VALUE OF LAND. 15 



Tlie tVllali is an exireinely clcvcrcultivator and a lianl worker. lie 

 works sometimes for a daily wage, l)iit in the majority of eases is 

 engaged under one of many bases of contract, receiving a certain 

 area of land for the whole year in lieu of a part of his wages, or it 

 may be a certjvin area for the growth of corn. In other eases he 

 receives a sliare of certain crops, etc. ; in fact, it would be impossible 

 in a short treatise to deal with the almost innumerable arrangements 

 which are made between employers and employed. 



VALUE OF LAND. 



Land has increased enormously in value during rect^it years and 

 to attempt to estimate the increas(? would be a dillicult matter. The 

 best land in the J)elta can not be i)urchased for less than $500 to IGOO 

 an acre, while there are many cases where as much as $800 liave been 

 paid for land possessing no value, present or prospective, except from 

 an agricultural point of view. Good average land costs from $;300 to 

 to $400 jx'r acre, while it would be diflicult to find any land under a 

 state of cultivation which could be purchased for less than $150 per 

 acre. P^ven at these prices land well cultivated will return or 7 per 

 cent on the capital invested, the sheet-anchor of the cultivator being 

 his cotton crop. 



ANIMAL LABOR. 



Practically the whole of the animal lal)or on the farm is done by 

 bullocks, a race whose history is somewhat doubtful. The cattle of 

 Upper Egypt are somewhat smaller than those of Lower Egypt, of 

 which the accompanying illustrations (PL I, tigs. 1 and l') may be 

 taken as good types. 



A certain number of mules and donkeys (see PI. II, figs. 1 and 2) 

 for transport work are kept on the farm, and from eight to ten bul- 

 locks are considered necessary to work 100 acres, generally the smaller 

 number. 



The value of these animals has very considerably increased during 

 recent years, and at the present time $100 would have to be paid for 

 a good average working bullock, while anything above the ordinary 

 costs up to $135. During the winter, spring, and early summer 

 months — say, from December to June — they are fed on clover, chiefly 

 grazed in the field, the animals being tethered. About three-fourths 

 of an acre are allowed for each animal. From June to early Decem- 

 ber they are fed on beans and chopped straw, about 12 or 13 pounds 

 of the former and 22 pounds of the latter being a common ration. 



The fellahs are the cattle raisers of Egypt, and large cultivators 

 supply their needs by purchasing from them; in consequence, the 

 small cultivator, raising cattle as he does and keeping buffaloes for 

 the supply of milk for his family and for sale, has a much greater 

 quantity of manure in proportion at his disi)osal than has the large 

 proprietor. 



