202 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD 



Tliis investigation should be planned and prosecuted in a manner which 

 its importance demands. The work should be begun at once and pushed 

 rapidly to completion. Every year's delay in this undertaking makes 

 the task of a proper settlement of the great water problems of the 

 semiai id region more difficult and perplexing. 



The experiment stations are already conducting considerable useful 

 work on problems relating to irrigation farming. They need, however, 

 in several States to concentrate their energies and funds more fully on 

 these problems. And in the larger enterprises they might well have 

 the aid of this Department if means were provided by Congress for this 

 purpose. 



We have received the regulations and syllabus of the School of Agri- 

 culture, Ghizeh, Egypt, as approved by the minister of public instruc- 

 tion August 14, 1898. From this document we learn that the course of 

 study extends over four years and includes practical and theoretical 

 agriculture, agricultural chemistry, natural science, theoretical and 

 practical chemistry, farm bookkeeping, land surveying, hydraulics, vet- 

 erinary science, physics, arithmetic, algebra and geometry, trigonome- 

 try, Arabic language, and English language. Eight hours a week 

 throughout the course are given to practical exercises in agriculture. 

 Each pupil is allotted a plat of land which he must cultivate with his 

 own hands, "the employment of hired labor or other assistance being 

 absolutely prohibited." This plat consists of one-quarter of a feddan 

 (1.038 acres) the first year, half a feddan the second year, aud three- 

 fourths the third and fourth years. " Every pupil shall be allowed 

 to dispose of the produce of his plat, subject to the approval of the 

 principal." 



To be admitted to the school the pupils must be at least 14 years of 

 age and must pass an entrance examination. The annual fees for 

 tuition and other expenses are £15 for day pupils and £25 for boarders. 

 The fee for day pupils covers the cost of a mid day meal provided at 

 the school. Pupils may be admitted to the school free of charge, at 

 the discretion of the minister, provided they are in needy circumstances. 



The instruction in theoretical agriculture includes such subjects as 

 soils, climate, tillage, manuring, the feeding and breeding of farm ani- 

 mals, dairying, culture of different crops, construction and sanitation 

 of farm buildings, and agricultural implements. Special attention is 

 given to irrigation and the culture of crops especially suited to local 

 conditions, among tfhich are rice, cotton, sugar cane, berseem (Egyp- 

 tian clover, Trifolium alexandrinum), beans, wheat, barley, maize, pea- 

 nuts, flax, potatoes, sesame, indigo, fenugreek, chick-peas, and alfalfa. 

 Sugar making and the extraction of cottonseed oil and indigo are also 

 taught. A special topic is the treatment of the salt lands in upper and 

 lower Egypt, including washing, reclaiming, and cropping. 



