81 



erable hardship to the farmer. The following- table shows the number 

 of men called out during the twenty years from ISSd to 1S9!>, 

 inclusive: 



Xumher of men called on for an-ire dutij, 18S0-1899. 



Year. 



1885, 

 1886 

 1887 

 1888 

 1889 



Number 

 of men. 



125,936 

 95, 093 



87, 120 

 58, 788 

 49, 904 



Year. 



Number 



of meu. 



Year. 



1S90.. 

 1891 . . 

 1892.. 

 1893. . 

 1894.. 



48, 488 

 44, 962 

 84, 391 

 32, 752 

 49, 488 



1895 



1S96 

 1897 

 1898 

 1899 



Number 

 of men. 



36,782 

 25, 794 

 11,069 

 34, 770 

 17.564 



The inimber of men needed in this work depends upon the stage of 

 the Nile during flood. The higher the flood the more men are required 

 to watch the banks during this critical period. The diti'erence between 

 this work and the cleaning of canals is that those employed in the latter 

 service receive compensation fixed ly the government. Service is 

 compulsory in both cases. If an acc-ident occurs to the government 

 railway line, men are forced to leave their homes and put it in repair, 

 and are paid for their services as the government may deem sufficient. 

 It can not be said, therefore, that forced labor has been abolished. 

 Those who are best acquainted with the conditions admit that the sys- 

 tem has simply been modified and reformed. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



The climate of Egypt being mild, the needs of the people are easily 

 satisfied; the population is dense and the individual holdings of land 

 are small. Labor is cheap, enabling much to be accomplished by the use 

 of crude implements which could l)e performed profitalily in America 

 only b}' the employment of modern machinery. The irrigation canals 

 of Egpyt convey water to the farms, but the irrigator must raise 

 the water for his fields. He has few other duties wdiich demand his 

 time and energy during- the growing season, and therefore can use 

 with profit machinery which requires a large expenditure of labor hut 

 little expenditure of money. In lifting water from the Nile the 

 Egyptian deals with the same obstacles as the irrigator in many locali- 

 ties in the West where water can be secured at depths ranging from 

 10 to 25 feet, but there the reseml)lance ceases. The standard of liv- 

 ing of the American irrigator is higher, his farm is larger, and the 

 returns from an acre are les.s. He can not adopt water-raising devices 

 of low efficiency like the shaduf or natali. The hoe, practicallv the 

 onl}" tool used in distributmg- water over the fields in Egypt, has no 

 meiit to the American farmer. We can not, therefore, learn much 

 from the Egyptian irrigator. 



Many of the irrigation structures of Egypt are models of their kind. 

 The barrage below Cairo is one of the most interesting dams in the 

 world. Its architecture reflects some of the recent politic-al struggles 

 in Egypt. The towers which embellish the dam should be classed 



27752— No. 130—03 6 



