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barle}', beans, and many other products are quite couinionly raised. 

 The ground is seldom plowed before the wheat is planted. The 

 seed is scattered over the still moist soil by hand, and it is either 

 tramped into the ground by the cattle or pressed in with a primitive 

 wooden roller. Sometimes the ground is beaten with a piece of wood 

 and the grain actually driven into it. The harvest in extreme upper 

 Eg3'pt begins in Feln'uary and is in progress down the river until the 

 middle of April. In upper Egypt the winter harvest is the most 

 important of the 3'ear because a large part of the land there depends 

 wholl}' upon the ancient system of flood irrigation. 



The summer crops are grown between April and August (PI. V). 

 However, a great many crops arc planted in April and ^lay which 

 are not harvested until the following fall or winter. Among these are 

 cotton, sugar cane, and rice, the most vahiable crops grown in Egypt. 

 Rice is generalh' planted in Ma}' and is not harvested until the follow- 

 ing November. During exceptionally dry seasons a difl'erent variety, 

 which ripens in from seventy to one hundred days, is planted quite 

 late in the summer. Owing to the short time required for its growth 

 it is known as sebani rice, meaning seventy-dav rice. Cotton is sown 

 in April and picked in November or December. Sugar cane is planted 

 about the same time, and harvested in the following Januarj^ and 

 Februarv. 



The third season has a length of al:)Out eighty days, running from 

 August to October and sometimes until November. During this time 

 considerable sorghum is raised, the stalks of which the natives eat. 

 Corn is the chief crop grown, and is second only to wheat among' 

 Egyptian cereals in 3ield. It is probal)l3' the most valuable crop to 

 the poorer classes. As soon as it ripens it is cut or pulled up by the 

 roots and piled on the levees, where the stalks dry thoroughl}" and 

 where the corn is husked. The corn on the ears is then piled on the 

 ground where the earth is firm and the grain is beaten from the cob 

 by heavy sticks in the hands of the farmers. (PL VI, fig. 1.) The 

 corn is next ground or crushed and bread is made directU' from it, or 

 it is mixed with bean flour before being prepared for food. Wheat 

 is thrashed by a method almost as crude. A sledge furnished with 

 rollers carrying metal disks is pulled bv oxen, which travel around a 

 stack of wheat until the straw is thoroughly chopped and the grain is 

 separated from it. (PI. VI, fig. 2.) The whole mass is then tossed in 

 the air and the wind blows away the lighter material while the grain 

 falls to the ground. This latter process is ver\^ tedious, as the straw 

 has to be handled many times before the grain is all separated and 

 cleaned. 



