feeding qualities are due to the  
salts it contains--sometimes as much as 
#ab per cent1 of salt1 soda1 ammonia1   
saltpetre1 phosphates1 and the like4    
,the value to an ,english farmer of such

 a mine of artificial chemical manure as
 this may be conceived1 and it would    
make the eyes brighten of one here who  
strengthens his land by applications of 
marl1 or else has to content himself    
with a top dressing of chalk from some  
pit sunk in a corner of his holding4    
,fairly plentiful still in ,egypt1 there
 must1 of course1 be a limit to this    
supply4  ,the taking up of land is going
 steadily on1 and consequently the      
remains of city after city have been and
 are being rapidly used up1 thus        
necessitating the establishment of plans
 upon a practical basis for the         
restoration of land which should not be 
exhausted by heavy crops without the    
cultivator making a proper return4 ,one 
of our students of agriculture1 in a    
public address1 deals largely with the  
necessity for the dissemination of a    
practical knowledge of the needs of the 
land4  ,he speaks of the great waste of 
fertilising matter in the way in which  
the refuse stalks of two of the greatest

 crops of the ,delta--cotton and        
sugar-cane--are burned in the furnaces  
of engines1 for which purpose they are  
most valuable when it is taken into     
consideration that fuel wood is a rarity
 and coal a luxury of exorbitant price4 
,but after burning1 so ignorant have the
 people been1 that the tons upon tons in
 the aggregate of this rich ash from the
 engine fires which consume the refuse  
of the enormous crops of sugar-cane     
annually grown1 have been looked upon as
 comparatively valueless1 in spite of   
the fact that the ash contains almost   
all that is required for the growth of  
so exhaustive a crop1 and it has been   
either cast away or sold for a trifle1  
to be used up in the manufacture of     
bricks4  ,he adds1 in words full of     
pregnant meaning1 that even the fertile 
alluvium of the ,nile ,valley cannot    
long sustain this treatment without     
exhaustion1 in spite of the much that is
 done by the feeding off and ploughing  
in of the leguminous crops1 which play a

 great part in giving back what has been
 taken away4  ,farms here1 too1 are     
often found with a large dovecote1 as   
alluded to in the description of the    
,khedive's estates2 for the ,egyptian   
cultivator has a fine substitute for the
 guano of the ,peruvian ,chincha        
,islands in that of the pigeons which   
are kept in flocks for the sake of this 
strong fertiliser4  ,undoubtedly they   
must take severe toll from the crops1   
whether green or fit for harvesting1    
though perhaps this is counterbalanced  
by the fact that the birds must gain a  
good subsistence upon the grain that    
would be wasted or go back to the soil1 
so much being shed at ingathering time  
in consequence of the heat4  ,this      
carefully-saved fertiliser is used by   
the ,egyptian for applying to vegetables
 and such productions as water melons   
and other plants of the gourd family1   
which depend much for their size on     
stimulation4  ,the application of       
special commercial manures to ,egyptian 

crops may be said to be still in the    
experimental stage4  ,on the richest and
 most fertile soils they are not        
required1 but on the poorer soils their 
effect is very apparent4  ,for the      
cotton crop1 superphosphate and nitrate 
of soda1 in the proportion of #c to #d  
hundredweights superphosphate to #a4be  
hundredweight nitrate of soda1 mixed and
 applied to an acre1 give a profitable  
return in an increased yield of cotton4 
,other manures1 such as potash1 have    
been tried1 but did not prove           
satisfactory4  ,sulphate of ammonia and 
nitrate of soda give good results on    
poor land if applied to the wheat crop4 
,as not more than half enough farmyard  
manure can be produced on large estates 
for fertilising the various crops1      
attention will be turned to chemicals   
should they prove to be profitable after
 exhaustive experiments4    ,,chapter   
,,seven4  ,after what has been written  
about the water navigation of this      
country1 a few words may be said        

respecting the means of conducting the  
land traffic4  ,in the past the great   
river and its ,delta mouths1            
supplemented by the canals1 formed the  
main roads for the conveyance of        
produce4  ,now the iron track has begun 
to make its way1 and the long creeping  
trains of trucks and carriages may be   
seen gliding over the plain1 drawn by   
the mighty power of old ,george         
,stephenson's invention1 though in this 
hot country the familiar trail of soft  
whitish grey vapour is often wanting1   
dying out at once as it does in the rays
 of the ardent sun4  ,in addition1      
,egypt is being treated as ,britain was 
some two thousand years ago by the      
,romans1 who well grasped the value of a
 good trunk road1 and while those were  
formed for military purposes and the    
holding in check of the subject race1   
these in connection with the ,khedive's 
peaceful rule and for the advance of    
agriculture are devoted to the carrying 
of produce from market to market1 or to 

some railway station1 and this1 too1 at 
much less cost than in the olden days1  
when most of the grain was borne from   
the place of its growth upon camel back1
 or slung in bags on either side of the 
patient1 vigorous1 and handsome donkeys 
which are raised in this country4  ,a   
correspondent of the ,morning ,post     
writes3    ,while ,upper ,egypt is      
nowhere more than a fertile strip1      
bordered by   two deserts1 the          
comparatively large area of the ,delta1 
its   intersection by a multitude of    
canals1 and the absence of a large      
system of metalled roads1 have long     
rendered necessary an improvement   of  
communications in the interest both of  
the fellaheen and of the   ,european or 
,levantine landowners4  ,agricultural   
roads offer but a   partial solution of 
the difficulties caused by these        
conditions2   donkeys1 mules1 and camels
 are still highly useful1 and will long 
be   extensively used for the transport 
of commodities over a short   distance1 

or in cases where time is no object to  
the transporter2 but   it is unnecessary
 to dilate on the defects of animal     
compared with   mechanical transport4   
,branches of the ,nile and the canals   
which in   the maps cover the ,delta    
with such a network of blue lines are   
also of   great value1 but the number of
 canals which are perennially navigable 
is limited1 and the canal barge is      
nowhere renowned for speed1 while       
sailing boats cannot use certain canals 
at all in the dry season1 and   their   
use of others is often attended by the  
risk of grounding4  ,en passant1 ,mr    
,wallace mentions a singular fact in    
connection with the making of the trunk 
roads4  ,in ,europe we are accustomed to
 see them kept as level as is consistent
 with the cost of making1 and raised    
above the level while provided with     
proper drains to carry off the too      
abundant water4  ,here it has been found
 that to give the road much rise above  
the surrounding levels is a mistake1 in 

consequence of the large amount of salt 
the unredeemed districts contain4  ,the 
salt rises to the surface1 forming an   
efflorescence as in the ,american       
plains1 and especially in the stiff     
lands it has a tendency to interfere    
with the ways of nature1 where the      
particles adhere together1 causing them 
to fall apart in the shape of dust1     
which is one of the objectionable       
features of an ,egyptian road4  ,anyone 
who has read about ,egypt will recall   
matters full of suggestion of likely    
difficulties regarding the keeping open 
of a road1 while those who have         
travelled through the country have much 
to say about the prevalence of dust4    
,how many discoveries in the past have  
been made of wondrous relics that have  
lain buried for ages covered in         
deeply--and preserved--by the drifting  
dust or sand6  ,and1 with regard to this
 drifting1 attention has been drawn by  
,mr ,wallace1 in his agricultural       
address1 to a singular physical fact in 

connection with the shifting of the     
sand4  ,this might be expected to       
follow1 on the whole1 the course of the 
prevailing winds1 and be carried mainly 
in their direction2 but there are       
singular variations1 probably due to    
local waves or currents of air near the 
surface of the earth4  ,in one          
considerable portion of the land of     
,goshen the sand is swept from south to 
north1 while in another part1 along the 
west bank of the ,nile1 at the north of 
,cairo1 its direction is from east to   
west4  ,but a great deal of the raising 
and drifting of the finer portions of   
the earth is dependent upon whether the 
wind be moisture-laden or the reverse4  
,if the air be moist1 a breeze blowing  
at the rate of1 say1 four miles an hour 
from the north will have no effect upon 
the deep dust1 while one from the arid  
south1 possessed of about half the      
other's force1 will raise the almost    
impalpable soil in clouds4  ,but1 as    
elsewhere1 now that ,egypt is awakening 

from her long slumber1 the sand is      
giving way to the soil4  ,the           
correspondent of the ,morning ,post     
gives some very terse and exhaustive    
accounts of the railway system now      
extending through the ,delta1 and dwells
 upon the fact that the agricultural    
light railways-- similar to the one     
mentioned earlier in these pages1 made  
by the ,khedive to his estates near     
,cairo--have been a distinct success1   
and he goes on to say that3    ,the     
broad-gauge ,state railways of the      
,egyptian ,delta may be roughly         
compared with the sticks of a fan4      
,converging at ,cairo1 the              
headquarters of the railway             
administration1 and the goal of the     
provincial lines1 the railways diverge  
to ,alexandria1 to ,dessouk in   the    
north of the ,delta1 on the ,rosetta    
branch of the ,nile1 to   ,damietta1 to 
,salahieh in the north-east1 and to     
,ismailia4  ,several   lines link the   
important towns on these branches2 for  

example1   ,mansourah is connected with 
the ,salahieh line1 and a railway along 
the   coast connects ,alexandria and    
,rosetta2 but large areas1 notably in   
the   crowded ,menoufieh ,province1 in  
,beherah1 and in the north-east of the  
,delta1 lacked facilities for rapid     
transmission of goods and   passengers  
to the larger towns served by the ,state
 lines until the   advent of the        
agricultural railways4  ,it would be    
unnecessary and   unprofitable to       
enumerate all the agricultural lines    
which have been   constructed in the    
last few years4  ,their distribution may
 be   understood if1 returning to the   
fan metaphor1 they are regarded as      
threads running between and generally   
connecting the diverging sticks   of the
 fan of ,state lines4  ,so successful   
have these lines been that applications 
have been made for permission regarding 
the construction of fresh railways to   
extend in various directions for over   
another three hundred miles1 most of    

these being in the ,menoufieh ,province1
 where desert land is being reclaimed4  
,mr ,gunn's report gives the mileage    
covered since #ahif1 when the           
concessions were granted3  ,in #ahig    
there were fifty-four miles of railway  
open1 in #ahii #dcj miles1 and in #aijb 
#fgc4  ,within a year or two there will 
be at least one thousand miles open for 
traffic4  ,and1 by the way1 one of the  
principal uses made of these lines of   
rails is for the conveyance of the      
ancient deposits of sabbakh or coufri   
from district to district--the rich     
fertiliser to the comparatively barren  
lands--the old-world traces of          
civilisation to the new1 to parts of    
,egypt which have been written down for 
ages as desert1 but which are now found 
to become great suppliers of produce    
that can be easily consigned to the many
 markets opening up at home and abroad4 
,,chapter ,,eight4  ,without doubt the  
,delta is a splendid region for         
settlement for any young agriculturist  

who possesses health1 energy1 and a     
natural tendency towards those          
industrious habits peculiar to the      
successful men of our country1 who have 
always been willing to metaphorically   
and really take off their coats and do  
whatever is necessary by way of example4
  ,to succeed in ,egypt we must take it 
for granted that he possesses moderate  
means1 or1 say1 very moderate means1    
just sufficient to make a small         
commencement by hiring2 or1 far better1 
by the purchase of land1 which can now  
safely be done with good legal security 
and at a price that before long will in 
all probability bound upwards to double 
or even quadruple its present figure4   
,but the thoroughly good sterling advice
 of the authority already quoted--advice
 similar in nature has often been before
 given to intending settlers in         
,australia--is that a year at least     
should first be spent in gaining a      
knowledge of the country1 while learning
 a sufficiency of the common language to

 enable a man to direct the labourers   
who will be under him in their field    
work4  ,and1 what is of equal           
importance1 the intending settler1      
however great may have been his         
experience1 should be ready to cast     
aside prejudice in favour of his own    
preconceived opinions1 and studiously   
take note of why this or that course is 
followed out by old cultivators2 he must
 learn that amidst a great deal of chaff
 that he may cast aside there are many  
grains of good sound wheat--otherwise1  
excellent dearly bought bits of         
experience4 ,festina lente is a grand   
old ,roman proverb1 and the newcomer to 
,egypt will gain in the end by not being
 in too great a hurry to start4  ,unlike
 the ,british farmer1 the agriculturist 
in ,egypt has at hand an abundant supply
 of labour4  ,housed in the mud huts or 
sun-dried brick houses adjoining the    
estates1 the labourer is at all hours   
ready to respond to the demand4  ,he    
receives one or two acres of land let at

 a reduced rental2 he is a day labourer 
only1 and can absent himself at pleasure
 to attend to his craft4  ,his wage     
varies from sixpence to tenpence per day
 of ten hours in summer and eight hours 
in winter4  ,he provides his own food4  
,in disposition this peasant is         
contented1 good-natured1 not resentful1 
and of good physique4  ,he is also very 
untruthful1 unreliable at his work1     
lazy1 cunning1 and unconscionable as to 
the quality and quantity of the task he 
is put to--in short1 a thorough         
eye-servant4  ,he requires constant     
supervision1 when he will do good work  
under a trying sun4  ,he promises fair1 
but performs badly4  ,if he commits a   
fault and is questioned as to how it    
happened1 one can invariably depend upon
 his telling an untruth4  ,when working 
on his own plot he is most diligent1 but
 his methods are not always the best1   
and he does not get the full benefit    
from the soil1 owing to want of         
intelligence as to the rules of good    

husbandry4  ,on a large estate1 should  
extra hands be wanted for a special     
occasion1 a hundred to two hundred men  
can be had on one night's notice being  
given--a delightful state of affairs in 
cases of emergency1 though here the     
farmer does not often suffer from his   
hay or corn crops being unharvested     
through the redundance of rain4  ,a     
large percentage of the fellaheen are   
perfectly illiterate1 which accounts for
 their want of readiness to take up the 
initiative4  ,they have no thirst for   
knowledge and love in agricultural      
matters to keep running in the old rut4 
,exactness1 tidiness1 and pride in his  
work are qualities very rarely found in 
a fellah4  ,slovenliness in the         
performance of duties is characteristic 
of the paid day labourer1 and to a      
lesser degree when working on his own   
account4  ,in ,britain1 for instance1   
where do we find the breeder of stock   
who excels his neighbours except in the 
shrewd farmer who1 at great trouble and 

study1 and by patient experimenting1    
attains to success8  ,not only so1 but  
he is like the leaven which leaveneth   
the whole lump by raising the standard  
of a district4  ,the apathy of the      
fellah is shown in the lack of breeding 
in horses1 cattle1 and sheep in ,egypt1 
which is due to want of selecting       
suitable sires1 care in rearing1 and the
 like4  ,the soil responds to thorough  
tillage in a marked degree1 but too     
little care is bestowed upon this       
question of cultivation1 as the fellah  
is prone to scamp his work and leave    
part of his land solid--that is1 not    
thoroughly stirred4  ,when exposed to   
the sun the soil cracks and opens into  
fissures1 sometimes as wide as five     
inches4  ,the fellah is often1 too1     
careless in providing a good bed for the
 seed1 and irregular germination is the 
result4  ,if the land is judiciously    
watered and timeously ploughed in a     
friable condition1 it can be brought to 
a fine tilth without much extra trouble4

