CORN, WHEAT, AND 1?ARLEY. 51 



six or seven times. The phiiils nvv thiiiiuMl twice, once wlieii very 

 small siiul once snbse<iueiilly. Tiioso i-emovcd .uc ui\«'ii lo cattle. 

 The time the crop occupies the land varies accordinji to the sort sown. 

 The so-called native varieties may bo cut from seventy to ninety days 

 after sowiiij;. They are small in habit of jijrowth and possess small 

 cobs. Th(^ larj::e varieties (often known as Amcricani), which jj:row to 

 a lyreater lieiy;ht and produce larj;e cobs, occupy the land from one 

 hundied and ten to one hundred and twenty days. Varieties which 

 take a long time to grow are not in favor because they mak<^ tlie suc- 

 ceeding berseem crop late, wliile, again, owing to their larger habit of 

 growth, they exhaust the soil uiore. 



The corn crop is universally manui-ed; in fact, it is the heaviest 

 manured t)f all Egyptian crops. IJoth barnyard manure and coufri 

 are used, the latter to the gi'cater extent. The former, as a rule, 

 does not give such good results foi- the corn crop itself, but exercises 

 an effect on wheat, cotton, etc., if following the corn. Coulii (which 

 contains solul)le nitrogen) is (piicker in its action, and heavy crops of 

 corn are grown by means of it. 



Neither phosphoric acid nor potash is used for this ci-op, l)ut top 

 dressings of nitrate of soda, as well as applications of suli)ha1c of 

 ammonia, give excellent I'csults. Nitrate of soda is practically the 

 only chemical fertilizer employed in Egypt for this crojj. 



It may be said that only nitrogenous manures set'in to exercise any 

 great effect on the corn croji in p]gypt. It is true that no very exten- 

 sive series of experiments have l)een made as i-egards phosphoric 

 acid, but up to the i)resent no appreciable benetit has resulted. 



After clover the croj) does not re<iuire such large (piantities of 

 manure as when following a cereal, but in any case it is alwaj's 

 manured and a sum of at least $5 or $G an acre is expended. The 

 heavy watering which the land receives before sowing, and especially 

 the fact that water is given during summer when nitrification is 

 active, no doubt partly explains the pronounced effect of purely 

 nitrogenous manures of rapid action. 



The average yield of corn on ordinary land is about 30 or 35 bushels; 

 on good laud, well manured, 50 or 55 bushels are obtained, while on 

 poor soil 20 to 25 bushels an acre are ijroduced. The i)rice at which 

 it is sold is about 60 to 65 cents per bushel. 



WHEAT AND BARLEY. 



Wheat and barley are grown over the whole of Egypt, being sown 

 in the basins of Upper Egyi)t as well as on the perennially irrigated 

 lands of Lower Egypt. On the latter they are sown in the month of 

 November after cot-ton or, as is very frequently the case, after a crop 

 of corn which maj^ have been grown during the Nili season and 

 heavily manured, or after a fallow. In Upper Egj'jjt the grain croj)s 

 are sown earlier, after the water of the Nile recedes, by simply broad- 

 casting the seed on the mud. In the Delta also the cultivation is of 



