36 



regulators and division gates have been put in. At Dirut there is a 

 wasteway in the canal, through which the surplus water can flow back 

 into the Nile. Just below the wasteway the division gates are located, 

 and at this point the Yusef and two less important canals begin. The 

 length of the Ibraimia Canal from Dirut to its lower terminus is about 

 130 miles. It flows almost parallel to the Nile, and in no place is it 

 over 2 or 3 miles from the river. At Dirut the width of the canal on 

 the bottom is about (55 feet, and the slopes of its banks are 2 horizontal 

 to 1 vertical. The depth of water in the canal when full is about 30 

 feet. The water supplied to the Ibraimia Canal at Assiut serves to 

 irrio-ate over 1,000.00(> acres of land. About 600,000 acres of this is 

 still irrigated vinder the ancient basin system. 



The Yusef Canal supplies a number of basins along its course, but 

 its principal duty is to furnish the Favum province with water for 

 perennial irrigation. The cross-section dimensions of this canal are 

 very irregular. It averages al)out 175 feet in width on the bottom and 

 has a depth of about 20 feet. There are levees on each side, however, 

 which enable it to carry 30 feet of water at high Nile. During May 

 and June it carries about 600 cubic feet of water per second. During 

 high Nile the discharge is about 30,000 cul)ic feet per second. Dur- 

 ing low water summer cultivation is prohibited along the canal except 

 in the Fayum province. The entrance to this province is between two 

 desert plateaus, and the low gap is closed by a dike which completely 

 separates the province from the Nile Valley proper. The Yusef Canal 

 crosses this dike on a masonry structure composed of three arches. 

 The Fayum province A\'as formerly cultivated as the valley of the Nile 

 had always been, but perennial irrigation is practiced at the present 

 time, owing to the increased supply of water furnished by the canal. 

 At the town of INIedinet the canal separates into many smaller ditches, 

 and a large part of the province is watered by these. About 250,000 

 acres are cultivated in the province. The slope of the land in the 

 Fayum is greater than in any other farming district of Egypt. All 

 the land in the province drains into Lake Kerun, which is 130 feet 

 below the level of the Mediterranean. 



In the province of Minieh three canals divert Avater from the right 

 bank of the river. The three canals on the left bank are laterals of 

 the Il)raimia Canal. These are quite important among the distributing 

 works of the province. In the province of Benisouef six canals take 

 water from the left and two from the right bank of the river. There 

 is one important branch of the Ibraimia Canal in this province. In the 

 province of Gizeh three canals take water from the left and one from 

 the right l)ank of the river. Below Cairo there are many canals (Pis. 

 X and XXIV). The principal ones are those leaving the Nile at the 

 barrao-e and the Ismailia Canal, which diverts water from the river at 

 Cairo. 