  ,as it is all soil--nothing in the    
shape of a bad subsoil exists1 as in    
some parts of ,great ,britain--deep     
cultivation is thoroughly beneficial1   
bringing1 as it does1 unexhausted soil  
to the top4  ,generally in the          
preparation of the land for the cotton  
crop1 with its deep-searching roots1 a  
depth of twelve inches is attained4     
,doubtless much of the apathy of the    
labouring man amongst the fellaheen is  
due1 as in the case of the rice-feeding 
,hindoo1 to his being to so great an    
extent a vegetarian4  ,with him the     
staff of life consists principally of an
 exceedingly hard kind of bread1 baked  
almost to biscuit1 and composed of      
maize1 or dourra1 the small-grained     
millet2 and the result of the fellaheen 
housewife's efforts in this kind of food
 preparation necessitates dipping or    
soaking in water before the bread can be
 partaken of at a meal4  ,but in such a 
splendid garden land as ,egypt1 where   
cultivated produce attains maturity at  

so rapid a rate1 and where with careful 
management and such a spring and        
summer-like climate two or even three   
crops of vegetables can be obtained in a
 year1 it may easily be supposed that   
the peasant can provide himself with a  
constant supply of green food2 and he   
certainly takes advantage of his        
position1 indulging freely in the       
ordinary vegetables common in the       
gardens of the ,west1 and supplementing 
them with the delicious green maize so  
popular with the ,american people4      
,this latter grain is one of the staple 
foods1 when it has come to maturity1 of 
the inhabitants of the ,delta4  ,it is  
ground into a coarse flour1 and mingled 
with a small proportion of barley2 while
 in addition1 to give flavour and a     
slight stimulus to the digestive organs 
which are brought to bear upon one of   
the hardest grains in assimilation1 a   
small portion of the peculiar           
clover-like1 many-seeded plant1         
fenugreek1 is added4  ,maize gives place

 to a great extent in ,upper ,egypt to  
millet or dourra amongst the poorer     
orders2 but the better-class            
work-people1 who earn much higher wages 
than the agricultural labourer1 are now 
taking to the general use of wheaten    
bread4  ,although the ordinary fellah   
partakes of so simple a diet1 and may be
 wanting in energy1 loving as he does to
 glide through life in the same old     
groove that was formed by his           
forefathers1 he is a well-built1        
healthy1 muscular individual1 and is not
 to be beaten by any coolie as a worker 
under a torrid sun4  ,much of his work  
consists of raising water for           
irrigation1 and if statistics could be  
produced as to the number of gallons    
that he sends trickling amongst the     
roots of the crop1 or moistening the    
land previously in their preparation1   
ordinary figures would almost fail4     
,suffice it to say that it is immense4  
,even now he clings often of necessity  
to the old1 old shadoof--that which is  

represented in the engraving--which1 in 
spite of its ,egyptian name1 is only our
 old friend of the suburban brickfield1 
a long pole balanced upon a post in     
scale beam fashion1 with a bucket at one
 end of the pole1 a weight at the other1
 equal to that of the water which is    
raised from somewhere below for pouring 
into a receptacle1 ready to be dipped   
again1 perhaps1 and sent higher by means
 of another shadoof farther up4  ,the   
worker of this primitive water          
distributer1 in his cotton robe1 is one 
of the commonest objects seen upon the  
banks4  ,the photograph well depicts the
 sturdy fellah at his task4  ,in        
addition1 there is the old-world sakieh1
 a much more complicated affair2 for    
here1 in the past1 primitive ingenuity  
turned its hand to mechanical           
construction1 and produced after much   
toil the manual labour-saving and ox- or
 buffalo-enlisting water-wheel1 working 
after the fashion of one of our river   
dredges1 but clumsy of the clumsy1 and  

having1 in place of the metal scoops1 so
 many earthenware pots1 held in their   
places to the periphery of the          
water-wheel by as many cords1 as will be
 seen in the engraving4  ,still1 it is  
effective in its way1 and the yoked oxen
 which supply the motive power that     
turns the heavy wheels raise vast       
quantities of water year after year4    
,the sakieh is quaint1 old-world1 and   
picturesque1 and it has served its      
purpose so well1 for who can say how far
 back in the past1 that it never seems  
to have occurred to the lower order of  
,egyptian mind that any improvement     
could be made4  ,that has been left to  
the ,west1 and now that under the       
present progressive forward movement of 
,egyptian agriculture ,european1 and    
especially ,british1 water-raising and  
distributing machines are being         
utilised1 the fate of the sakieh seems  
to be that sooner or later it will      
merely live to be spoken of as a        
curiosity1 only seen in some artist's   

representation of the past4  ,the       
fellah's habitation has not varied with 
the years2 as in antiquity1 so now4     
,the primitive clay hut is simplicity   
itself4  ,as it is figured in the quaint
 tomb pictures1 so it is to-day in the  
suburbs and villages--its furniture a   
wooden chest or two1 its cooking        
utensils a few earthen pots4  ,but his  
hut is principally his sleeping place1  
for his life is pretty well passed      
beneath the broad canopy of heaven4  ,he
 rises with the dawn to begin his day's 
work at the plough1 or to handle his    
heavy hoe4  ,at another time the demands
 of the crops for water or for the      
mud-laden fertilising contents of the   
great stream1 take him to the shadoof or
 to guide the bullock or buffalo turning
 the water-wheel4  ,as elsewhere1 the   
fellah's wife is the soul of his humble 
home4  ,she toils busily and patiently  
through the duties of her little        
domestic centre1 cares for her elders1  
cooks1 and finds time to feed the cattle

 and collect the sun-dried fuel from off
 the parched soil1 to come back marching
 homeward1 strong and statuesque1       
bearing the piled-up basket upon her    
head2 while it is she who1 while her    
lord is busily lowering and raising the 
shadoof1 descends knee deep into the    
river or canal to fill the great1 heavy1
 amphora-like earthen pot and then bear 
it back to her home1 classically        
picturesque in her drapery as she       
balances the clumsy vessel upon shoulder
 or head1 and bears the life-giving     
fluid onward with a steady1 easy swing4 
,it is she who makes the dourra1 or     
maize bread1 and shapes and stitches the
 cotton clothing1 which is the only wear
 of all her circle4  ,unlike her sister 
of the city1 she does not shrink so much
 from the gaze of the other sex1 but    
still to some extent keeps up the       
tradition2 though wearing no veil she   
will hold up a portion of her drapery at
 the coming of the passer-by1 or perhaps
 only place her hand before her mouth4  

,woman-like1 in spite of her menial     
toil1 she believes in personal care1 and
 her long black hair is carefully       
dressed and glistens with ,palma        
,christi oil4  ,she paints1 too1 as of  
old1 the marks appearing upon her chin  
and forehead1 while a string of         
attractive glass beads decorates and    
hangs suspended from her neck4  ,the    
olden ,egyptian costume is that         
principally affected by the fellah4 ,it 
consists of a closely-fitting cap of    
felt or cotton and a long robe of the   
latter material1 deeply dyed of an      
indigo blue4  ,shirt and drawers are of 
the same material1 while in some cases a
 young buck amongst his people will     
adorn himself1 like ,joseph of old1 in a
 vest of many colours1 borrowed from the
 ,arab1 the ,persian1 or the ,turk4  ,as
 above intimated1 the fellah believes in
 a life of leisure1 and finds it rather 
difficult to make the first start at his
 daily toil4  ,in the olden days the lot
 of the fellah was not quite so happy as

 it might have been4  ,he suffered from 
enforced labour1 and does not seem to   
have had much chance of appeal4  ,but he
 had one notable thing in his favour1   
for a river when in flood is subject to 
having huge portions of its banks       
undermined and swept away in a state of 
muddy solution2 and1 as was frequently  
the case1 the peasant cultivator1 who   
for the sake of the irrigation had his  
holding as near the bank as he could    
contrive to get1 was often a great      
sufferer1 being in the possession before
 the flood of a considerable strip of   
cultivated land1 while after the        
inundation it was a minus quantity1     
leaving him to begin life again4 ,here1 
however1 the law of the land was very   
equitable upon his behalf1 giving him   
liberty to go either up or down stream  
to select an equal quantity of the land 
he had lost that was new and            
unappropriated1 and no one said him nay4
  ,and now1 thanks to the just and easy 
state of the ,government1 the native    

working ,egyptian is far better off with
 regard to his condition than he appears
 to have been at any time in the past4  
,prosperity surrounds him1 and the      
lesser holders of land1 say of from four
 to ten feddans or acres1 rapidly grow  
well-to-do and distance the larger      
proprietors4  ,the extent now of the    
land under cultivation is vastly in     
excess of what it was4  ,the people are 
growing more energetic--those of the    
better class-- and are learning fast1   
while the spirit of emulation is        
increasing amongst them as they waken up
 to what modern civilisation will       
achieve4 ,their ,government1 too1 is    
working hard on their behalf1 a college 
having been established at ,ghizeh for  
the purpose of instructing the sons of  
native landowners and of the working    
fellaheen class in more advanced        
agriculture1 fitting them in the        
knowledge necessary for the prosecution 
of agriculture according to the best    
forms1 the proper rotations of crops1   

selections of fertilisers1 natural and  
chemical1 and1 above all1 stockbreeding 
and all that has been learned of late in
 connection with the dairy4  ,in brief1 
much as has been said of the ,egypt of  
the past being the garden of the world1 
it bids fair to become in the future so 
great a contrast that old ,egypt will   
pale into insignificance in the bright  
light of the new4    ,,chapter ,,nine4  
99,horses994--,there are no heavy horses
 used here1 such as the ,shire or       
,clydesdale1 as the ploughing is done by
 oxen4  ,the ,arab horses--or they might
 be classed as ponies--measure from     
fourteen to fourteen and a half hands   
high4  ,they are not of great substance1
 but light in the bone1 leggy1          
narrow-chested1 though sure-footed and  
hardy4  ,horse breeding is not attended 
with much success1 as regards the       
production of high-class stock1 and     
re-mounts for the ,army and ,police have
 to be purchased in ,syria4  ,the       
stories one reads while at school about 

the ,arab and his steed receive a rude  
shock when one witnesses the unmerciful 
way in which the ,arab overloads and    
whips his horses4  ,they are not true   
horsemen1 a fact which is apparent in   
their methods of training horses to     
harness4  ,the ,government has supplied 
stud horses to various districts to try 
and improve the breed4  ,on the farm    
horses are used for carting1 etc4  ,they
 are fed on barley and broken straw     
7tibn71 the former a bad form of        
provender for the horse1 unless its     
harshness be ameliorated by crushing4   
99,cattle994--,the work-bullocks are    
strong1 docile animals1 and do the      
ploughing1 threshing1 raising water1    
etc4  ,one pair is yoked to a plough4   
,four pairs are sufficient to work a    
farm of one hundred acres4 ,their daily 
feed is nine pounds of beans and        
twenty-five pounds of straw4  ,the beans
 are split1 and are eaten uncooked4     
,most estates have to purchase their    
oxen1 as very few cows are kept for     

breeding purposes4  ,the fellaheen keep 
one or two1 and rear the young bulls4   
,where the soil is richest the cattle   
are best4  ,in summer the fellah allows 
his young stock to get into poor        
condition1 and this has an effect on    
their growth4  ,he has--amongst many    
other things--still to learn about early
 maturity4  ,within recent years        
work-bullocks have risen enormously in  
price1 owing to more butcher's meat     
being consumed by the fellaheen and the 
,european visitors4  ,the price of a    
pair of good bullocks is #de pounds at  
the age of four years4  ,these cattle   
resemble those of the ,channel ,islands1
 but are larger4  ,they are very often  
deficient in depth of rib and chest     
measurement1 hollow-backed1 and narrow  
across the loins1 as well as leggy1 and 
they show want of strength of forearm4  
,these are some of the defects which may
 be eradicated by care in selecting1    
mating1 etc4  ,cows are kept and bred   
from by the fellaheen1 who rear the     

young bulls1 while1 as we have seen1 the
 cows are used for ploughing4  ,they are
 not a breed of deep milkers1 but the   
milk is rich in butter fat1 #e per cent1
 being common2 and sixteen pounds of    
milk will give two pounds of cream1 or  
one pound of butter1 which is in demand 
at from #a shilling #f pence to #b      
shillings per pound4  ,crossing with    
,european bulls has been tried lately1  
with a measure of success4  ,some idea  
of the characters of these animals may  
be gathered by comparing the            
illustrations representing both buffalo 
and ordinary bull with the experimental 
cross-bred animals reared upon the      
,khedivial farms4  ,it has been found   
that crosses between ,fribourg bulls    
7,swiss7 and native cows improve the    
milking qualities and also produce an   
animal with better points of breeding1  
without diminishing the usefulness for  
draught purposes4  ,fine specimens are  
to be seen at the present time upon the 
,khedive's farms4  ,a practice common to

 the country is that when the cow is    
milked her calf is tied up beside her   
and allowed afterwards to partake of its
 share4  ,if this rule be not observed1 
the cow will not give up her milk4      
99,buffaloes994--,large specimens of    
these peculiar and useful animals have  
been bred upon the ,khedive's stock     
farm1 great enterprise having been      
exercised for the purposes of           
improvement both as draught animals and 
for dairy purposes4  ,one of the sires  
is a magnificent bull lately brought by 
his ,highness's orders from the ,soudan4
  ,both bulls and cows are yoked for    
farm labour in the fields1 while the    
latter1 as dairy stock1 are in great    
favour1 their milk being richer in      
butter-producing qualities than that of 
the ordinary dairy cow of ,europe4      
,eleven pounds of buffalo milk will     
churn one pound of butter1 but the      
quality is not so good1 being pale in   
colour1 and oily4  ,the yield of milk   
per twenty-four hours is about thirty   

pounds4  99,donkeys994--,unlike the     
despised donkey of ,england1 the ass of 
,egypt is one of the most useful of     
animals4  ,it is a hardy1 patient       
burden-bearer1 but very often           
ill-treated1 notwithstanding its good   
services4  ,it is employed on the farm  
for carrying manure in bags slung across
 the back1 and is largely used for the  
saddle4  ,a well-bred1 generously       
treated donkey is often of a goodly     
size4  99,mules994--,these are employed 
for carting1 raising water1 and other   
farm work4  ,they are very strong and   
useful4  99,sheep994--,egypt is not a   
pastoral country1 and but scant         
attention is paid to these animals4     
,they are considered a sort of          
by-product4  ,when attention is paid to 
them1 however1 they yield excellent     
profit4  ,the ram lambs at five months  
sell at from sixteen to twenty          
shillings4  ,no care is bestowed on     
selection1 and breeding from weedy rams 
renders the stock deficient in quality4 

,the duties of the shepherd are light1  
as the flock is always under his eye at 
pastures4  ,a very good idea of the     
,egyptian sheep can be gathered from the
 illustration4  ,but the time is rapidly
 approaching when all this may be       
changed2 for sheep-farming may be looked
 upon from its double advantage of their
 increasing popularity for food purposes
 and their value for the extension of a 
system of animal manuring1 and thus     
supplying1 by feeding off crops1 one of 
the great wants of the country4  ,to a  
great extent the poor class ,egyptian   
has been a vegetarian1 but1 with the    
increase of riches and prosperity in the
 country1 ,mr ,wallace in his address   
speaks of the growing demand for animal 
food1 especially mutton2 while he       
reminds his listeners that one of the   
ways in which an ,arab honours his guest
 is by furnishing his feast with a whole
 roast lamb4  ,the ,prophet ,mohammed1  
in his sanitary laws to his followers1  
teaches them to partake of mutton1 in   

his wisdom and knowledge of its         
superiority to the flesh of the ox1     
which is considered unclean1 pointing to
 the fact that even in his day cattle   
were known to be affected with some form
 of tuberculosis1 which might possibly  
be eaten and thus imparted to the       
unfortunate partaker of the unwholesome 
food4  ,a special choice of site for    
sheep-farming is necessary1 as a matter 
of course2 but portions of the country  
may easily be selected where they can be
 kept with advantage--in the ,nubarea1  
for instance4  ,for not only is the land
 itself undergoing change in its nature1
 but politically as well4  ,under the   
present form of government and the      
protection to the cultivator which has  
been the natural result1 the farmer is  
becoming freed from the risks of the    
past2 for1 unfortunately1 in consequence
 of a certain inborn notion that has    
existed among the native ,egyptian that 
everything he covets may be annexed1 it 
has been found absolutely necessary by  

the grower of sheep to keep an          
exceedingly sharp eye over his tempting 
flocks1 which have had to be dealt with 
as if they were in an enemy's land4     
,driven into folds at night1 this has   
not been sufficient2 for as there is a  
want here of that breed of savage dogs  
fostered for their protection by the    
,albanian shepherds1 the ,egyptian      
shepherd has to be supplemented by      
watchmen ready to stand sentry over the 
flocks by night4  ,sheep feeding        
progresses well during the time of the  
growing crops2 but as these pass away1  
that form of farming and feeding which  
may be looked upon as quite modern in   
its application has proved most         
advantageous to the keeper of sheep3 we 
mean the plan which agitated the public 
mind to so great an extent a decade or  
two back--ensilage--when our country    
rang with reports of experimental       
building of costly silos1 or the sinking
 in suitable places of cement-lined     
tanks in which the newly-cut crops of   

green cattle food were piled or stacked1
 rammed down for preservation1 and made 
into what one facetious writer          
stigmatised as cattle jam4 ,the idea of 
the inexperienced was that this         
treatment of the green grass or clover  
would result either in rotting or       
fermentation1 with spontaneous          
combustion to follow1 as in the case of 
a too hurriedly made hay or corn rick in
 a moist harvest time4  ,but the        
operations of ,nature are as wondrous as
 they are puzzling1 and it was found in 
our own country that the crop preserved 
in its silo could be kept for a         
reasonable length of time1 and then cut 
out in an appetising state1 ready for   
the cattle in a season of scarcity4     
,answering so well in ,europe1 with its 
frequent rains and superabundant        
moisture1 it is bound to be successful  
in comparatively rainless ,egypt1 where 
the clover can be cut at the exact      
necessary period and kept ready for use 
as required--a fact which is likely to  

give a great impetus to sheep-raising in
 such a pastureless country as the      
,delta4    ,,chapter ,,ten4  ,there is  
every probability of a small capitalist1
 one who might begin with almost nothing
 besides so much land and a sufficiency 
to tide himself over the first few      
months1 making a fair success by the    
establishing of a poultry farm4  ,in    
,england we are favoured every year with
 reports of the trials that have been   
made in this branch of farming2 and as a
 rule it seems that bad weather1 the    
cold1 and the cost of keeping1 run away 
with most of the profits4  ,indeed1 the 
writer's experience points to the fact  
that few as yet have made a satisfactory
 living by keeping fowls in this rainy  
island1 while up to the present day our 
supplies are kept up by the chickens and
 eggs taken into market from ordinary   
farms1 or collected by hucksters from   
the cottages over wide districts4  ,this
 applies as much to ,france as to       
,england1 for we are indebted to the    

former country for millions of the eggs 
with which the metropolis is supplied4  
,in ,egypt1 where there is plenty of    
room and abundant sunshine1 fowls might 
be much improved by the choice of       
suitable kinds1 while some management   
would be required as to the means of    
feeding1 though one suggestion may be   
made that1 if adopted1 ought to prove of
 great assistance to the fowl and egg   
farmer4  ,there is one peculiarity in   
the growing of grain in ,egypt1 and this
 is noticeable in the harvesting1 the   
heat of the sun being so great that the 
corn of various kinds ripens with such  
rapidity that if much of it be not cut  
down and carried in the comparative     
coolness of the night much of it is shed
 in the fields and is wasted4  ,here is 
a great opportunity for the poultry     
farmer1 or the farmer who merely keeps a
 few fowls in connection with his       
general cultivation2 for at such times1 
in a country where double crops prolong 
the harvest1 great numbers of poultry in

 kinds would be self-feeding1 and far   
superior in quality to many that are    
brought into the ,cairene and           
,alexandrian markets4  ,still1 at the   
present time the occupation has been    
much improved1 for not only are the     
native markets supplied1 but exportation
 of eggs is on the increase4  ,far off  
as ,egypt may be1 the metropolis is to  
some extent supplied with its produce1  
but to nothing like the extent that     
should be the case1 for the ,london egg 
merchants will not buy mummies1 which is
 the cant term for ,egyptian eggs1 save 
for about two months in the year1 when  
the ,european supplies are scarce4      
,this fact--one which is well worthy the
 attention of poultry farming           
aspirants--is entirely the fault of the 
,egyptian grower1 for the ,london       
merchants' complaint is perfectly       
justifiable4  ,it is this--that the     
,egyptian eggs are exceedingly small1   
and so badly packed for transit by those
 who seem thoroughly ignorant of the    

