=

5,526,128 kanțârs (the kanțâr 99 lbs.), in 1905-6 it was 6,551,878 kanțârs, in 1916-17 it was 6,040,000, in 1918-19 it was 5,250,000. In 1919 Egypt exported 6,708,906 kanțârs of cotton valued at £65,441,901. In August, 1914, the price of raw cotton in Egypt was 8d. per lb. ; in January, 1918, the price was 2s. 7d. per lb.; and in 1919 (March) the price was nearly 8s. The value of the rice exported in 1919 was £E.550,550. The different sorts of vegetables grown in Egypt are numerous, especially in the Delta, where, under the modern system of irrigation, vegetable growing is very profitable. The commonest vegetable is the onion, and next come cucumbers of various kinds, pumpkins, melons of various kinds, gourds, leeks, garlic, radishes, bâmia, bâdingân (the egg plant), malûkhiyah or spinach, lettuces, cabbages, beetroot, turnips, carrots, etc. The value of the onions exported in 1919-20 was E.444,634. That Egypt was famous as the home of fresh vegetables in very early times is proved by Numbers xi, 4, 5, where we read: "And the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick." In dynastic times flax was cultivated with great diligence, and the weavers of linen must have formed a considerable and wealthy section of the community. The importance of the flax crop was great, and it may be noted that it is coupled with barley in the Bible narrative (Exodus ix, 31), where it is said: "And the flax and the barley were smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled" (i.e., podded for seed). The cultivation of flax has decreased as that of cotton has increased. The town most famous for its linen stuffs was Panopolis, the modern Akhmîm, the people of which are still great weavers of linen. The canals, pools, and marshes, which were fed from the Nile, were ornamented in ancient daveth lofty, waving reeds, or "bulrushes," the papyrus lotus lily. The papyrus grew to 15 feet, and the largest diameter from 4 to 6 inches. The roots of the plant were made into p, per

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Egyptia

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needle, and then gummed together. Neither the papyrus nor lotus plant is found in Egypt at the present day.

The plough used by the natives is very similar in shape to that used by the ancient Egyptians, and would in no other country be regarded as an effective implement; it has comparatively little weight, and that portion of it which makes the furrow does not penetrate far into the ground. Its use is dispensed with as far as possible, and the seed which is scattered over the ground immediately the waters have receded is on large farms rolled in and on small ones beaten or trodden in. The fields are watered either by allowing the

Picture of an Ancient Egyptian Shâdûf being worked by a Fallaḥ.
(From a Tomb at Thebes.)

water to flow from a basin or reservoir into the rectangular patches into which they are divided, so many at a time, or by machines, more or less complex, which lift the water from the Nile or from the large canals which flow out of it. The commonest water-raising machine is the Shâdûf, which is usually worked by one man, who raises the water in a skin bucket to the end of the channel which leads into the field or garden to be watered, and tilts it into it. Where the "lift" is high, and the leverage great, the Shâdûf is often worked by two men. This machine is simple and inexpensive to make, and economical to work, and, in one form or another, represents probably the oldest water-raising machine in the country

A more complex machine is the Sâkîyah, or water-wheel, which is usually worked by oxen. An endless rope passes over the wheel, and to this is attached a series of earthenware pots, arranged at regular intervals, which, as the wheel revolves, dip into a pool at the bottom of the cutting in the river bank or well, and so fill themselves, and in due course empty themselves into a trough on the top of the bank. The wheel is made to turn by means of a sort of cog-wheel arrangement, which is set in motion by an ox, or ass, or even a camel. A

small boy usually sits on the large horizontal wheel and urges the animal on his course with blows from a whip or stick, accompanied by vigorous language. Owing to friction, and leakage, and imperfect construction the loss of power in such machines is very considerable, but in spite of this serious defect the Sâkîyah forms an economical means of raising water. In many parts of Egypt and the Sûdân iron water-wheels have been erected, but in some places the natives do not view them with a favourable eye. In recent years steam pumps have been largely used for irrigation purposes.

The manure used throughout Lower Egypt "is the urine of farm cattle, with the ammonia fixed by dry earth, which is spread under the cattle and removed daily, and collected in heaps outside the farms. The dry atmosphere and the dry earth of Egypt combine to fix all the valuable ingredients in the urine. Before the flood the manure is carried to the fields which are going to be planted with Indian corn, and in this way every field receives manure once every two years. For special crops, as melons, gardens, etc., pigeon guano is

A modern water-wheel worked by oxen.

used" (Willcocks' Egyptian Irrigation, p. 384). The greater part of the manure produced by cattle is burnt by the natives for fuel. Mr. Fuller, C.I.E., the eminent authority on manures, states that Nile water, though exceedingly rich in potash, which constitutes the principal food of leguminous plants, is singularly poor in nitrogen, on which cereals depend. In Upper Egypt the manure consists of the nitrates which are found in the deserts between Wâdî Halfah and Kanâ, and also of the accumulated rubbish of 20 or 25 centuries, which has been heaped up in the ruins on the sites of such ancient cities

as Abydos and Ashmûnên. The rubbish is called by the natives Sabbakh, and the removal of it from old, ruined cities has, incidentally, resulted in the discovery of many priceless antiquities. South of Kanâ the supply from the deserts is inexhaustible, but to the north of Kanâ the ancient ruins are being gradually exhausted, and, moreover, supply but a fraction of the area requiring manure. The proximity of manures in the deserts or in ancient ruins has been found by Sir W. Willcocks to exert a strong influence on rents, and he thinks that the manure question must always be inferior only to that of irrigation.

The

It is in some quarters still a popular belief that large quantities of tobacco are grown in Egypt, but as a matter of fact none is grown for trade purposes. The first attempt to discourage the growth of the tobacco plant in Egypt was made in 1887, when a light tax per acre was put upon native-grown tobacco; this tax was raised to £E.50 per acre in 1889, and to LE.100 per acre in 1890, but notwithstanding this a considerable area was put under tobacco. In 1891 tobacco growing was absolutely prohibited, and people planted onions on the rich lands whereon they had previously grown tobacco. tobaccos most commonly smoked by the natives are Turkish and Syrian; of the former there are two kinds, the "hot" and the "mild," and of the latter light brown and dark brown. The dark brown Syrian tobacco is commonly known as Latakia," because it comes from Lâdikiyyah, a town in Syria. Other kinds are tutun and tambâk; the latter is usually smoked in water pipes. Sir Eldon Gorst called attention to the great development in the imports of leaf-tobacco from Russia, as a consequence of the effect of the recent Commercial Convention between Russia and Egypt. During the first twelve months after the signing of the Russian Convention 323,350 kilog. were imported as compared with 68,150 kilog. imported in the previous twelve months. The total quantity of Egyptian cigarettes exported continues to show a steady expansion, notwithstanding the equally steady reduction in the exports to Germany and Great Britain. In 1919-20

tobacco to the value of £E.3,070,744 was imported, and cigarettes to the value of £E. 1,032,076 were exported. The duty paid on tobacco was £E.2,350,000.

The land. In 1919-20 about 10,259,205 faddâns (the faddân=1.038 acre) were owned by 1,771,045 natives and Europeans. Land-tax brought in £E.5,097,500.