April 11, 1859,] PIM ON THE ISTHMUS OF SUEZ. 179 



Company, which have navigated that part of the sea for many years 

 without accident. On the other hand, sailing ships beating against 

 the northerly wind are obliged to approach the shore on either side, 

 and often become hopelessly involved in the perils just alluded to : 

 in fact, the average loss of shipping during the last year was 1 in 

 10 — not clumsy colliers, but fine ships, English and American, 

 some of them upwards of 1000 tons. 



Of 12 vessels which have lately reached the port of Suez from 

 Aden, the average passage has been 52 days, which is rapid to what 

 it used to be, and is the result of employing first-class ships. The 

 passages from England to Alexandria and from Aden to Suez are the 

 most tedious in the world ; the first averages 55 miles per day, the 

 latter 25 miles, while other ocean routes average 100 ; therefore, in 

 making a comparison, the distance between England and Egypt 

 must be multiplied by 2 at least, and between Suez and Aden by 

 4. Thus it is certain that neither in the Eed Sea nor the Mediter- 

 ranean navigation can safety or certainty of passage be looked for by 

 sailing ships, and the captain of a merchant ship would think twice 

 before he adopted such a route. 



The physical features of Egypt are unique; it has been well 

 named the " Eiver Land." In its pristine state it was doubt- 

 less a complete desert, but the Nile, overtopping its banks, flooded 

 the sandy surface, and, depositing its rich alluvium, soon reclaimed 

 by its fertilizing eff'ect a large portion of the adjacent wilderness. 



The Kile has a total length of 1320 miles from source to mouth, 

 but taking the windings into consideration it is nearly twice as 

 long — viz. 2240 miles. The depth is most irregular : 50, 60, and 

 even 70 feet often occur ; but shoals, stretching from bank to bank, 

 and having only 2 or 3 feet water on them, are frequently met with, 

 so that the river is not navigable for vessels larger than our Thames 

 boats. At nearly 100 miles from the sea the waters divide into the 

 Damietta and Eosetta branches, and form the far-famed Delta, 

 which is an immense triangular plain, well cultivated by means of 

 a most elaborate and pains-taking system of irrigation. It has been 

 calculated that the Nile valley, as far as the apex of the Delta, 

 averages a breadth of about 7 miles ; namely, in the widest part 

 10 or 11, and in the narrowest 2 miles across, being, as already 

 observed, entirely due to the alluvium deposited at each high Nile 

 to the depth of 0*004 inches, and which, according to Eeynault, in 

 his ' Memoires sur I'Egypte,' contains 11 water, 9 carbon, 6 oxide of 

 iron, 4 silica, 4 carbonate of magnesia, 18 carbonate of lime, 48 

 alumina = 100. 



Besides the amount of alluvium deposited, millions of tons are 