proverbial fact that eggs are eggs1 that
 the breakage is enormous1 while the    
entire loss falls on the agents4        
,similar complaints used to be made     
regarding the eggs imported into ,europe
 from ,morocco and ,algiers1 but here   
those connected with the trade have woke
 up to their shortcomings and introduced
 better fowls--the layers of larger     
eggs--and have also given greater       
attention to the packing of this        
exceedingly brittle merchandise4  ,hence
 the result has been most satisfactory1 
and the trade has rapidly increased4    
,egypt being1 then1 in much the same    
latitude as ,morocco and ,algiers1 there
 is no reason whatever why the former   
country should not improve its          
production of poultry so as to vastly   
increase the demand by raising the      
quality of its supplies4  ,physiologists
 seem very much behindhand in accounting
 for the terrible destruction which     
comes upon countries from time to time4 
,africa1 the ancient home of plagues1 is

 only now recovering from that frightful
 devastation which affected grazing     
animals1 the wild as severely as the    
domesticated4  ,from south to north this
 great portion of the globe was swept by
 the ,teutonically-named ,rinderpest4   
,cattle of all kinds1 and the droves of 
antelope-like creatures which roamed the
 wilds1 perished almost like vegetation 
before the hot1 sweeping blast of a     
volcano or forest fire4  ,and1 though   
little known outside1 ,northern ,africa 
has had a trouble that seems to have    
been special to domesticated birds1 a   
fact which shows that poultry farming in
 ,egypt is not all couleur de rose1 and 
that he who would venture upon such a   
pursuit enjoys no immunity from risks1  
but must take his chance with the       
vegetable and fruit growers who1 like   
those in other countries1 have their    
difficulties to face4  ,one visitation  
was productive recently of terrible     
devastation amongst fowls4  ,this was   
not the familiar gapes of the ,british  

poultry-yard1 but is described as a kind
 of cholera1 so bad that villages have  
been losing their entire stock1 with the
 natural consequence that the market    
prices of poultry and eggs have greatly 
increased--charges1 in fact1 having     
doubled and even trebled4  ,experiments 
have been tried in the investigation of 
the disease and the manner of treating  
it1 but so far the only successful way  
of dealing with the trouble seems to    
have been by isolation4  ,but there     
appears to be every probability of the  
disease proving only of a temporary     
nature1 and that the production of      
poultry will be as easy1 simple1 and    
remunerative as of old2 for1 as may     
easily be understood1 poultry farming is
 bound to be of vast importance in a hot
 country4 ,every traveller recalls what 
a staple food a so-called chicken is in 
the ,west ,indies2 while in the vast    
plains of ,india almost every native    
cottage has its fowls to meet the demand
 of an enormous consumption4  ,of the   

quality the less said the better4  ,the 
aim of the possessor of a poultry-yard  
in ,western ,europe is to produce a     
plump1 square1 so-to-speak1 solid fowl1 
broad and full of breast4  ,the ,indian 
bird seems to have been gifted by       
,nature--in merciful consideration of   
its being1 like most gallinaceous birds1
 short and hollow of wing and a bad     
flier1 and also of its having to run for
 its life to escape immolation and      
consumption--with an abundance of skinny
 leg1 and it never seems to have        
occurred to the ryot that he might      
improve the breed4  ,even in civilised  
,egypt there is much to be done in this 
direction1 and an ample field is open to
 the poultry farmer to improve the      
quality of the fowl1 with success       
attending him if he will be content to  
go watchfully to work and make his      
experiments upon a sound basis1 without 
being too ready to look with contempt   
upon the experience-taught native ways4 
,one thing is worthy of remark for the  

benefit of the would-be poultry farmer1 
and that is in connection with the      
marketing1 for it is almost a rule that 
no one in ,egypt buys a dead fowl4  ,in 
,western ,europe1 of course1 the common 
practice is to send the fatted chickens 
for sale plucked and neatly trussed4    
,in ,egypt it is different1 from the    
fear lest it should have died from      
natural causes4  ,the result of this    
style of vendition is the repellent way 
in which poultry are hawked about the   
streets of the town1 raising feelings   
for the need of more                    
prevention-of-cruelty-to-animals        
establishments1 though it would be hard 
work to interfere with a custom which   
has a good deal of reason on its side1  
for1 waiving the possibilities of       
purchasing a bird that may have been    
killed by accident1 or possibly have    
died from disease1 climatic reasons must
 be taken into consideration4  ,egypt is
 at times intensely hot1 and1 whatever  
may be the fancies of epicures in       

connection with game1 the gourmet has   
yet to be found with a preference for   
having his chickens high4  ,still1 as   
aforesaid1 there is something repellent 
in the way in which the doomed birds are
 treated4  ,in ,england a ,prevention   
officer soon summons the huckster who   
overcrowds his poultry in a crate and   
does not supply them with food or water2
 but in ,egypt it is one of the common  
objects of the streets to see a bunch of
 fowls tied together by the legs and    
swinging from the vendor's hand1 wearily
 curving up their necks so as to get    
their heads in the normal position1     
while every now and then a case may be  
found where the seller finds that he    
requires refreshment and callously      
throws his load upon the ground1 while  
in ,eastern fashion he takes his seat at
 a cafe to sip his cup and smoke a      
cigarette4    ,,chapter ,,eleven4  ,in  
such a climate as has been described    
,egypt offers every inducement for the  
planting of fruit trees that are likely 

to flourish under its ardent sun4       
,attempts have been made1 and with fair 
success1 but the raising of fruit has   
not reached that state of excellence    
warranted by fertility and the          
conditions of the climate4  ,examination
 very soon shows the reasons for this   
lack of prosperity1 which is clearly the
 fault of the ,egyptian gardener in his 
want of system1 his easy1 careless      
indifference1 and his clinging to the   
old-fashioned way of planting a fruit   
tree1 namely1 placing it in a hole in   
the ground and leaving it to itself4    
,the first things that strike observers 
in visiting ,egyptian gardens are the   
overcrowding of the trees1 the neglect  
of precautions to keep them free from   
weeds1 and in many cases the marked     
absence of pruning dealt out judiciously
 by one who knows a fruit tree and its  
needs--plenty of light and air1 the     
removal of cross growth1 and the        
fostering of bearing wood1 here         
frequently injured by rank growth4      

,then1 again1 the ,egyptian gardener is 
as obstinate and conservative as his    
prototype in the western counties of    
,england1 who leaves his ancient        
apple-trees of the orchard to grow one  
into the other and become covered with  
grey lichen1 while he religiously avoids
 the replacing of old and unprofitable  
trees by young ones4  ,the result of    
experience is--and the knowledge of what
 the land will do makes it certain--that
 in the following out of this defective 
system may be traced the want of        
quality1 flavour1 and quantity of some  
,egyptian fruits4  ,of these it must be 
remembered that the settler and         
commencer of their cultivation would    
have to deal with several that are new  
to him in the way of growing1 as well as
 those of the cooler parts of ,europe4  
,egypt suggests to the reader the       
ancient civilisation1 with its pyramids1
 temples1 and other monuments of its    
old-time grandeur1 the great river1 and1
 above all1 the desert2 but to come back

 from these to the simple and ordinary  
pursuit of gardening1 the settler would 
be able to surround himself1 as in      
,california and ,florida1 but without   
the bitter disappointments produced by  
frosts1 with several varieties of the   
golden apples of the                    
,hesperides--oranges1 to wit--the sweet1
 the bitter1 the deeply tinted blood    
orange1 and the mandarin4  ,all of them 
grow well in ,lower ,egypt1 and produce 
beautiful and profitable crops of fruit1
 as may be judged by the following4     
,the sweet and mandarin trees will bear1
 upon a good average tree1 from three   
hundred to four hundred oranges         
each--that is to say1 good1 sweet1 juicy
 fruit1 and these will sell readily     
wholesale at about two shillings per    
hundred2 while1 in the way of drawbacks 
for one who expects to make an income   
from his sales1 it will be found here   
that1 just as at home1 the tree that in 
one season bears an exceptionally heavy 
crop is rather shy in its production in 

the next4  ,the words that follow       
deserve to be written in italics for the
 benefit of those who know the ravages  
and foulness that come upon an orange   
tree in company with the varieties of   
scale4  ,there are no insect pests1     
neither1 as has been intimated1 are     
there frosts to destroy the bloom4  4   
propos of this bloom1 there is a        
practice pursued in ,egypt which may    
seem strange to an ,english gardener1   
but which adds largely to the profits of
 the orange grower1 and is doubtless    
beneficial to the tree1 relieving it as 
it may from the strain of overbearing4  
,when the bitter orange is in full      
flower the trees are shaken1 and more   
than half of the blossoms are sold for  
the purpose of distillation4  ,the      
essence produced is used for mixing with
 drinking water1 or for flavouring      
beverages1 while the price received for 
the petals is about two-pence-halfpenny 
per pound4  ,in addition to the oranges1
 which are in season from ,november     

until ,march1 and keep fruiting in      
beautiful repetition1 lemons of several 
varieties are grown1 and are marketable 
at the same time of year4  ,these are a 
most popular fruit among the ,egyptians1
 largely utilised as a kind of seasoning
 in the preparation of cooked dishes1   
and also much prized for the making of  
summer beverages in this hot and thirsty
 land4  ,these are even better friends  
to the gardener growing for the market  
than oranges1 for they are sure         
croppers1 and command a good price4     
,abundance may be written with regard to
 summer fruits1 the list numbering      
apricots1 pears1 plums1 peaches1 apples1
 grapes1 figs1 the custard apple1       
pomegranate1 melon1 and banana4  ,of    
these1 bananas1 apricots1 pomegranates1 
and figs may be classed as the most     
profitable fruits of the summer season4 
,but people accustomed to the ,english  
,moorpark and ,gros ,peche apricot1     
which1 when well-grown upon a south wall
 or in an orchard-house1 is one rich bag

 of reddish amber1 deliciously flavoured
 honey-like juice1 would be much        
disappointed in the abundant apricots   
which are produced upon standard trees  
for the ,egyptian market4  ,they are    
finely flavoured1 but small1 hard1 and  
fibrous2 and an experienced cultivator  
of fruit trees states that it is very   
probable that the deficiency in quality 
and the reason that so far it has not   
thrived to perfection is1 paradoxical as
 it may sound1 that it matures too      
quickly1 which is another way of saying 
that the climate is too fine for it4    
,still1 there is every reason to believe
 that skilful management and choice     
acclimatisation1 or the raising of new  
sorts1 may result in the production of  
finer apricots than those now grown in  
,england1 where in some parts a manifest
 deterioration has been in progress1 so 
great that growers are destroying their 
apricots and replacing them with fruit  
trees more suited to our sunless        
climate4  ,some years back a novelty    

made its appearance in the ,alexandria  
district4  ,this was a veritable plague 
of ,egypt1 though undoubtedly a visitant
 from abroad4  ,it was a banana disease1
 which in its inroads played great havoc
 amongst the plantations4  ,scientific  
examination was brought to bear1 and the
 cause was found to be a parasitic      
nematode which attacked the roots of the
 plant4  ,fortunately the trouble was   
local1 and the infection limited in its 
area1 while at the present time many of 
the plantations are free from the pest4 
,with regard to peaches1 the way is open
 to the enterprising and clever         
cultivator1 for with such a constant    
supply of sunshine much ought to be done
 in the way of growing this queen of    
fruits4  ,many of us here in ,england1  
who have to trust to trees laboriously  
trained against a wall1 or spread out   
and tied in to wires at the cost of many
 a back and neck ache1 beneath the      
sloping glass of an orchard-house1 have 
read with watering mouths of the        

standard trees of the ,united ,states1  
where the fallen peaches are gathered up
 in barrowfuls and considered of no     
account4  ,abundance rules there1 and   
possibly it may be that this is due to  
the intensely hot summers of the ,states
 and their frigidly cold winters2 for   
this seems to be the nature of the      
climate in the country from which the   
peach sprang and took its ,latin name1  
,persica2 for there1 following upon the 
summer heats1 winter comes down from the
 mountains intensely cold4  ,this       
balance is wanting in ,egypt1 where1 so 
far1 peaches have not proved to be a    
success4  ,the trees grow well and bear 
fruit that is fairly large in size1 but 
does not possess the fine aromatic1     
juicy flavour of a well-matured ,english
 peach grown upon a wall and only       
protected during the time of frost1     
those raised under glass1 save in size  
and appearance1 never approaching the   
open-air fruit4  ,the ,egyptian peaches 
are hard and fibrous1 as well as wanting

 in the piquant bitter almond flavour so
 much esteemed4  ,possibly the selection
 of better kinds may make a great change
 in the hands of careful cultivators1   
but in common fairness it is right to   
say that the successful production of   
this favourite fruit in ,egypt is open  
to doubt4  ,so far1 too1 another stone  
fruit1 the plum1 is not extensively     
grown1 while the plums produced in the  
,egyptian garden cannot compare with    
those imported from ,europe4  ,but this 
fruit is not such an aristocrat among   
the luscious beauties of the garden as  
the exacting peach1 and there is nothing
 to prevent1 either in soil or climate1 
a finer quality being grown in the      
,delta4  ,what is needed is the         
selection of new and suitable varieties1
 accompanied by careful watching of     
results2 in fact1 the intelligent       
management of a good experimental       
gardener1 not one akin to that of       
,egypt1 who selects with extreme        
conservatism the easiest way to his     

desired ends4  ,he consequently devotes 
his time to those fruits which flourish 
easily and well4  ,his attention has    
been given principally to the growing of
 the citrus family1 to the exclusion of 
such fruits as pears and plums1 which   
are imported from ,syria and ,turkey4   
,in fact1 in spite of the possibilities 
of the ,delta1 how great is the want of 
enterprise may readily be seen when it  
is stated that the value of the imports 
of fruit may amount to many thousand    
pounds per annum4  ,unfortunately1 our  
two most home-like and familiar         
fruits--apples and pears--do not succeed
 here1 the climate being far too hot4   
,pears have a very small share of the   
land1 and the fruit is not of the best  
quality4 ,but while it is doubtful about
 the apple1 this doubt ought not to     
extend to the pear1 which is a lover of 
heat1 and1 as regards the better sorts1 
delicate and tender in its constitution4
  ,there can be no doubt that if a      
careful selection of some of the best   

,french and ,belgian varieties were     
introduced1 a fair meed of success would
 be the result1 for it seems almost     
contrary to reason that such kinds as   
the fragrant ,doyenne de ,comice and    
,glou ,morceau1 which fail as standards 
in the inclemency of an ,english season1
 and crack and speck if they are not    
protected by a wall1 should not succeed 
in ,egypt if they are given a fair      
trial4  ,not that there is much need for
 experiment in a country which can grow 
its grapes gloriously in the open air1  
the vines not asking for the help of    
glass4  ,some half dozen varieties are  
produced in ,egypt1 and flourish well   
under treatment of the simplest kind4   
,the cultivation of the vine extends    
over the whole of the province of       
,fayoum4  ,in this latter district a    
white grape1 called after its habitat   
the ,fayoumi1 is the favourite in the   
market1 and it is the earliest that     
ripens4  ,the berries are medium sized1 
but the flavour is excellent and the    

fruit very juicy4  ,there is little     
question of training or trellis work1   
for1 somewhat after the fashion of the  
vineyards in ,france1 the vines are     
grown as bushes of about two feet high2 
and the result1 though not the          
production of the bunches of the ,vale  
of ,eshcol1 is still abundance4  ,two   
varieties are grown in the ,delta and   
,cairo districts1 namely ,roumy--a kind 
derived from ,greece--and ,shawishi4    
,here1 as opposed to the cultivation in 
the province of ,fayoum1 the vines are  
mostly trained on lattice work so as to 
form what the old gardeners called a    
pergola1 or covered way4  ,both these   
varieties are heavy croppers1 bearing   
bunches whose berries are of a greenish 
red1 while the flavour is very good4    
,egypt is a land of vines and vineyards1
 much space being given to the          
cultivation of the grape1 though not for
 the purposes of carting to the         
winepress1 the ,moslem religion being   
antagonistic to the grape's fermented   

juice4  ,each district has its favoured 
kind1 and in that of ,alexandria and    
along the shore of the ,mediterranean   
the vine is abundantly grown close to   
the ground1 the soil being pure sand4   
,there is a peculiarity in the          
cultivation here1 for ,v-shaped trenches
 are cut to a depth of from six to nine 
feet4  ,then vine shoots are planted in 
the bottom of the trench1 where the     
young rootlets they put forth are within
 reach of water4  ,vegetation is rapid1 
and the canes gradually cover the slopes
 on either side1 while in two years the 
vines begin to bear4  ,the bushes       
receive no irrigation from above1 only  
depending upon the so-called winter     
rains1 which are fairly frequent near   
the sea1 and1 as has been shown1 gaining
 their support from beneath the sand at 
the bottom of the trench4  ,but though  
no irrigation is brought to bear1 these 
ground vineries require annually an     
application of manure if the best       
results are to be obtained4  ,as the    

land of the ,delta is practically level1
 it affords scarcely any opportunities  
for the growth of the grape vine upon   
sunny slopes1 this being the only       
instance in ,egypt where grapes are     
grown with this exposure1 while these   
slopes are all artificially made4  ,as  
regards insect pests1 they may be almost
 classed as nil1 and the grower will not
 hear of thrip and scale1 mealie bug1 or
 red spider1 so that the cultivation is 
conducted under the most favourable     
conditions2 but the ubiquitous sparrow  
is even there1 and1 unless means are    
taken to scare away or destroy him1 his 
ravages amongst the sweet berries are   
great4  ,here1 too1 as may be supposed  
where grapes are produced to so great an
 extent1 the thinning of the berries is 
not resorted to1 and consequently they  
are not so large as might be expected   
from the heat of the climate and the    
favourable conditions under which they  
are grown1 nor is the flavour so fine as
 that of the beautiful bunches so       

