WHEAT AND BARLKY 



53 



Stal)lo inanniv is soiiu'times nsod «m wheat, Uioiiuh it i.s very <iues- 

 lionablt' wlietlit'i- this is ('(•oiioiiucai. It is now thoui^ht better to 

 reserve the who!*' of this iiiaiuire foi' (he eolton erop. C'oulri is also 

 extensively used. Durin*,' reeent years the praetiee of top ilre.ssinj,' 

 wheat with nitrate of soda has l>econie eonmion, and most s1rikin<; 

 results are obtained. The yield both of j;rain and straw is inereased, 

 and a net profit of fully *."> an acre is obtaine(l by its use. 



It maybe intt'restinfj: to note that E.uypt is practically fr<'<' from 

 "rust." The native varieties ^n-ow so rapidly that they seem to out- 

 strip it. On the other hand, foreiirn varieties, when j;rown, ar<' occa- 

 sionally entirely destroyed by it, as hai)pened, for example, with 

 Anieriean seed introduced l»y the writer some years since. 



The weight of wheat per l)ushel is about 00 pounds. The standard 

 measure is the ardeb of .5.4 bushels, whieh weijihs about olT) pounds, 

 and is sold on an averajje for about *4.75 to $5. There are no well- 

 defined varieties «;i'own, different names Ix'inir i;iven to tlu^ same 

 variety in diirer<'nt provinces. 



As re<j:ards yield, on very i;ood lands fiom 4<) to 45 bushels of grain 

 ami l.V tons of straw are obtained per aeic. The averai-c of the eoun- 

 try, however, is ahout 20 to 22 ])usliels. 



Egyptian wheats are poor, being very mixe<l auddefieient in gluten. 

 It is quite exceptional to find a good sample, either white or red, and 

 for tlie making of bread by Euroi)eans an admixture of foreign fiour 

 is almost invariably employed. The wheats in Lower Egypt are almost 

 invariably called while, while in rpi)er Egyi>t a greater portion of 

 §o-called red wheat is found. For making bread natives pi-efer the 

 wheat grown in the basin lanils of Upper Egypt to that grown on irri- 

 gated land. 



Egypt, instead of being an exporter of wheat, as is often thought, 

 actually imports a considerable quantity of flour ft-om France and 

 Russia, though that from the former country is largel}' of Russian 

 origin, having been ground at Marseille. The following table shows 

 the importation of flour during the past tliree years, the bulk being 

 wheat flour, thougli a small portion is that of maize. The figures 

 refer to Egyptian pounds, equivalent to about 1:4.94 in American 

 monej^ : 



Country to which 

 exported. 



England 



English possessions 

 in the Mediterra- 

 nean - - - 



English possessions 

 in the extreme 

 East 



Germany _ 



ITnited States 



Austria-Hungary 



Country to which 

 exported. 



Belgium .-. 



France and Algeria. 



Greece 



Italy -. 



Russia - 



Turkey 



Other countries 



Total . 



1902. 



1,403 



310,799 



71 



5, a59 



119,1.53 



5, 767 



776 



.5.52,897 



