BEANS. 



55 



lurrow U'lt by tho ordinary native plow, a hoy r()llo\yin<; tho latter and 

 (h'positini; the seeds by hand. They are then covi'red on the relnrn 

 Jonrney of the plow, and the land is snlise<inently harrowed. The 

 (juantity of seed employed isabont l*;, or :; Itnshels per acre. The crop 

 may be sown " wet " or "dry," as explained in the chapter on wheat — 

 t.liat is, whethei- a watering has ])een uiNcn previonsly or not. It is 

 sometimes raised without any water, thouirh one irriij^ation is jjenerally 

 lUMven in sprini;". 



The hai'vestini; of the crop is similar to that of an ordinary cereal 

 and takes ])lace in Ajjiil. It may be thrashed by machine or by tho 

 nora}.r. 'i'he chopped straw is niven to camels, ^oats, sheep, etc., and 

 it is also used for makinji: bricks, etc. The crop is never manured, 

 and yields from I'o busliels on poor land to as mucli as 35 or 40 

 i)nshels on rich soils. 



The value of beans as food for dairy and other cattle iswell known 

 in Europe and there is a consideral>le exportation from Smyrna, 

 Ejj^ypt, etc., to Europe. The ex[)ort from Kuy[)t is not increasinjr, 

 therc^ beinu' a threat er homo consumption, as will be seen from the 

 following' lij^ures, showinjj total exports: 



Year. 



issg-isai (average) 

 lW)4-KS'.i.s (average) 



19(11 lavorajie) 



190^ (average) 



Quantity. 



Bushels. 

 .5,(114.(569 

 4,244, l.-iT 



i,iHS(j,(i:i 



l,34«,7(r2 



Value. 



Etiyi>tinn 



l>l>Ullfls. 



()(ii),:<r" 



4.">7,:e(i4 

 i!(ai,.T()8 

 190,5:iti 



As already' mentioned, about I'-i pounds of crushed beans are fed per 

 day to working bullocks durinj^' the season of scarcity of green forage 

 and a i^roportional amount to cows, etc. The animals, of course, do 

 not keep up their condition on this food (mixed with chopped straw) 

 as well as they do on green, succulent food, but the work they accom- 

 plish during the hot weather when on this diet is remarkable. 



Beans form an article of diet of nearly all classes. They are j)re- 

 Ijared in several waj's. They ma}' be soaked throughout the night in 

 water, which is kept at a high temperature, and eaten in the morning, 

 with liberal quantities of clarified butter, or they may be soaked in 

 cold water nntil they begin to burst pi-evious to germination, and are 

 then boiled and eaten. Upper P^gypt beans are i^referred to those of 

 Lower Egypt for human consumption. 



RICE. 



Rice is grown in Egvpt both as a summer and aNili crop, and largely 

 so as a means of reclaiming land. Thus it is sown both in summer 

 and during flood, the difficulty in connection with the former being 

 the large quantities of water required at a time when the cotton area 