carefully tended and watched under glass
 in an ,english vinery2 but they command
 a ready sale at about twopence per     
pound when the fruit is ripe1 from the  
beginning of ,june4    ,,chapter        
,,twelve4  ,that delicious ,european    
fruit1 the strawberry1 by nature a      
dweller in cool and ,alpine regions1 was
 not known in ,egypt till within forty  
years ago4  ,planted as an experiment by
 someone familiar with its qualities1 it
 seems to have passed rather an         
unfavourable time in popular estimation2
 but it is now gradually gaining in     
favour1 and the area under cultivation  
is steadily extending4  ,the fruit is   
ripe in ,november1 and finds a ready    
sale at tenpence per pound2 while1 if   
the cultivation is good and             
well-managed1 the return to the planter 
may be reckoned at forty pounds for the 
produce of an acre4  ,to an ,englishman 
familiar with the strawberry and its    
growth1 one knowing the botanical       
character of the plant and the love of  

its roots for a rich clay land1 it seems
 surprising that it should flourish so  
well in the sandy soil of ,egypt4  ,but1
 of course1 this is explained by the    
yearly deposit of rich silt1 or warp1   
the result of the annual floods4        
,fortunately for the grower1 he is not  
troubled as in ,england by woodland     
birds1 the ,eastern crops suffering very
 little from their ravages1 while the   
plant enjoys almost an immunity from the
 attacks of insect plagues4  ,in the    
goodly list of luscious fruits we now   
come to figs--not the overgrown1 sickly 
fruit that only ripens under very       
favourable circumstances in ,england1   
but the rich saccharine bag of embedded 
seed that we know best in its dried and 
pressed form as the common fig4  ,its   
cultivation is spread over the whole    
,delta and the ,fayoum1 where its milky1
 succulent stems and dark green leaves  
flourish thoroughly well4 ,the trees1 as
 a rule1 grow to a height of nine or ten
 feet1 are well branched1 and find great

 favour with the native gardener1 for   
they possess the admirable qualities of 
requiring not much attention1 very      
little manure1 and no pruning4  ,joined 
to this1 the trees are very prolific1   
and the luscious fruit finds great      
favour with the people4  ,another       
popular fruit which grows without much  
attention save irrigating1 and that to a
 very moderate degree1 is the prickly   
pear4  ,here in ,england the melon is   
looked upon as a delicacy4  ,gardeners  
vie one with the other in its           
production1 and seedsmen push forward   
this fashionable fruit by advertising   
their own special specimens of prize    
kinds1 and these may be almost classed  
as legion4  ,in ,egypt the varieties are
 roughly divided into two1 the sweet and
 the water melon1 and they both flourish
 wonderfully4  ,they are sown in        
,february and ,march1 and thrive best in
 light loam1 while their period of      
growth extends to about four months4    
,in their rapid development they attain 

to a goodly size4  ,for instance1 a     
water melon may reach the weight of     
thirty pounds1 while from a marketing   
point of view1 taking large and small   
together1 so as to strike an average1   
the wholesale price may be placed at    
fivepence per melon1 and the cultivator 
of an acre of land devoted to this      
produce may reckon on receiving from    
forty to sixty pounds--pretty           
satisfactory for the four months of     
growth and the land ready for planting  
with some other crop suitable to the    
season1 for the grower has no dreary    
months of winter to intervene4  ,the    
cultivation of the sweet melon is       
similar to that of its relative1 but the
 fruit is finer in flavour and the      
plants not so prolific4 ,consequently   
the grower's receipts are much smaller1 
a fair computation of the returns from  
an acre being from about thirty to forty
 pounds4 ,there is another disadvantage1
 too1 in the growth of this fruit4  ,it 
must be consumed within some ten days   

after being fully ripe1 whereas the     
sturdy water melon will keep good for   
over a month4  ,in spite of the good    
qualities of the melon1 its ease of     
growth1 and the market requirements1    
nothing like sufficient are grown1 the  
demand being supplied by the importation
 of large quantities from neighbouring  
countries4  ,this popular fruit is      
always looked upon as deliciously       
refreshing and fine in flavour1 but it  
may be mentioned here how much climate  
has to do with the quality of the fruit4
  ,some years ago a friend1 after a     
prolonged stay in ,egypt1 presented the 
writer with a few seeds of the ,egyptian
 melon4  ,these were planted here in    
,england and nursed up under glass with 
all the care that good gardening and    
watching could bestow4 ,everything was  
done to the exotic plants that a certain
 amount of experience in growing melons 
could supply1 and a couple of them      
flourished exceedingly--under glass1 be 
it remembered1 in a heated              

house--blossomed1 and bore several fine 
large green fruit1 whose increase was   
watched and maturing waited for1 but in 
vain4  ,presumably there was a certain  
amount of fragrance and ripening1 for   
the fruit changed colour and gave forth 
the familiar odour2 but the             
anticipations of enjoying a delicious   
,egyptian melon were not fulfilled4 ,a  
good ripe vegetable marrow would have   
put either of them to the blush4        
,pumpkins1 big and gourd-like in        
growth--pastiches1 as they are commonly 
called--are most abundant in the early  
winter months1 and are largely brought  
down the river from ,upper ,egypt in    
barges or feluccas with graceful lateen 
sails4  ,they form a pleasant addition  
to the food of the poor1 while in their 
growth1 favoured as they are by a hot   
sun1 rich soil1 and a sufficiency of    
moisture1 their increase is almost      
fabulous1 and anyone of curious taste   
and plenty of patience1 aided by a      
powerful magnifying glass1 might in all 

probability be gratified by seeing the  
creeping growth of the watery vine and  
the steady swelling out of its heavy    
earth-supported fruit4  ,another fruit  
upon our list is the pomegranate1 of    
late years made familiar upon the       
barrows in the ,london streets1 and     
looking when cut open something like an 
unwholesome blood orange that has       
aborted and taken to growing an enormous
 excess of pips embedded in jelly within
 a hardened peel4  ,in spite of the     
enterprise which has brought the fruit  
here1 it seems hardly likely to bring   
the shippers much reward2 but it is     
extensively grown in ,egypt1 is in great
 demand1 and very profitable4  ,to      
continue with unfamiliar fruits1 we may 
next name the great date palm1 which may
 be looked upon as the most common tree 
to be found in ,egypt1 growing as it    
does all over both the upper and lower  
regions1 as well as on the sandy shores 
of the ,mediterranean ,sea4  ,no wonder 
that it is so largely planted1 for its  

fruit is everywhere consumed by the     
people as a portion of their food4  ,the
 tree begins to bear five years after   
planting1 and should take the record as 
a profitable friend of man1 for under   
favourable conditions it will go on     
bearing for a hundred years or more1    
while a good tree will bear1 on an      
average1 over a hundredweight of fruit1 
which is disposed of amongst the people 
at the popular price of one penny per   
pound4  ,the fruit ripens in ,september1
 and where the trees are selected1 are  
of the best variety and well attended   
to1 the profits are very good1          
especially if they are planted in a     
garden1 where their tuft of leaves1     
raised high upon their tall1 smooth     
stems1 throws so little shade that the  
ground beneath can be profitably planted
 with other crops1 such as the ordinary 
domestic vegetables of our own country1 
haricot beans1 peas1 spinach1 etc4  ,the
 large1 dark1 red-skinned1 hard date1 a 
friend writes from ,cairo1 has long been

 plentiful1 and forms one of the staple 
foods of the populace4  ,but            
to-day--i4e41 mid-,october--the soft1   
small luscious date was served at table4
  ,this is a most delicious fruit4  ,it 
tastes for all the world like caramel   
toffee1 though of course much softer4   
,these dates are wonderfully cheap4     
,they do not1 however1 keep more than   
twelve hours after picking1 and then    
begin to ferment and taste like beer4   
,they are most plentiful1 and there is1 
no doubt1 much waste4  ,i should think  
that a strong spirituous liquor could be
 distilled from them4  ,other fruits may
 be mentioned1 such as the quince1      
loquat1 lotus1 and that favourite of    
farther east1 the delicious mango2 but  
these are not extensively cultivated1   
and may very well be excluded from a    
list of fruits that might be profitably 
grown for market purposes4  ,the wonder 
is that the mango has been neglected1   
comparatively1 up to now4  ,still1 the  
,egyptians are waking up to its value1  

for during #aijc there has been in      
,cairo a very plentiful supply of this  
luscious fruit1 which bears some        
semblance in the eating to a very rich  
and juicy apricot1 resembling it also in
 colour4  ,the old saying of the        
,anglo-,indian who makes it a favourite1
 in spite of a slight suspicion of      
turpentine in its flavour1 is doubtless 
well-known to the reader--that which    
suggests that the best way of combating 
the superabundant juice and its gushing 
ways is to sit in one's bath when       
partaking of the fruit4  ,in summing up 
the prospects of fruit growing in       
,egypt1 ,mr ,wright states that he has  
no hesitation in saying that the        
conditions for gardening in ,egypt are  
certainly far more favourable than in   
such an uncertain climate as that of    
,england1 where in one night so much    
blossom may be destroyed by frost2 while
 in ,egypt one never hears of such a    
thing as a total failure of crop4       
,,chapter ,,thirteen4  ,to take a stride

 now from the delicious and attractive  
to the homely and useful1 but at the    
same time more general and profitable   
growing crops of ,egypt1 let us turn to 
the gardener's mainstay--his vegetables4
  ,here the first thing that strikes a  
visitor to this semi-tropical land is   
the familiarity of many of the garden   
crops--some1 to use an old-fashioned    
term1 grown out of knowledge2 others    
perhaps wanting in the qualities of the 
home country4  ,most familiar of        
all--certainly the most homely and      
extensively grown1 with great profit1 is
 the cabbage1 in three varieties--the   
,white ,drumhead1 the ,red ,drumhead1   
and the ,savoy4  ,here a little         
unfamiliarity steps in1 and that is in  
the usage1 for the cabbage in ,egypt is 
utilised by the people as a salad as    
well as for cooking4  ,from a gardener's
 point of view the head is not so large 
and hard1 the vegetable not forming a   
solid heart as it does in ,england4     
,but this may be accounted for by want  

of sufficient manure and attention--good
 gardening1 in short--and perhaps the   
climate is not wholly to blame4  ,the   
cauliflower flourishes fairly well under
 similar cultivation to the cabbage1 but
 being more delicate requires greater   
attention2 differing from the latter1   
the heads are well formed1 but it is    
necessary to shade them when coming to  
perfection1 the clean1 white growth     
being liable to be damaged by the too   
ardent sun4  ,good cauliflowers command 
a ready sale at better prices than are  
to be had in ,london as a rule1 the     
average cost being from                 
twopence-halfpenny to fivepence per     
head4  ,another very familiar crop is   
seen largely in ,egypt--the leek4  ,this
 is a profitable vegetable1 which grows 
to a good size1 is easily cultivated1   
and realises a total per acre of about  
fifteen pounds4  ,the carrot1 too1 is   
largely grown--in two varieties1 the    
native and the ,greek4  ,the native kind
 is sown in ,september1 and is ready for

 lifting in ,january2 while the ,greek  
variety1 sown in the same month1 is also
 used for the production of a summer    
crop in ,february4  ,a deep soil is     
necessary1 while its sandy nature in    
,egypt is most suitable for this root1  
and when carefully cultivated a fair    
return may be expected4  ,one of the    
most extensively grown vegetables1 a    
very general favourite almost everywhere
 except in ,england1 is the garlic4  ,it
 does well in ,egypt1 often in plots of 
as much as two acres1 and has the       
advantages of not requiring great care  
in cultivation1 nor much water2 while an
 average crop will yield of the silvery 
bulbs enough to be valued at about      
fifteen pounds per acre4  ,the onion1   
again1 proves itself to be a most       
thriving inhabitant of this ,eastern    
country1 growing hard1 firm1            
clean-skinned1 and healthy4  ,in this   
sunny clime it is extensively grown1 and
 not merely for home use4 ,the kind most
 popular is the red ,spanish onion1 and 

it is cultivated both in ,upper ,egypt  
and ,lower1 there being this peculiarity
 of difference1 namely1 that the        
,spanish onion grows to a larger size in
 the south1 while the flavour of those  
grown in the ,delta is superior4  ,a few
 words will not be out of place         
respecting the cultivation of this      
vegetable in ,upper ,egypt1 where it is 
grown most extensively as a farm crop   
for export4  ,the seed is sown in the   
month of ,october1 transplantation takes
 place in ,march1 and1 all going well1  
the crop is ready for lifting in ,june  
or ,july4  ,after the transplanting no  
irrigation is required4  ,the yield is  
approximately four to five tons per     
acre1 and the market price two pounds   
per ton4  ,the next vegetable on our    
list when grown in quantity looks       
wonderfully familiar and home-like4  ,it
 is the artichoke--not that of tuberous 
and sunflower-like growth1 but the      
deeply cut1 acanthus-like leaved        
ornamental plant of ,english gardens1   

with its majestic thistle-like purple   
head4  ,this is one of the best-paying  
garden crops1 these heads being greatly 
in demand by ,europeans1 though not much
 sought after by the natives4  ,in the  
culture it will be found that the growth
 is excellent for four years1 when      
transplanting becomes necessary and     
should be resorted to4  ,asparagus is   
decidedly one of the best-paying crops  
in ,egypt1 and naturally always in great
 demand by the ,europeans who visit or  
pass through the country in             
ever-increasing numbers4  ,the          
cultivation is the same good            
old-fashioned style practised in        
,england1 the beds being well prepared  
and generously treated with stimulants4 
,all that is required to secure a fine  
crop is proper attention under skilled  
direction1 for there are no drawbacks   
from frost1 the grower never finding the
 sturdy greenish purple shoots of       
yesterday drooping over and destroyed by
 the morning's frost4  ,well treated1   

the beds will remain good for from ten  
to fifteen years1 a very modest         
computation this1 for if well-managed   
and not cut too hard1 a good asparagus  
plantation ought to remain prosperous   
for twenty or thirty years4  ,as the    
result of his generous treatment in the 
way of stimulants1 the grower may expect
 to receive wholesale from two shillings
 to five shillings per hundred shoots1  
according to their size4  ,that         
easily-cultivated wholesome vegetable1  
spinach1 is largely grown from          
,september till ,january2 while now may 
be added1 most extensively raised1 a    
vegetable new to ,occidental eyes1 in   
company with three more which have long 
periods of growth1 well fitting one to  
succeed the other4  ,the first is a     
small-flowered mallow1 whose period is  
from ,september to ,october--it is much 
relished by the poorer ,egyptians as a  
cooked vegetable resembling spinach2    
purslane is another very easily-grown   
plant1 whose period is from ,march to   

,september2 ,jews' mallow1 too1 is a    
vegetable greatly esteemed by the       
natives4  ,this is cultivated1 and also 
found growing wild in the fields4  ,it  
is much in demand as a summer vegetable4
  ,okra is another dish held in high    
estimation2 it is not difficult to grow1
 and forms a good paying crop4  ,to     
return to the familiar vegetables of    
,western gardens1 we have a great       
favourite in the shape of the haricot   
bean4  ,this grows exceedingly well in  
,egypt1 on condition of its being well  
supplied with water1 while the rapidity 
of its maturing is marvellous1 showing1 
as it does1 the beauty of the ,egyptian 
climate and the power of the sun1 for it
 is fit to pick thirty days after       
sowing1 and the land ready for another  
crop1 a fact which seems almost         
incredible4  ,the next on the list of   
profitable vegetables is the ordinary   
broad bean1 but this is not extensively 
grown1 as it is only consumed by the    
upper class natives1 the poorer people  

preferring the ordinary horse bean1     
which is grown as a winter crop4  ,these
 beans are a very common article of     
food1 and are bought by the peasantry1  
ready boiled1 in most public places4    
,they are also largely employed as      
provender for the working cattle4  ,the 
roots of an arum and of the lotus1 too1 
are largely consumed1 and no wonder in  
the case of the latter in such a dreamy 
land2 but the effects are not quite the 
same as the former ,laureate described4 
,the turnip1 so popular in ,england1    
finds little favour1 though it is easily
 raised as a medium-paying crop1 and1   
odd as it may sound1 it is principally  
used pickled4  ,colocass is generally   
grown upon the farm4  ,the tubers are   
large1 about the size of an ,english    
turnip4  ,this is a splendid paying     
crop1 which is largely consumed as a    
vegetable and forms one of the staple   
foods of the fellaheen4  ,the sweet     
potato is also a common vegetable here1 
but the name sounds foreign to an       

