82 



with the ruins bequeathed to tlie modern world ])y ancient Euypt. 

 The barrage is a monument to the French engineers, while the fortiti- 

 oations along it remind us that it was only a few years ago that the 

 caprice of the khedi\'e overshadowed the designs of the engineer. 

 The Assiut dam follows the general plan of the ])arrage below Cairo. 

 The design of the dam at Assuan is new in Egypt as well as in the 

 world. It marks the l)eginning of a great reservoir system which 

 will ultimately control the waters of the Nile and furnish a supply to 

 every ara})lc district of Egyx)t. The head gates, waste gates, regu- 

 lators, and bridges of the larger canals wnll alwaj'S be objects of study 

 for iri'igation engineers of other countries. 



The excellence of the recent irrigation works of Egypt is beyond 

 question. The fame of the dam at Assuan has been heralded throughout 

 the civilized world; })ut such works are costly. Before the distrilnitary 

 systems are perfected the cost of the system supplied by the Assuan 

 reservoir will exceed ^57 per acre of land irrigated. Such an outlaj' 

 is not at present pr()tital)le in the United States. It is advisable, 

 nevertheless, for us to study the larger irrigation works of Egypt, 

 because it may l)e possil)le for American engineers to modify these 

 desio-ns to suit the needs of irrigation here. Many of the smaller 

 details of construction can be readily introdu<-cd 



The Nile is an easy stream to divide, hence laws for the economical 

 distribution of water are not so severely tested as they will be on the 

 streams of the arid West, ^^'ater is diverted only at the lower end of 

 the Nile, and not from all its ramifying triliutaries, as is the case on the 

 ]Missouri and Colorado. In addition, Egypt is one of the few countries 

 where the water supply can l)e made adequate for the needs of all by 

 storage. This will not be possil)le in the United States except under 

 rare conditions, where the area of irrigable land along a river afi'ord- 

 ing the supply is comparatively limited. In Egypt the demand for 

 land will in a few^ years exceed the demand for water. AVith us the 

 artni of irrigable land will rdtimately be limited by the water supply. 



The Egyptian irrigation law aims to bring about such a distribution 

 of the water of the Nile that the country as a whole will produce the 

 largest returns and the treasury receipts be the greatest. The irriga- 

 tion laAvs of the Western States of the United States are framed to 

 protect the individual farmer, and not for the purpose of producing 

 revenue. This fundamental ditference in the objects to be attained 

 makes Egypt's administrative system inai)plical)le to this country. 

 There does not seem to be any reason for changing our policy. On 

 the contrary, it seems wise that our irrigation administration should 

 promote the prosperity of the water user as far as practicable, so that 

 we may say in the words of Ameni, as inscribed on his tomb at Beni 

 Hassan, 50 miles above Cairo, "'And behold, when the inundation was 

 great, and the owners of the land became rich thereby, I laid no 

 additional tax upon the fields." 