,english cultivator4  ,it is a plant    
with tuberous roots of a white colour1  
mostly eaten roasted1 and1 like the     
colocass1 it is a favourite food of the 
farm labourer4  ,the value of the       
produce of an acre may be estimated at  
ten pounds1 and the duration of the crop
 is about four months4  ,the cucumber   
thrives very well in ,egypt1 and1 of    
course1 there is no necessity for the   
protection of glass4  ,it is as popular 
as in ,england1 but perhaps more        
utilised1 lasting well through summer   
into autumn1 and proves to be a very    
paying crop1 provided it has a plentiful
 supply of water4  ,this may also be    
said of the two varieties of vegetable  
marrow1 the green and white1 which are  
largely raised4  ,the fruits are most   
popular when very young1 and are much   
relished when treated as the cucumber is
 in ,england--that is to say1 served as 
a salad1 though it is cooked as well4   
,this1 like the cucumber1 is a          
medium-paying crop4  ,as for the latter1

 it has been a favourite object of      
culture1 dating right back to the days  
of the ,israelites4  ,the allusion to   
the cucumber will be recalled1 and all  
species of this family are cultivated   
with assiduity4  ,not that there is     
anything wonderful in this1 for in a hot
 country fruits and vegetables of rapid 
growth1 and which cause little trouble1 
are sure to be affected4  ,we say rapid 
growth advisedly1 for in favourable     
seasons the shoot of a cucumber may be  
almost seen to grow1 achieving as it    
does1 at times1 a length of twenty-four 
inches in a day and night4  ,the        
ordinary salads and herbs of the        
,english garden are easily raised1 and  
form profitable crops1 available summer 
and winter1 and are highly esteemed4    
,among other plants we have poppies1    
madder1 indigo1 flax and hemp2 while in 
the province of ,fayoum one very        
charming form of gardening is practised1
 namely the growth of the rose tree1    
from which is prepared the rose water so

 popular all through the ,east4  ,as for
 flowers of all descriptions1 where they
 are scarce it is the fault of the      
people1 for many of our most brilliant  
kinds1 especially the more tender1 which
 are raised in our islands only with    
care1 brighten the land and flourish    
everywhere like weeds4  ,our ornamental 
hothouse growth1 the eggplant1 here     
forms a most important vegetable1 which 
is extensively cultivated4  ,it is      
similar to the aubergine1 which is used 
in ,france and seen occasionally in     
,covent ,garden ,market2 but the years  
glide by1 and its bids for popular      
favour have met with but little success4
  ,it is the reverse in ,egypt1 where   
its use is general1 whether as a cooked 
vegetable1 pickled1 or in its raw state4
  ,it demands a rich1 deep soil1 and is 
raised in both varieties1 white and     
black1 for use in summer and autumn1 and
 proves to be very profitable to the    
grower4    ,,chapter ,,fourteen4        
,perhaps the most successful vegetable  

that has been introduced into ,england  
is the tomato4  ,forty or fifty years   
ago a punnet or two of the attractive   
vivid scarlet fruit might be seen in    
season at ,covent ,garden ,market4      
,they were known as love-apples1 and    
probably were bought and consumed2 but  
their growth into favour was very slow  
before becoming a fashion1 and1 with    
most people1 an acquired taste4  ,the   
tomato forms a summer production of the 
,english market gardener1 who is        
rivalled by the growers of the ,channel 
,islands2 and it is sent into market    
daily by the ton2 while1 when the       
inclemency of our climate renders firing
 absolutely necessary1 the enterprising 
growers of the ,canaries keep up the    
supply4 ,flourishing so well just off   
the west coast of ,africa1 it is only   
natural that the tomato should find a   
congenial home in the fertile ,east of  
the great ,continent1 and it is         
extensively grown with increasing       
success in ,egypt4  ,as an example of   

the tomato being treated as a profitable
 crop1 here is an instance of what has  
been done in the way of market gardening
 in the district of ,alexandria1 and may
 be done again by those persevering     
cultivators who are struggling to make a
 moderate living4  ,a father and two    
grown-up sons may rent a plot of land   
of1 say1 four acres in extent1 the rent 
of which perhaps reaches ten pounds per 
annum1 the gardener having to raise     
water for irrigation purposes4  ,the    
occupation of the land would commence on
 the first of ,august4  ,the soil may be
 classed as pure sand1 which naturally  
requires a liberal application of       
farmyard manure4  ,the ordinary tillage 
having been carried out1 the cultivator 
begins by transplanting seedling        
tomatoes about the beginning of         
,september4  ,not being prepared to     
plant the whole of his four acres with  
tomatoes1 he sows on another part       
vegetable marrows1 which in this hot    
climate are ready for plucking in six   

weeks1 the plants continuing to bear for
 a month2 while directly this supply is 
finished another crop of marrows may be 
sown on the same land4  ,meanwhile1 the 
tomatoes are pushing forward to be ready
 by the first of ,january at a time when
 the price is generally good1 though    
probably in no other vegetable is there 
so great a variance in the amount it    
will fetch1 dependent1 of course1 on the
 scarcity or plentifulness of the crop4 
,it will be news1 probably1 for the     
,british grower when he reads that the  
wholesale price of tomatoes in ,egypt   
varies from one farthing to fivepence   
per pound4  ,perhaps he may open his    
eyes a little wider when he reads that a
 fair estimate of the gross return from 
growing tomatoes for the market supply  
of ,alexandria will vary from ten pounds
 to fifty pounds or more per acre2 and1 
of course1 this is in the open ground1  
forming an almost immediate return1 and 
with no preliminary outlay for glass    
houses4  ,but there are always drawbacks

 in gardening2 and one of these1 which  
may occasionally mar success1 is caused 
on this land so near the sea by the     
fogs4  ,these1 if they attack this      
delicate plant1 so famous here at home  
for developing aphides and fungoid      
diseases1 like their unfortunate        
relatives the potatoes1 destroy the     
leaves1 blacken them1 hinder the setting
 of the blossom1 and generally reduce   
the crop4  ,several men have been known 
to engage in this cultivation in the    
neighbourhood of ,alexandria during the 
last five years1 and apparently they    
have financially improved their         
position4  ,leaving the aristocratic    
tomato and turning to its poor relative 
the potato1 it might have been hoped    
that in such a hot1 sandy land as       
,egypt1 where thousands of acres offer  
the same facilities1 and are made as    
rich and fertile as the famous warp-land
 potato tracts of north ,lincolnshire   
and south ,yorkshire1 a home would have 
been found where it would flourish free 

from disease4  ,unfortunately1 the      
information to be given to the          
horticultural or agricultural grower    
upon this point is not good2 in fact1   
quite sufficient to make the writer     
suggest that it should be a crop to be  
left alone4  ,certainly potato growing  
is tempting2 the cultivation is simple1 
the crops heavy and very profitable     
if--this is a very large if1 and means  
so much1 especially connected with      
weather and disease4 ,experience of long
 years employed in gardening and farming
 in ,egypt suggests that if the         
cultivation of the potato is entered    
upon it is best to be grown on the farm 
or by large market gardeners4  ,good    
quality potatoes1 such as are marketed  
in ,england1 are rarely found in ,egypt4
  ,the crop is generally grown from seed
 imported from ,france and ,italy1 and a
 sandy soil is chosen4  ,two crops1     
however1 can be taken from the land per 
annum4  ,the first is planted in        
,october1 and should be ready for       

lifting in the beginning of ,february1 a
 period of five months2 the second1     
planted in ,february1 is ready for      
harvesting in ,june--the duration of    
time for the crop to be on the land1 one
 hundred and ten days4  ,it sounds novel
 to a ,british grower to speak of a     
winter and a summer crop of potatoes1   
two crops in the year2 but this is so1  
and the winter may yield three tons per 
acre1 while the summer produces five to 
six2 while the current price per ton    
returned to the grower is about seven   
pounds4  ,as this is the most popular of
 vegetables1 and the demand always so   
great for good1 well-grown new potatoes1
 experiments have been tried for raising
 these in the neighbourhood of ,cairo   
and sending them packed in boxes to     
arrive in ,england1 when they would be  
eagerly bought up in the market as      
luxuries1 at the beginning of ,march4   
,here are the returns of the experiment4
  ,from fifteen to eighteen pounds per  
ton were realised2 carriage1 freight1   

and other expenses amounted to three    
pounds per ton1 leaving a margin of     
profit over the price in ,egypt of from 
five pounds to eight pounds sterling4   
,enough this to make the ,delta worthy  
the name of a land of promise1 and      
especially more so when it can be1 and  
is1 announced that it is a country where
 there is no potato disease4  ,in       
exceptional cases1 however1 there is the
 drawback of cold weather1 which retards
 the growth of the winter crop4         
,another objection is that all the seed 
potatoes--and these are heavy of        
freight--have to be imported1 as storing
 throughout the summer is impracticable4
  ,it is only fair to say1 however1 on  
behalf of our good old mealy friend1 the
 familiar object of every man's table1  
that in his guise of a foreigner--an    
,african--he will be much better if he  
is let alone and not subjected to the   
tricks of trade1 which recoil upon and  
tend to spoil his character4  ,for in   
the harvesting of the crop a bad        

practice has arisen with the ,egyptian  
market gardener1 who generally carries  
on his operations in the neighbourhood  
of some irrigation canal connected with 
the ,nile1 where he has1 so to speak1   
abundance of conserved water always on  
tap ready to give his fields a heavy    
watering4  ,this he bestows upon his    
potatoes just before turning them out of
 the ground1 as he finds that it greatly
 increases the weight of the tubers2 but
 it spoils their quality1 and makes them
 what a ,londoner calls waxy1 and a     
north countryman sad4  ,one ought not to
 close one's list of garden or farm     
productions without adding the names of 
a few so-called spices1 or              
flavour-producing plants1 which are     
always in steady demand and flourish    
well in the valley of the ,nile4  ,among
 these are the capsicum1 the green and  
the red1 which are most easy of culture1
 and come to maturity rapidly with the  
same treatment as is accorded to the    
tomato4  ,there is also the lesser kind1

 or chilli2 the caraway famous for its  
seeds1 the coriander1 and dill2 while as
 to the familiar mustard1 it hardly asks
 for cultivation at all1 but grows      
rapidly and ripens well1 while the seed1
 when ground into the familiar          
condiment1 is pungent and aromatic in   
the extreme4  ,as is well-known1 a fine 
class of tobacco is grown pretty largely
 in the ,delta4  ,it is wanting in the  
strength of the kinds raised in the     
,west ,indies and the ,united ,states4  
,it is excelled1 too1 in potency by the 
products of the ,east ,indies2 but it is
 of a very delicate flavour and much    
liked1 though not so popular as that of 
,turkey in ,europe and ,asia4 ,but this 
is partially due to want of usage on the
 part of smokers1 who are not accustomed
 to the pungency and fine aroma which   
appertain to the ,egyptian tobacco as   
compared with the ,turkish4  ,but the   
,north ,african is remarkably good all  
the same1 and flourishes splendidly1    
there always being abundance of sunshine

 at the picking time and excellent      
opportunity for haying the crop4  ,for1 
after all said and done1 a great deal of
 the aroma of tobacco depends upon the  
fermenting process it goes through in   
being dried and pressed1 just as a      
well-made crop of grass1 hay1 or clover1
 is dependent upon the skill of the     
farmer and his choice of weather4       
,,chapter ,,fifteen4  ,supposing an     
enterprising personage to have taken up 
a tract of the desert of1 say1 one      
hundred acres in ,egypt1 where divisions
 must not be looked for in the way of   
fence or hedge1 but dependence placed   
upon the irrigating drain1 it will be as
 well to give a list of the farm        
implements he would require1 and their  
cost--always presuming that he is       
prepared to be content1 certainly at    
first1 with the ordinary contrivances of
 the country1 which are rough1 but very 
cheap4  ,necessaries are given here1 and
 nothing more2 while the accompanying   
illustrations spread through the text   

afford a very good idea of the objects  
that will become familiar upon his      
pioneer land4  ,four native ploughs1    
exceedingly rough in construction1 for  
tickling the soil that is to laugh with 
a harvest1 their cost about ten         
shillings each2 a baulk wood1 to be     
drawn by oxen1 mules1 or donkeys1 over  
the yielding surface and act the part of
 a roller1 six shillings2 a ridging box1
 for preparing the land for potatoes or 
sugar-cane1 two shillings2 two scrapers1
 eight shillings2 chains1 six shillings2
 one lorry1 five pounds2 two box carts  
at four pounds each2 two threshing      
norags at eight pounds each2 total1     
thirty-two pounds ten shillings4  ,of   
course1 it is open to the man of        
enterprise to invest in the different   
ingenious contrivances of the ,british  
agricultural implement maker1 such as   
the admirable invention the ,patent     
,turn-,wrest ,plough1 invented by ,mr   
,thomas ,wright1 whose experience in the
 cultivation of the ,khedive's land     

resulted in his bringing to perfection  
an implement exactly suited to ,egyptian
 needs4  ,the list given above names all
 that is absolutely necessary in a      
country where the tiller of the soil is 
so munificently aided by the almost     
incessant sunshine and abundant water4  
,but the farm implement par excellence  
of the fellaheen1 the tool which is to  
him what the shovel is to the ,british  
navvy1 an instrument with which nearly  
everything in the way of moving the soil
 can be done1 is the fas1 the           
broad-headed hoe seen carried by the two
 fellaheen labourers in the engraving   
accompanying this chapter4  ,it is one  
of the first inventions of the          
cultivator1 and not so very far removed 
from its pierced flint representative   
occasionally turned up amongst the      
weapons and tools of primitive man2 but 
when bronze1 and later on iron1 began to
 yield to the inventor1 and the action  
of fire was utilised by the ,tubal      
,cains of their day1 the broad-headed   

hoe began to develop2 and we have it    
spread1 in a very similar form to that  
still used in ,egypt1 all round the     
world where men commenced to till the   
soil4  ,for we see it to this day very  
similar in shape in those two vast      
agricultural countries1 ,india and      
,china1 while in ,egypt it is handled by
 the fellaheen labourer in a way which  
is beyond praise4  ,the native plough1  
as seen by the photographic             
reproduction1 is a very primitive       
implement1 the date of whose invention  
must be sought for by an examination of 
some of the characteristic gravings in  
marble to be found in the ,egyptian     
tombs1 where the pursuits of the        
old-time inhabitants are recorded in a  
style that is absolutely wondrous4  ,it 
consists of a pole of wood measuring    
about ten feet in length1 which is      
strongly bolted to the sole or body of  
the plough4  ,this soie1 which measures 
three feet1 is shod with a share        
resembling a pointed shovel4 ,the end of

 the pole is attached by a rope to the  
yoke1 which lies across the necks of the
 bullocks1 buffaloes1 or even camels--as
 seen in the case of the ,norag1 drawn  
round and round over the                
threshing-floor--which are utilised by  
the ,egyptian cultivator according to   
his means1 while the labourer guides the
 plough by the aid of an upright handle4
  ,this implement does not turn over the
 soil1 and may be properly classed as a 
one-tined cultivator4  ,there is a      
quaintness and old-world look1 as shown 
in the photographs1 in the mixture of   
forces1 a huge buffalo bull being mated 
with a small native ox1 a bullock with  
some fine-grown ass1 while cows are     
frequently yoked together to help and   
drag the light plough4  ,whether horses 
of the type of our heavy1 slow-going    
farm breed will finally work their way  
to the front remains to be seen2 but at 
present they have hardly begun to oust  
the old-world yokes of strangely        
assorted beasts from the turning up of  

the soil4  ,it is more probable1 unless 
the fuel difficulty stands in the way1  
that the larger tracts will be further  
brought into cultivation by means of    
steam and the deep subsoil ploughs which
 do such an immensity of work in a      
single day4  ,as will be noted in the   
description1 the modern native plough is
 single stilted1 and it might be        
supposed in a country like this that    
such an implement had been in use ever  
since the plough's invention2 but as in 
many other records that have been       
unearthed1 engraven in stone in the     
wonderful pictorial writings found in   
temple and tomb1 we have proof that this
 was not always the case2 for in the    
days of the agricultural ,king ,ti1 who 
is supposed to date back to the ,fifth  
,dynasty1 that is some five thousand    
years in the dim past1 there is a       
representation of a plough in use with  
two handles1 very much the same in shape
 as those brought out quite lately and  
known as the ,american chilled1 these   

being guided in our own old familiar    
way4  ,the ,baulk wood used as a harrow 
or roller is drawn by two bullocks1 and 
answers its purpose in smoothing the    
very sandy soil fairly well4  ,the      
,ridging ,box1 or ,baitana1 is used for 
raising low ridges on the flat to retain
 the water for irrigation purposes4     
,the ,scraper is a box with two handles 
for levelling high land and earning the 
sand to lower portions4  ,the ,norag is 
a massive frame fitted with three or    
four axles1 upon which are fixed steel  
discs twenty inches in diameter and with
 four or five discs alternately on each 
axle4  ,this is drawn by a pair of      
bullocks over the cut grain till it is  
threshed out4  ,this implement is1 by   
long proof1 most effectual in its       
action1 for when drawn over the grain   
sheaves it acts in a two-fold way1      
loosening the ear1 or1 in the cases of  
some leguminous crops1 the pods--and1 of
 course1 vastly helped by the treading  
of the oxen's hoofs--so that the grain  

falls through right to the bottom and is
 covered by fresh quantities1 sheaves1  
or the like1 of the crop that is being  
threshed4  ,its second action is that   
the edges of the discs are constantly   
bruising and half cutting the straw or  
stalks1 which in a dry season or from   
want of effective irrigation are often  
hard and woody4  ,it must be understood 
that the straw is not used2 as in       
,england1 for litter1 but as the most   
important food for cattle1 and this     
action of the ,norag1 with its sharp    
discs1 so bruises and chops up the straw
 that it becomes softened in its        
harshness1 and far better for the       
animals to which it is supplied for     
food4  ,in fact1 during the time when it
 is most supplied to the cattle1 which  
is during the summer or least abundant  
season1 it is a work of necessity to    
make it more attractive to the animals1 
this bruising and cutting bringing forth
 the flavour of such juices as still    
remain in the plant1 making it slightly 

aromatic and certainly more palatable as
 food4  ,we in ,england have not been   
ignorant of the value in cattle feeding 
of endeavouring to give some zest to the
 coarser kinds of fodder which economy  
necessitates in the case of the ,british
 farmer4  ,poor hay1 musty grain1       
consequent upon a bad harvest1 and      
unsatisfying chaff1 are eaten by        
unfortunate cattle1 which1 suffering as 
it were from ,hobson's choice of having 
that or none1 eat the provender supplied
 without protest2 but ,nature resents it
 for them1 and they show it in their    
poor condition4 ,of course1 in the case 
of a well-bred horse the matter is      
different2 he snuffs at and blows upon  
the untempting contents of his manger1  
and then turns away in disgust from that
 which his cloven-hoofed companions     
patiently chew4  ,but in many a case    
this damaged grain1 hay1 or straw has   
been made attractive by a sprinkle of   
one of the savoury cattle foods that    
were invented and imitated some forty or

 fifty years ago1 a portion of the      
ingredients in one kind consisting of   
the broken up and stickily sweet locust 
bean and the contents of its pod1 with a
 dash of the bitter and aromatic        
fenugreek4  ,but in ,egypt1 where the   
rain does so little towards injuring the
 straw or stalk1 such musty fare seldom 
falls to the lot of the native cattle1  
while this chopped or bruised straw1 the
 tibn already mentioned1 is constantly  
prepared at the time of threshing by the
 action of the ingeniously constructed  
,norag4  ,no one can see the spot laid  
down for the reception of the harvest   
produce in ,egypt--so much hard-beaten  
earth upon which the peas1 beans1 or    
grain of various sorts are thrown1 ready
 for the oxen to drag over it this      
peculiar revolving wheeled or disked    
implement--without being reminded of the
 place where the plague was stayed--the 
threshing-floor of ,araunah the         
,jebusite2 nor can he help comparing the
 native plough1 that simple scarifier1  

with antique agricultural tillers of the
 soil depicted on the most ancient      
sculpture or penned in olden            
manuscripts1 as in use by ancient       
nations as well as by our ,saxon        
ancestors4  ,the ploughs of the ,west   
many1 many centuries back are almost    
precisely the same as those we see in   
the ,egypt of to-day1 save in the cases 
where he who drives the plough has to   
deal with a hard and heavy earth crust  
far different to the light and sandy    
soil of ,egypt1 whose labourer guides a 
plough with one hand2 for in one antique
 representation of ploughing the        
labourer steers the agricultural        
implement with his left and wields in   
his right a heavy axe1 whose purpose is 
to break the clods prior to the passing 
of the implement he steers4             
,ingeniously constructed1 but that is   
all that can be said of the native      
threshing machine1 for amongst the      
poorer class cultivators its manufacture
 is almost inconceivably rough1 and     

clumsy in the extreme4 ,no verbal       
description could compete with that     
afforded by the photo-engraving that    
accompanies these pages1 depicting1 as  
it does1 the rough1 effective implement1
 its attendants with their quaint forks 
and rakes1 and1 above all1 the driver1  
who adds his weight to the farming      
implement and shoulders his very        
merciful speed-inducing wand for the    
benefit of his mixed yoke4  ,this is1 of
 course1 an awkward team1 but not       
infrequent2 and the ,egyptian farmer who
 first attempted this application of    
force must have been as eccentric as he 
was ingenious when he coupled on either 
side of such a rough pole a patient     
camel and a native bull4  ,but somehow1 
and by a careful division of labour and 
adjustment of the yoke1 the two patient 
beasts may be seen plodding on round and
 round the smooth1 level1 modern        
representative of the old ,biblical     
threshing-floor4  ,the more regular yoke
 attached to the ,norag1 which from its 

cutting and bruising qualities has been 
translated by the ,french ,hache paille1
 or chop-straw--this bears astounding   
similarity to the whop-straw shared by  
the old-fashioned ,british bucolic with 
his flail--is seen in the other         
photograph of the pair of native cows1  
though very frequently it is drawn by a 
yoke of oxen1 by the big1 clumsy        
buffaloes1 or even by a yoke consisting 
of one of each1 the oxen taking the palm
 for their sturdiness and staying power4
  ,this mode of threshing and bruising  
and chopping the straw is carried out in
 a similar mode in parts of ,india4     
,here though these old ways are giving  
place to the use of modern machinery1   
which is readily adopted by the         
,egyptian1 who naturally does not find  
in the threshing machine the old failing
 complained of by the ,british farmer1  
to wit1 that it bruised and broke up the
 straw1 rendering it unfit to use as    
thatching or to make into the neat1 pale
 golden trusses once so familiar in the 

market4  ,there is1 however1 an         
unpleasant feature in the native        
threshing in connection with the samples
 of corn4  ,as may be supposed1 when the
 threshing is at an end and the tibn    
stacked1 or rather piled in a heap1     
leaving the grain to be shovelled up1 no
 amount of winnowing and sifting can    
remove from it a certain amount of      
sullying brought about by the constant  
trampling of the oxen4  ,this has1 in   
the past1 acted inimically to the       
success of the fine1 hard1 dry1         
shot-like grain of ,egypt in foreign    
markets2 but in these days of advance   
not only has the bullock-worked         
,european threshing machine made its way
 into the ,egyptian fields1 but it is no
 uncommon thing for the pleasant hum of 
the steam thresher to be heard where the
 ingenious machinery of ,england is     
carrying on its untiring labour of      
threshing out1 winnowing1 and filling   
its sacks of grain1 as much at home as  
if it were upon some ,yorkshire or      

,lincolnshire farm4  ,it will not be out
 of place1 after dealing with the       
,egyptian tibn1 to state here that      
experienced cultivators have found the  
advantage of carefully feeding their    
working bullocks so as to obtain for    
them the good1 sound stamina which will 
be naturally followed by the best amount
 of work4  ,this they find by sprinkling
 amongst the chopped straw or tibn      
supplied about one-third in weight of   
beans1 not crushed or ground1 but either
 whole or split2 for it has been noticed
 that the draught animals flourish      
better upon this food than upon bean    
meal2 while the process of splitting1   
,mr ,wallace states1 saves the bean from
 the attack of one of the ,egyptian     
farmer's minor plagues--the weevil2 for1
 as if governed by some wondrous        
instinct in their preparations for the  
continuation of their species1 and a    
desire to ensure for them good wholesome
 food upon which to feed1 these         
creatures do not lay their eggs in      

damaged grain4  ,of late years many of  
the ,european implements have been      
introduced-- ,ransomes' threshers and   
straw--bruisers1 one-way or balance     
ploughs1 harrows1 clod-crushers1        
horse-hoes1 ,norwegian harrows1         
spring-tooth cultivators1 steam ploughs 
and cultivators1 mowers1 reapers1 and   
binders1 maize-shellers1 seed graders1  
broadcast-sowing machines1 and seed     
drills4  ,european ploughs1 as they     
invert the earth1 are naturally the most
 beneficial to the growth of the crop1  
as by bringing the under-soil to the    
surface to receive benefit from the sun 
and air1 they greatly improve the root  
range of the plants4  ,steam ploughing  
is gradually gaining in favour1 owing to
 the scarcity of work-bullocks4  ,a few 
of the large proprietors have recently  
purchased plants or entire gear4  ,the  
scythe for cutting clover has been      
found1 too1 a great improvement upon the
 antique native fashion of pulling by   
hand1 the saving of expense being       

seventy per cent4  ,but a great drawback
 to the adoption of ,european implements
 is the aversion of the ,egyptian farm  
labourer to any innovation1 his want of 
intelligence in handling what to him    
appears complicated machinery1 and his  
unwillingness to learn4  ,here1 though1 
in common justice it must be said that  
he does not stand alone1 for the        
experiences of the ,british farmer in   
most of our counties1 and his battles   
with the pig-headed conservatism of his 
men1 would form an amusing chronicle4   
,the clumsy implement of his            
forefathers1 invented1 historians say1  
some five thousand years ago1 is in the 
native's eyes perfectly right1 and could
 not be better2 and he prefers to go on 
blistering or hardening his hands in    
what he looks upon as the good old ways1
 until he is forced to handle modern    
machines1 and then by very1 very slow   
degrees he begins to see1 but not before
 he has broken many1 or put them out of 
gear4  ,but unfortunately the farm      

labourer is not the sole offender1 as   
the history of the introduction of      
mechanism of any kind will tell4        
,,chapter ,,sixteen4  ,much has been    
written about ,egypt and its soil2 but  
in giving here an account of its        
possibilities and prospects for         
cultivation in the ways of modern       
farming1 some repetition is necessary4  
,it is fair to say that the soil of     
,egypt is one of the richest in the     
world4  ,it is alluvial1 ranging from   
the heavy argillaceous to light loam4   
,it varies1 too1 in its fertility1 and  
in low-lying lands is frequently        
impregnated with salt4  ,this is        
generally owing to want of drainage4    
,when properly treated and flooded with 
water it soon becomes what is           
technically known as sweet1 and         
available for the growth of crops4      
,very rich soils are to be found in the 
provinces of ,menoufieh and ,charkieh1  
while those of ,beherah are flat and    
generally low-lying2 but the depth may  

range up to forty feet6  ,the           
preparation of the land for the various 
crops is not what may be termed         
difficult1 although in the heavy black  
lands powerful draught oxen are required
 for the ploughs and other implements4  
,but with irrigation at command1 and    
abundance of moisture becoming more and 
more common in connection with the      
modern dams and canals1 if the land be  
hard and baked it can be flooded with   
water as required1 when it quickly      
becomes in a friable condition1 and     
hence comparatively easy to break up4   
,in the ,delta such conditions are never
 experienced as frequently are          
encountered upon the heavy clays in     
,england1 where the land becomes so hard
 that it cannot be tilled4  ,possessing 
the qualities of richness1 vast depth of
 soil1 and a glorious climate1 it is not
 surprising that with the steady        
developments of the ,khedive's country  
and the safety and security enjoyed     
under his enlightened rule1 accompanied 

by the example he is setting in his     
experiments for the advancement of      
,egyptian agriculture1 the price of land
 has risen enormously4  ,within the last
 few years one hundred pounds per acre  
is quite a common figure2 but that which
 is unreclaimed can still be purchased  
for from fifteen to thirty pounds4      
,this1 of course1 necessitates an       
additional outlay1 which is1 after all1 
quite a moderate sum1 upon improvements1
 when it will yield a good return of    
profit4  ,the ,egyptian agriculturist   
divides his year into three portions3   
,summer1 from ,april #ast to ,august    
#ast4  ,nileh1 from ,august #ast to     
,december #ast4  ,winter1 from ,december
 #ast to ,april #ast4  ,but it must be  
remembered that the ,egyptian winter    
would be better named balmy spring4  ,as
 this little work is written primarily  
for those who take an interest in the   
progress of a favoured country1 and who 
may possibly be looking towards the     
,east with the eyes of investment1 or   

for a future home where they may lead a 
,virgilian or bucolic life1 it is       
proposed to give here a simple1         
business-like account of the various    
processes and preparations made for the 
growth and harvesting of the different  
crops sown in the above seasons3--      
,winter ,crops3 ,clover1 barley1 beans1 
and wheat4  ,summer ,crops3 ,cotton and 
sugar-cane1 and also maize4  ,nileh     
,crop3 ,maize alone4  ,rotation4--,a    
three years' rotation is the one        
generally practised1 although there is a
 tendency to limit it to two years4  ,it
 would be as well to consider the crops 
as they succeed each other1 beginning   
with the cotton4  ,a great deal of      
interest attaches to the growth of      
cotton in ,egypt4  ,it was largely      
cultivated by the ancient ,egyptians1   
and its products utilised1 but after a  
time--it is impossible to say how long1 
possibly during the great changes that  
took place during incursions1 conquests1
 or change of rulers--its growth died   

out to such an extent that a few        
generations back1 as an article of      
utility1 its cultivation had pretty well
 ceased1 and cotton was scarcely known1 
save as a decorative shrub in the       
gardens of ,cairo4  ,but during the     
reign of the ,khedive's ancestor1       
,mehemet ,ali1 a man of great foresight1
 full of determination for the advance  
of his people1 he completely grasped the
 idea that ,egypt was one of the most   
suitable of countries for the           
cultivation of the cotton tree1 and that
 it ought to be produced in his         
dominions instead of dependence being   
placed upon importation from other      
lands4  ,in pursuance of this idea1 he  
began to make experiments1 testing it1  
so to speak1 by forming plantations4    
,these turned out so well that he       
proceeded to take further steps1 and    
with great enterprise commenced the     
cultivation upon a large scale4  ,many  
thousands of the ,egyptian acres were   
planted in the lower provinces1 and to a

 far greater extent planting was carried
 on in the rich lands of ,upper ,egypt  
bordering on the ,nile4  ,the little    
trees responded freely to the ,egyptian 
cultivation2 the rich1 irrigated soil1  
yearly replenished by the sediment left 
by the floods1 proved that the ancients 
were right1 and wherever the land was   
deep the results were most favourable2  
while where a bad selection had been    
made1 and the soil was shallow and      
inferior1 the return of the pods1 or    
technically bolls1 was poor4  ,the      
method of its cultivation will be given 
in extenso farther on1 but it will be as
 well to note here1 in regard to the    
enterprise which turned ,egypt into its 
present state as one of the great       
cotton-growing countries of the world1  
that the seed was originally imported   
from ,brazil1 though it is undoubtedly a
 native of ,northern ,africa2 and at the
 present time the returns are very      
great4  ,the preparation of the land for
 the growth of cotton commences in      

,january4  ,the seed is sown from the   
middle of ,february till the middle of  
,march1 and the cropping harvested1 or  
picked1 about the end of ,november2     
while previous to the last picking of   
the soft woolly pods1 clover seed is    
sown amongst the standing cotton trees4 
,this1 so to speak1 stolen crop provides
 a supply for horses1 cattle1 and sheep 
till the end of ,june2 for it must be   
borne in mind that ,egypt is not a land 
of fields and meadows enclosed by       
hedgerows2 hence grazing for cattle is  
the result of foresight1 and has to be  
provided as required4  ,on the land not 
sown with clover1 and at the end of the 
cotton harvest1 after the little trees  
have been uprooted1 a crop of beans is  
sown1 which becomes ready for harvesting
 in ,april2 and now there is a period in
 which the agriculturist may take his   
choice of sowing what may be termed     
catch crops1 or fallowing his land for  
five months4  ,in this he is guided by  
position and the facility offered for   

the disposal of such easy crops as water
 melons or maize1 which can be taken    
after beans4  ,it is at the end of      
,october that he begins to think of his 
main crops1 when wheat and barley are   
sown1 to be harvested from the beginning
 of ,may to the end of ,june4  ,then    
follows the main crop of maize1 which   
occupies the land from ,july #aeth to   
,november #aeth4  ,previous to the      
harvesting of this main crop of maize1  
clover is again sown1 and from this one 
or two pasturings are obtained before   
the land is broken up once more for the 
succeeding important crop of cotton1    
this completing the rotation4  ,the     
sugar-cane has not been given a place in
 this rotation1 as it is principally    
grown in ,upper ,egypt for the          
manufacture of sugar1 while we are      
dealing with the rich lands of the      
,delta and the farming there4  ,but we  
may here remark that the ,egyptians are 
as fond of the green sugar-cane as an   
article of diet as the blacks of the    

,west ,indies1 who may be seen munching 
its luscious saccharine at all times and
 seasons4  ,there is something more in  
this among the ,egyptians than the      
gratification of a sweet palate1 for it 
is eaten largely from the great faith of
 rich and poor alike in its tonic       
qualities4  ,gasab1 or as they pronounce
 it in ,cairo 'asab1 is considered to be
 one of the greatest restorers for those
 who from weak health or excess are what
 we call in modern phraseology run      
down--perhaps as pleasant1 plentiful1   
and economical a medicament as could be 
used4  ,it is a common sight for the    
,european to see the poor1 patient1     
overladen1 and underfed donkeys coming  
into ,cairo every morning heavily laden 
with the juicy caries that have been    
grown in the neighbouring fields4  ,it  
will be observed in the above rotation  
that a crop of clover precedes and      
succeeds the cotton4  ,we now proceed to
 a technical statement of the treatment 
of an ,egyptian farm2 not merely a      

description of farming in ,egypt1 but of
 the management of a farm based upon the
 careful observations of one who has    
passed many years in the ,delta and has 
made the cultivation and cropping of its
 peculiar soil a thorough life study4   
,in fact1 the tracts of land under his  
superintendence offer themselves as     
specimens worthy of copying by all who  
seek to make the land of ,egypt         
profitable and well paying in return for
 the capital1 large or small1 that may  
be invested there4  ,this being said1 we
 at once plunge again in medias res1    
and1 at the risk of being too formal and
 technical1 recapitulate the crops in   
their order4  ,cotton4  ,followed by    
,clover1 or ,beans1 or both4  ,followed 
by ,fallow1 or catch crops of ,maize or 
,water ,melons4  ,wheat and ,barley4    
,followed by three months' fallow1 or   
,maize1 main crop1 and catch crop of    
,sesame4  ,clover--,fachl on land after 
,maize and ,clover ,miscowy after       
,fallow4  ,then ,cotton4    ,,chapter   

,,seventeen4  ,we will take an estate of
 three hundred acres1 and on inspection1
 say in the month of ,march1 the crops  
occupying the land under the following  
rotation will be as under3--  ,three    
,years' ,rotation4  ,march4    #ajj     
,acres ,cotton   #ej acres ,clover   #ej
 acres ,beans   #hj acres ,wheat   #bj  
acres ,barley  ,two ,years' ,rotation4  
,march4    #aej ,acres ,cotton   #cj    
acres ,clover   #dj acres ,beans   #fj  
acres ,wheat   #bj acres ,barley        
,within the last few years there has    
been a tendency to increase the cotton  
crop and adopt the two years' rotation2 
but it is not a good practice1 as it    
tends to exhaustion of the soil1        
especially where there is a want of     
farmyard manure4  ,the cereal crops also
 suffer from the consequent lateness of 
sowing4  ,two crops off the same land   
per annum3 ,wheat1 sown ,november #aeth1
 harvested ,may #cjth2 maize1 sown ,july
 #aeth and harvested ,november #aeth4   
,or clover1 sown ,november #ast1 first  

crop ,january #ast1 #c pounds2 second   
crop ,march #aeth1 #c pounds4  ,sow     
cotton in end of ,march4  ,ground clear1
 ,november4  ,probable gross return per 
acre1 #bd pounds4  ,we might multiply   
instances where two separate crops can  
be grown on the same land in twelve     
months1 such as maize followed by       
potatoes1 etc42 but it may be safely    
stated that a very small area of a      
well-appointed farm is allowed to lie   
fallow1 the land being continually under
 some crop or another4  ,a few remarks  
on the before-mentioned crops as to     
cultivation3--  ,cotton is the principal
 crop in the rotation1 and gives far the
 best monetary return1 while at the     
present time reports from the ,egyptian 
,soudan are beginning to speak very     
highly of the alluvial tracts between   
the ,white and ,blue ,niles as being    
more favourable to the growth of cotton 
than the lower portions of the ,nile    
,valley1 while affording ten times the  
area for the planting of this important 

staple that can be had in the lower     
portions of the ,delta4  ,in fact1      
matters seem to prove that ,upper ,egypt
 is going to develop into the finest    
cotton-growing country in the world4    
,the preparation commences in ,january1 
and generally three ploughings are      
required to bring the land into a proper
 tilth4  ,the more thorough the         
cultivation the better for the crop4    
,the land is then thrown into ridges    
measuring from crest to crest three     
feet4  ,then a pair of ridges is drawn  
across the longitudinal ridges1 the     
distance between each pair of ridges    
7which form a waterway7 being twenty-two
 yards4  ,between these pairs--i4e4     
eleven yards distance from each--a      
single ridge is made4 ,this acts as a   
partition to stop the water4  ,six      
ridges are irrigated by allowing the    
water to flow from these                
cross-waterways1 and the reason for     
confining the length of the ridges to   
eleven yards is to ensure the evenness  

of the irrigation as to height of water 
level1 as the ground may have slight    
fall1 and if the whole length of the    
ridges were to be watered at once the   
water would rise too high at the lower  
parts before the higher levels were     
properly soaked4  ,the sowing commences 
,february #aeth4  ,boys and girls drop  
the seed in clusters of1 say1 twelve    
seeds in set-holes made by a pointed    
stick on one side of the ridge1         
two-thirds from the bottom of the       
furrow1 and at a distance of sixteen    
inches between each set-hole4  ,after   
planting1 the ridges are watered1 care  
being taken not to allow the water to   
rise to the level of the seed4          
,sufficient moisture for germination is 
derived from capillarity4  ,the seeds   
shoot and the plants appear above ground
 in from ten to twelve days4            
,twenty-five days elapse1 and then a    
light hand-hoeing is given1 while after 
fifteen days more the plants are        
thinned1 two or three being allowed to  

remain in each set-hole4  ,immediately  
after thinning the young plants receive 
their first watering4  ,after1 say1     
twelve days a second hand-hoeing is     
given1 and again after twelve days a    
third4  ,then comes the second watering1
 by means of trench and canal4  ,after  
an interval of ten days another         
hand-hoeing is given1 and this finishes 
the task1 as the cotton trees have      
attained a height which precludes the   
possibility of using the implement4  ,at
 intervals of from ten to fifteen days  
six waterings are given4  ,this brings  
the grower to the time--about ,september
 #ajth--when the crop is ready for the  
first picking4  ,women1 boys1 and girls 
pluck the cotton from the trees4  ,eight
 to twelve of the workers may pick an   
acre per day1 and they receive as       
payment one shilling per #ajj pounds4   
,at the conclusion of the picking the   
field is irrigated again1 and after     
twenty-five days the second crop is     
dealt with4  ,another irrigation        

follows1 time is given for development1 
and then comes the third and last       
picking4  ,the cotton trees are next cut
 close to the ground or pulled up by the
 roots1 and are utilised as fuel4  ,an  
average crop on good land may produce   
#a1hij pounds of raw cotton1 which on   
being ginned will yield #fjj pounds of  
fibre4  ,the raw cotton--i4e4 in        
seed--is sold per #cge pounds at1 say1  
#c pounds4  ,this will gin out1 say1    
#aje pounds fibre and #bje pounds seed2 
so that the total worth of the crop may 
be estimated at #ah pounds1 exclusive of
 the value of the wood1 which may be    
placed at #d shillings per acre4  ,these
 figures are often exceeded where the   
cultivation is well attended to4  ,cost 
of raising one acre of cotton in ,egypt4
   ,y                                   
,ypounds s4 d4 ,y                       
----------------------------------------
---- ,y,three ,ploughings               
,y       #j #ab #j,y                    
----------------------------------------

---- ,y,one ,ridging                    
,y        #j #d #j,y                    
----------------------------------------
---- ,y,dressing ,ridges                
,y        #j #b #j,y                    
----------------------------------------
---- ,y,planting                        
,y       #j #j #aj,y                    
----------------------------------------
---- ,y,seed                            
,y        #j #e #j,y                    
----------------------------------------
---- ,y,wages for ,nine ,irrigations    
,y        #j #e #f,y                    
----------------------------------------
---- ,y,six ,irrigations by ,pump       
,y       #j #ae #j,y                    
----------------------------------------
---- ,y,three ,irrigations by ,free     
,flow ,y        #j #j #j,y              
----------------------------------------
---- ,y,three ,cultivations by ,hoe     
,y        #j #g #j,y                    
----------------------------------------
---- ,y,three ,pickings                 

,y        #a #j #j,y                    
----------------------------------------
---- ,y,pulling ,trees                  
,y        #j #c #j,y                    
----------------------------------------
---- ,y                                 
,y#c pounds #ad #d,y                    
----------------------------------------
---- ,y,farmyard ,manure and            
,application,y       #j #aj #j,y        
----------------------------------------
---- ,y,total                           
,y        #d #d #d,y   ,the varieties of
 cotton grown in ,lower ,egypt are      
,mit-,afifi1 ,abbassi1 ,yannovitch2 in  
,upper ,egypt1 ,ashmouni4  ,generally   
speaking1 the quality of ,egyptian      
cotton is of a high grade4 ,its fibre is
 long1 fine1 and at the same time       
strong4  ,unfortunately this country has
 pests1 not like the old ,biblical      
plagues1 but which give much trouble and
 do a certain amount of damage to the   
cotton crop4  ,among these are the      
cotton caterpillar and the boll-worm1   

the former being propagated from eggs   
deposited by a moth1 which do great     
damage if allowed to hatch1 by the larva
 feeding upon the plant4 ,if the leaves 
upon which the eggs are deposited are   
pulled and burned1 this mitigates the   
destruction so far as it is successfully
 carried out4 ,the boll-worm bores into 
and feeds upon the heart of the young   
bolls1 and thereby totally destroys them
 for the production of fibre4  ,up to   
the present no remedy has been found to 
prevent the ravages of these pests4     
,the damage may amount to #bj per cent4 
,fogs and dews in the month of ,october 
also cause injury to the bolls4         
99,beans after ,cotton994--,this crop   
may be sown at any time during the month
 of ,november1 the earlier the better4  
,the beans may be either sown broadcast 
or dropped into the furrow1 behind the  
native plough4  ,the quantity of seed   
required is two and a half bushels4     
,the land must be very moist1 or an     
irregular germination of the seed will  

be the result4 ,the crop receives the   
first watering thirty days after sowing1
 or immediately before flowering1 and   
again when the beans have formed in the 
pod4  ,harvest will commence about the  
middle of ,april4  ,men1 women1 and boys
 pull the crop by hand1 breaking the    
stalks close to the ground1 sometimes   
uprooting them1 but a small serrated    
hook is also used to cut the stalks4    
,six hands will reap one acre per day1  
and the payment is in kind1 at the rate 
of one sheaf per thirty4  ,the crop is  
then carted to the threshing-floor1     
spread out to dry1 and threshed by the  
,norag2 or1 as modern implements are    
creeping into use1 by a steam threshing 
machine made by one of the famous       
,english firms4  ,this crop does not    
receive any manure1 but requires a rich1
 heavy soil1 when under favourable      
conditions a yield may be expected of   
from twenty-five to thirty-five bushels 
per acre--price per five bushels1 #a    
pound4  ,occasionally this crop is      

damaged by hot blasts--,khamsin         
winds--which shrivel the bean1          
especially if they occur when it is     
soft4  ,we have also the pest of        
broomrape2 and if badly infested by this
 weed1 great destruction follows to the 
crop4  ,beans are the main feed of      
working bullocks1 milch cows1 and       
donkeys4  ,catch crops1 on land after   
beans4  99,maize 7summer7994--,sown end 
of ,april1 ready to be pulled after     
sixty days4  ,this crop is consumed by  
the natives1 who roast the cobs4  ,cost 
of raising one acre1 #b pounds #aj      
shillings1 exclusive of rent4  ,gross   
value of crop may be approximately #aj  
pounds4  99,water ,melons994--,sown at  
the same date1 ripe after eighty days4  
,cost of raising1 #c pounds #aj         
shillings4  ,probable value of the      
produce of an acre1 #ab pounds4  ,after 
these crops have been harvested the land
 is fallowed for three months4  ,during 
the fallow it receives two or three     
ploughings1 and is flooded with water to

 prepare it for sowing the cereal crops4
  99,egyptian ,clover 7,trifolium       
,alexandrinum7994--,after               
,cotton4--,this crop may be termed the  
preserver of ,egyptian agriculture1     
since1 as previously alluded to1 it     
provides pasturage for horses1 cattle1  
sheep1 camels1 mules1 and donkeys1 for a
 period of seven months1 and also taking
 into account its beneficial effects on 
the soil1 restoring fertility by root   
residue containing nitrogen4  ,sown in  
the end of ,october amongst the standing
 cotton trees1 the seed falls upon the  
newly irrigated soil and takes root1 no 
covering being required4  ,sixty pounds 
of seed is sufficient for an acre4  ,the
 first crop should be ready for         
pasturing at the beginning of ,january2 
second crop1 seventy-five days2 third   
crop1 forty days2 fourth crop1          
thirty-five days' interval4  ,this      
variety is named ,miscowy1 and stands   
copious watering4  ,the first and second
 crops contain about eighty per cent1 of

 moisture4  ,the third crop may be made 
into hay1 and the fourth crop--part     
only--may be threshed to furnish seed4  
,the gross weight of the four crops1 cut
 green1 may be estimated at thirty tons1
 or five tons of hay4  ,the             
work-bullocks1 cows1 buffaloes1 horses1 
etc41 are tethered by a rope attached to
 their fore-legs and fixed to a peg     
driven into the ground1 the cattlemen   
moving the animals forward as required4 
,the cattle lie out at night while      
pasturing on the clover4  ,if the crop  
of clover is near a large town where    
dairymen require green pasture1 the     
price per feddan1 to be consumed on the 
land1 may be put at #d pounds1 #c       
pounds1 #c pounds #aj shillings1 #c     
pounds #aj shillings for the four crops1
 or a total of #ad pounds4  ,growers are
 sometimes troubled by attacks of       
cut-worms1 which ravage the young shoots
 of clover2 but flooding with water     
often destroys the pest4  ,there is also
 the parasitic weed ,dodder 7,cuscuta   

,trifolii71 which occasionally does     
damage to the crop4  ,the cost of five  
bushels of clover seed varies from one  
pound #aj shillings to #c pounds #aj    
shillings1 according to supply and      
demand4  ,the variety ,fachl clover     
occupies a separate place in the        
rotation1 and will be treated later4    
99,wheat994--,varieties3 ,common wheat1 
,bocchi1 and ,indian4  ,the ,bocchi1 a  
white wheat1 is extensively grown4  ,the
 third1 a reddish wheat1 has recently   
been introduced from ,india1 and gives  
good crops4  ,egyptian wheats are hard1 
but are deficient in albuminoids4       
,unfortunately1 care is not taken in    
selecting the seed1 and many samples are
 badly mixed with red and white         
varieties4  ,the crop is sown on fallow 
land after clover and beans4  ,the land1
 previous to sowing the seed1 has       
received a watering4  ,fifteen to twenty
 days after1 the seed--two and a half   
bushels--is sown broadcast1 and is      
ploughed in by the native plough4 ,the  

sowing is very often imperfectly        
performed1 the distribution of the seed 
being very irregular4  ,the next process
 is rolling by drawing a baulk of wood  
7see illustration71 three yards long1   
over the land2 then ridges are made     
seven yards apart to regulate the even  
distribution of water4  ,somewhere about
 twelve days after the sowing the shoots
 appear above ground1 when the braird is
 about four inches high4  ,occasionally 
there is an attack of grub1 or cut-worm2
 but the damage is never serious1 a     
watering destroying the pest1 and some  
seed sown on the blanks caused by the   
worm soon make good the damage4         
,rolling with a press roller has been   
found to materially stop the            
destruction4  ,eighty days after sowing1
 or when the crop has attained a height 
of two feet1 it receives its first      
watering2 forty days afterwards its     
second and last4  ,sixty days after the 
final irrigation the crop will be ripe  
for harvest4  ,the method of            

harvesting--reaping--is by small hand   
hooks1 men1 women1 and boys turning out 
to work at midnight1 reaping till seven 
a4m41 subsequently gathering the unbound
 sheaves into rows1 and afterwards      
gleaning1 finishing up about nine a4m4  
,the foremen then distribute to the     
reapers one sheaf for thirty-five1 as   
payment in kind4  ,the reason for       
reaping the crop by night is that1 if   
performed in the daytime1 while the heat
 is great1 the grain would shed1 the    
dews at night preventing this loss4     
,reaping by self-binders has been tried1
 but the shedding of grain was          
excessive1 as they could only be worked 
in the daytime2 while the farm labourer 
was not qualified to work such a        
complicated machine4  ,labour is so     
cheap that it is not necessary to resort
 to labour-saving machinery4  ,the      
sheaves 7unbound7 are transported from  
the fields to the threshing-floor by    
camels1 carts drawn by oxen1 or mules4  
,the sheaves are then placed in a circle

 measuring twenty yards in diameter4    
,four1 five1 or more pairs of oxen1 each
 pair attached to a ,norag1 circle round
 on the top of the grain1 and when it   
has been threshed out and the straw cut 
and bruised by the revolving discs and  
the feet of the oxen1 it is thrown into 
a heap in the centre4  ,fresh sheaves   
are added to the circle as they arrive4 
,when all the grain has been threshed   
the next process is the winnowing by    
throwing the cut straw and grain into   
the air vertically by means of a        
five-pronged wooden fork4  ,the cut     
straw1 ,tibn1 is carried by the wind to 
a distance1 while the grain falls near  
to the operator4  ,the payment to the   
winnower is at the rate of fourpence per
 five bushels4  ,threshing and finishing
 machines1 made in ,england1 similar to 
the one illustrated1 are used on all the
 large estates1 and perform the work    
quicker and cheaper than the ,norag1 and
 of course they are much cleaner1 the   
straw not being trampled and defiled4   

,they are complicated1 owing to the fact
 that the straw must be chopped and     
rendered soft to the touch1 as the oxen 
will not eat it when it is not          
bruised--a serious matter1 this1 in a   
country where cattle are almost entirely
 fed upon straw4  ,it might be argued   
that1 as in ,england1 the wheat and     
other stalks might be cut up by         
machinery into chaff2 but the           
explanation is simple4  ,the haulm or   
stalk of cereals in a hot country like  
,egypt grows harder and more woody than 
that of colder climates1 and when simply
 cut up into chaff the product is so    
harsh that the unfortunate animals find 
that it soon produces soreness of the   
mouth1 and reject it in consequence as  
being unfit for food4  ,the sample of   
grain after being threshed by the ,norag
 is often1 however1 mixed with particles
 of earth1 as some of the crop has been 
pulled up by the roots4 ,but as most of 
the wheat is consumed in the country the
 people do not object to a dirty sample4

  ,the total value of one of these crops
 may be taken at nine pounds #aj        
shillings per acre4  ,the cost of       
raising one acre of wheat1 ploughing1   
labour1 watering1 up till harvesting1   
may be estimated at one pound #aj       
shillings1 and the yield may be         
thirty-five bushels grain and one and a 
half tons straw4  ,the weight of grain  
per imperial bushel is sixty-four       
pounds1 and the price per five bushels  
one pound4  ,algerian and ,italian      
wheats have been tried1 and the results 
have been fairly encouraging4 ,english  
varieties have also been experimented   
with1 but invariably have resulted in   
failure through bad germination4        
99,barley994--,the native variety1      
,baladi1 is mainly grown4  ,the head is 
four-rowed1 and about two and a half    
inches long4  ,it is sown in ,november  
and ,december4  ,seeding1 the same as   
for wheat4  ,seed1 two bushels per acre4
  ,first watering1 sixty days after     
sowing2 second and last watering1 fifty 

days after the first4  ,harvest         
commences ,april #aeth4  ,reaping the   
same as for wheat4  ,cost of raising one
 acre1 one pound #e shillings4  ,yield  
of a good average crop1 sixty bushels   
grain and one and a quarter tons straw4 
,the weight of grain per bushel is      
fifty-seven pounds1 and the price ten   
shillings per five bushels4  ,total     
value per acre1 #g pounds #aj shillings4
  ,the barley is fed to horses mules1   
donkeys1 and camels1 while the natives  
make it into bread after mixing it with 
wheat in equal proportions4  ,egyptian  
barley grown in the ,delta is not good  
for malting purposes1 the grain not     
being plump4  ,in #ahic1 by way of      
experiment1 a few foreign varieties were
 grown in ,egypt1 principally with a    
view to providing a good malting sample4
  ,scotch ,chevalier barley gave the    
best results4  ,a sample from the crop  
of #ahie1 grown from seed raised in the 
country1 was awarded the first prize for
 barley grown out of ,england at the    

,brewers' ,exhibition1 ,london4  ,the   
yield was not so heavy as with native   
barley1 being as eight is to twelve2 but
 it furnished more straw4  ,the money   
value in ,england was ,chevalier1 #a    
pound #i shillings1 as compared to #ag  
shillings for native barley2 but the    
,european barleys are more difficult to 
grow1 and if not reaped before becoming 
dead ripe the heads break off and fall  
to the ground4  ,barley is grown on the 
,libyan ,desert 7,mariout71 west from   
,alexandria1 and is entirely dependent  
on the rains in winter4  ,it is sown by 
the ,bedouins in ,october--to await the 
rains which may fall in ,november or    
,december--and also after a rainfall4   
,as the ,bedouin is not an              
agriculturist1 he scatters one and a    
quarter bushels per acre1 and scratches 
the ground by the aid of a small plough1
 to which is yoked a camel or donkey4   
,this soil is of a rich yellow colour1  
sandy loam1 fine level tracts of it     
extending to a thousand acres or more4  

,to obtain a good supply of water1 wells
 are dug to a depth of forty feet or so1
 and the supply is fairly good4         
,perennial irrigation can be resorted to
 by means of these wells4  ,if the rains
 are propitious1 the ,bedouin may reap  
crops of barley1 with extremely varied  
returns1 running1 as they do1 from two  
and a half to twenty bushels per acre1  
the price received on the spot being #ae
 shillings per five bushels4  ,ninety   
per cent1 of the barley goes to ,england
 for malting4  ,next come1 in the       
rotation1  99,maize 7,nileh7994--,main  
crop on land after cereal crops4  ,sown 
end of ,july4  ,seed1 about one bushel  
per acre1 dropped in the furrow by a boy
 immediately behind the plough4  ,first 
watering1 twenty-five days after sowing2
 second fifteen days after2 third twelve
 days1 fourth twelve days1 fifth ten    
days1 sixth eight days1 and seventh     
eight days1 seven irrigations being     
necessary in this dry and thirsty land  
for the production of the crop4  ,one   

cultivation is given by hand hoe after  
the first watering4  ,the maize grows   
quickly1 attaining to a height of seven 
feet1 and occupies the ground one       
hundred days4  ,cost of raising1 two    
pounds #f shillings4  ,yield per acre1  
fifty bushels2 value1 #h pounds #aj     
shillings4  ,maize is a most important  
crop in ,egypt1 as upon this grain the  
natives depend for the bulk of their    
food4  ,ground into flour and mixed with
 ,fenugreek seed1 it is baked into      
bread4  ,five varieties of this grain   
are grown1 but the best kinds are known 
by the natives as ,baladi1 ,biltani1 and
 ,nab-el-,gamal4  ,as ,indian corn is a 
surface feeder a liberal application of 
farmyard manure is necessary to secure a
 full crop4  ,harvest begins in the     
middle of ,november4  ,the stalks are   
cut and carted to the threshing-floor4  
,then the cobs are pulled from the      
stalks and spread out to dry for thirty 
days1 when they are put into the        
granaries4  ,to separate the grain from 

the cobs1 hand shellers are employed1 or
 it is beaten out by sticks4  ,for a    
catch crop on land after wheat and      
barley1 ,sesame may be sown in the      
beginning of ,june4  ,there are two     
varieties1 the ,red and the ,white4 ,six
 pounds of seed will sow one acre1      
broadcasted and ploughed in by the      
native implement4  ,the duration of the 
growth is five months4  ,the crop       
receives one hand-hoeing and five       
waterings4  ,it is harvested in ,october
 before it becomes dead ripe1 to prevent
 the shedding of seed4  ,sesame is grown
 for the sake of the oil1 which it      
yields to the extent of over fifty per  
cent4  ,this oil is used for domestic   
purposes1 especially by the upper class 
,egyptians4  ,the production of seed per
 acre is about twenty-five bushels1     
valued at #ac pounds4  ,in some parts of
 ,upper ,egypt a great deal of land is  
sown with the ,dourra 7,holcus douta71  
which is largely consumed by the        
peasantry1 forming1 as it does1 one of  

their staple foods4  ,it is a very      
useful and suitable plant4  ,it is      
sometimes eaten like maize or ,indian   
corn in a green state1 being previously 
roasted on the fire1 or green like      
sugar-cane4  ,its pith1 when dried1 is  
used as starch2 while the leaves make   
excellent provender for cattle4  ,we now
 have to consider the last crop in the  
rotation1 namely clover preceding       
cotton4  ,as part of the land after     
wheat and barley has remained fallow1   
and advantage has been taken to level1  
clean1 and flood with ,nile water rich  
in deposits1 ,miscowy clover is sown    
broadcast1 when the surface of the land 
is covered with three inches of water4  
,as the water sinks into the soil the   
seed germinates upon the surface1 which 
is now composed of fine silt4  ,sown in 
the middle of ,september1 the first crop
 should be ready for cutting or         
pasturing about ,november #eth4  ,during
 the period of growth the crop has      
received three waterings4 ,immediately  

after the clearing a watering is given1 
and the second cutting should be ready  
in seventy days4  ,after eating off1 the
 land is ploughed for the cotton crop4  
,fachl clover is stronger in the stem   
than that known as ,miscowy1 and grows  
as a tall1 luxuriant crop4  ,it is sown 
amongst the stalks of the maize in the  
end of ,october1 the land having        
previously been watered1 and by the time
 the maize is ready for cutting1 the    
clover has attained a height of five    
inches4  ,the crop should be ready for  
cutting about the middle of ,january4   
,generally it is disposed of by the     
acre--to be cut and removed from the    
land1 and sold in bunches to be fed to  
carriage horses1 precisely as the green 
tares and clover are brought into       
,london in bunches during the spring    
time of the year4  ,the value of one    
cutting is #e pounds per acre4  ,unlike 
the ,miscowy variety1 the ,fachl only   
yields one crop1 as the roots fail4     
,the land is then broken up for the crop

 of cotton4  ,this finishes the three   
years' rotation4    ,,chapter           
,,eighteen4  ,it will be interesting to 
add a few remarks on a system of        
cultivation which is practised on tracts
 adjoining the ,desert4  ,the land has  
been purchased at a price of1 say1 #ag  
pounds per acre1 and the next proceeding
 has been to level it--by the free use  
of the ,cassabia1 or scraper1 which1 in 
roughest preparation1 is drawn over and 
over the sand and guided something after
 the fashion of a plough--and then      
bringing it into communication by       
canalising with the nearest distributor 
of the ,nile water1 while in this       
country of exceedingly cheap labour the 
cost of these preparations for          
cultivation may be set down at about #aj
 pounds per acre4  ,this done1 the      
purchaser has the option of carrying on 
the cultivation himself1 or letting it  
to the fellaheen1 who will take it      
readily and pay a rent of #d pounds per 
acre or feddan4  ,the fellah now crops  

his land as follows1 and the reader will
 notice the variation in the products   
the native causes his fields to bring   
forth4  ,he begins with3  99,earth ,nuts
 7,arachidis7994--,sown from ,april #ast
 till ,july #ast4 ,duration of crops1   
six months4  ,water every five days till
 high ,nile1 when no water is required4 
,yield per acre1 sixty bushels1 value   
#aj pounds4  99,sesame994--,yield1      
fifteen bushels2 value1 #g pounds4      
99,chick ,peas994--,sown from ,april    
#ast to ,july #ast4  ,duration of crop1 
six months4  ,yield per acre1 thirty    
bushels2 value1 #f pounds4  99,maize    
7,oswego7994--,sown ,march #aeth till   
,april #aeth4  ,duration of crop1 seven 
months2 value of crop1 #i pounds4       
99,potatoes994--,first crop planted     
,october4  ,duration1 three and a half  
months4  ,yield1 three and a half tons2 
#ag pounds #aj shillings4               
99,potatoes994--,second crop planted    
,february #aeth4  ,duration1 three      
months4 ,yield1 three and a half tons2  

#ag pounds #aj shillings4               
99,lupins994--,sown ,november #ast4     
,duration of crop1 seven months4        
,average yield1 fifteen bushels2 #b     
pounds #h shillings4  ,clover1 barley1  
beans1 ,syrian maize1 and henna1 a dye  
plant4  ,to begin with1 the land is here
 generally pure sand1 but after flooding
 with ,nile water1 which is often       
available without pumping--i4e4 free    
flow--the sand gets mixed with the ,nile
 mud and a good soil is rapidly formed4 
99,sugar-,cane994--,this1 one of the    
most interesting products of the        
,eastern soil1 beautiful in form1 and   
attractive in every stage1 from its     
early green growth through the          
tasselling1 or flowering1 up to the time
 when the swelling cobs are changing    
from their attractive green to golden   
yellow1 amber1 and brownish or purple   
black1 is cultivated both in ,upper and 
,lower ,egypt4  ,it is grown in two     
varieties1 the native and the ,greek1   
and the colour of the ripened canes     

forms a gradation1 passing from light   
yellow through striped red and yellow1  
and red4  ,the cultivation is1 as       
stated1 principally carried on in ,upper
 ,egypt-- for the manufacture of sugar4 
,if it is planted in the ,delta it is   
for sale to the natives1 by whom it is  
consumed raw1 and by sucking the juice4 
,the farmer who plants his land with    
sugar-cane begins by thoroughly well    
preparing the soil1 and ridges it as if 
he were about to plant potatoes1 these  
ridges measuring about thirty inches    
from crest to crest4  ,the canes are cut
 into lengths of one yard1 placed in the
 furrow1 and covered with the soil4     
,planting commences in ,february1 the   
ridges being watered immediately after1 
and the young shoots appear after twenty
 days4  ,the crop is watered every      
fifteen days1 and at longer intervals   
after the ,nile has risen4  ,the land is
 hand-hoed three times1 and the cane    
should be ready for cutting in ,december
 and ,january4  ,the value of an average

 crop sold standing--in ,lower          
,egypt--may range from #bj to #be pounds
 per acre4  ,then the trashings covering
 the ridges are burned1 a watering given
 about the beginning of ,march1 and the 
old roots sprout again1 when there is a 
second crop1 and again the following    
year by repeating1 a third crop from the
 one planting4  ,the third crop is not  
so profitable1 as the roots become      
exhausted4  ,the sugar-cane requires a  
liberal dressing of manure each year4   
,the yield of trashed canes may run from
 six tons the first year1 five tons the 
second year1 and four tons the third    
year1 and the percentage of sugar may be
 estimated from fourteen to fifteen per 
cent4    ,,chapter ,,nineteen4  ,rice is
 extensively cultivated in the districts
 of ,rosetta1 ,damietta1 ,fouah1 and    
,facous2 but it is the opinion of a very
 excellent authority that rice          
cultivation and the growth of this      
grain1 which is seen at its best in the 
swamps of ,asia1 will gradually die out 

of ,egypt and become a thing of the     
past4  ,for1 given ample water and a    
level of mud in which the planter may   
thrust in the plant in its early green  
state of blades1 an abundant crop is    
pretty sure2 but now that ,egypt is     
becoming more and more in a state of    
transition1 with good drainage          
extending1 and modern applications at   
work for the proper washing and         
purifying of a soil that is impregnated 
with salt and soda1 this country will no
 longer be the paddy field of yore1 and 
the culture of rice may well be         
relegated to the mud swamps of the      
countries farther east4  ,there is no   
cause for regret here1 for1 in          
comparison with those easier of         
production1 rice is far from being one  
of the best crops that can be sown4     
,among farmers and gardeners there is a 
term known as sickness of the land1     
marked by a want of vigour in its       
productions2 and in ,egypt this may be  
produced by the want of that great      

sustainer of plant life1 decaying       
vegetable matter1 or the impregnation of
 the soil with some form of salt1 soda  
in the main4  ,with the improved farming
 now going on1 the natural soil1 which  
was once ready enough in its production 
of rice1 is rapidly changing its        
character1 constant tillage1 the        
flooding and washing which carry out the
 efflorescing salts1 and the constant   
addition of vegetable manures1 aided by 
one or two crops of clover1 being the   
agents which are working this           
alteration4  ,there are five varieties  
of rice grown in ,egypt1 namely         
,sultani1 ,fino1 ,sabeini1 ,indian1 and 
,japan4  ,in regard to quality1 the     
,fino occupies the first place4  ,the   
sowing commences in the middle of       
,april1 and continues till ,june4 ,the  
crop occupies the land from three to six
 months1 according to the variety grown4
  ,the rice for seeding is put into     
water for twelve days1 then taken out   
and drained for two more4  ,it is       

subsequently emptied out of the sacks on
 to a floor and covered with hay1 to    
remain four days till heating and       
germination take place4  ,then the seed 
is sown on the land1 which is covered   
with four inches of water1 this being   
drained off after three days1 leaving   
the seed for twelve hours exposed to the
 sun4 ,then water is allowed to flow on 
to the plot once more1 and a portion to 
drain off1 the surface at this later    
stage always having a covering of from  
four to five inches in depth1 so that   
the irrigation is always fresh4  ,this  
is continued during the growth of the   
crop4  ,the harvesting is in ,october   
and ,november1 and the yield of an acre 
may average fifty bushels of ,paddy1    
which1 when shelled1 or husked1 will    
give twenty bushels of clean rice1      
valued at #f pounds #aj shillings per   
twenty bushels4  ,the straw may be      
estimated at a ton per acre1 and be     
valued at one pound per ton4  ,rice is  
one of the chief foods of the ,egyptian1

 and it is an excellent crop to grow on 
newly redeemed land1 provided that water
 is abundant2 for the soil is           
impregnated with salt1 and after a few  
crops have been taken off the land      
becomes sweet1 in consequence of the    
perpetual flooding4  ,it can then be    
cropped with clover and cotton1 but     
requires much labour in the way of      
weeding1 transplanting to fill up       
blanks1 and attention to irrigation4    
,after paying rent and working expenses 
the margin of profit is not great4  ,the
 size of the plots ranges from half to  
one and a half acres4  ,the patches are 
encircled by drains or ditches1 which   
discharge into the main irrigating      
system4    ,,chapter ,,twenty4  ,if     
armed with the little enterprise and    
capital necessary for making a          
commencement in farming or growing fruit
 and vegetables in ,egypt for the       
market1 a cultivator would find that    
land could be obtained within easy reach
 of the great towns of the              

,delta--,cairo and ,alexandria--at a    
very moderate price2 but it is only     
right to add that this price1 consequent
 upon the great irrigation schemes in   
progress1 is still rising by leaps and  
bounds4  ,for the soil1 where reachable 
by the flood waters of the ,nile1 now   
conserved and carried in every direction
 by irrigation canals1 is practically   
inexhaustible1 and1 as previously       
stated1 is often of great depth4  ,the  
land is to be purchased with proper     
titles and registration1 giving the     
necessary security to an alien who is   
desirous of making his home in the      
,delta1 or rented1 if preferred1 at a   
moderate consideration1 including water 
for irrigation4  ,the country is well   
policed1 there is freedom from contact  
with the inhabitants of the surrounding 
desert1 and a cultivator would have to  
deal with a quiet1 docile people1 fairly
 industrious--that is to say1 lovers of 
work after the fashion of the calm1     
placid ,moslem1 who takes life as it is1

 and seems to make it one of his tenets 
that there is no need to hurry4  ,he    
possesses none of the hurry and rush of 
,western civilisation2 but1 on the other
 hand1 he is patient1 ignorant1 fairly  
teachable1 and willing to work for      
exceedingly moderate daily payment4     
,the supply of this labour under a      
kindly1 solvent1 and honestly paying    
master is abundant and never fails4     
,the illustrations of the fellaheen farm
 labourers and their wives are typical  
of the class of people with whom he     
would have to deal1 and if the new      
adventurer objected to the class of hut 
they occupy1 and had lofty ideas about  
model dwellings and the introduction of 
lighter implements in place of the      
clumsy1 adze-like hoes with which they  
are armed rather than furnished1 the    
advice given to him would be to follow  
that of the old ,latin proverb1 ,festina
 lente1 and go by degrees in that1 as in
 most of the other matters of culture1  
for it takes time to alter custom and   

change old-fashioned routine4  ,it may  
be here added that all great advance and
 reversals of custom should be          
cautiously attempted with the land4     
,still ,nature is easier to deal with   
than man1 and less likely to resent     
alteration when attempted by a practised
 hand4  ,as a whole1 for the            
encouragement of those who wish to try  
the experiment in a foreign land1 let   
them understand that farming in ,egypt  
is child's play compared to that in     
,great ,britain4  ,there are no wet hay 
and cereal harvests1 there is neither   
snow nor frost to damage the crops1 no  
high winds1 no floods1 no ground game to
 do mischief3  ,in the season of        
hay-making1 with no possibility of a    
drop of rain falling1 the fellah makes  
the worst of all hay by allowing it to  
be burnt to an indigestible fibre--would
 that he had a training in the uncertain
 climate of ,great ,britain6  ,the wheat
 is harvested when dead ripe4  ,part may
 be cut1 and part may be allowed to     

remain for six weeks without            
deterioration4  ,a contrast this to the 
harvests in bonnie ,scotland1 where the 
corn has lain sodden until it has rotted
 away in the deplorable weather of the  
year #aijc4  ,there is a good old       
proverb that is applicable to most      
things--certainly to farming in ,egypt4 
,it is that the less there is to do1 the
 worse it is done4  ,verily it is so    
here4  ,nature is most kindly1 and with 
ample moisture1 abundant fertilisation1 
and plenteous sunshine1 she does pretty 
well half of the fellahs' work          
thoroughly well1 while their half to    
complete the operations is carried out  
with a careless indifference to success 
that is deplorable4  ,the people's wants
 are few1 and now that under a generous 
rule they have liberty and payment for  
the work they perform1 they seem quite  
content to plod on in easy slothfulness4
 ,sufficient for the day is the evil    
thereof1 so why wear themselves out by  
toil and the struggle for things better 

than those which surround them8  ,all   
this in connection with the             
possibilities of this country raises the
 question1 ,can the practice of         
,egyptian agriculture be improved8  ,the
 answer of one who has toiled amongst   
the people for years1 whose work has    
been that of reclaiming tracts of desert
 land1 making endless experiments as to 
the best suited crops for ,egypt and the
 best ways of producing them1 is3       
,emphatically1 yes6  ,,the ,,end4