Agricultural engineering. 6i3 



Egyptian agriculture, with special reference to irrigation, P. N. Joannides 

 {Scottish Geogr. Mag., 20 {1904), No. 11, pp. 561-568).— This article briefly discusses 

 the soil, climate, animal life,* native population, the rise and fall of the Nile and the 

 composition of its waters, crops and crop seasons, and methods of irrigation (basin 

 system of middle and upper Egypt and canal or perennial system of lower Egypt). 

 The advantages to he gained from the use of stored water, especially that impounded 

 by the Assuan dam, are pointed out. 



A note on irrigation in the Bombay Presidency (India), \V. L. Strange 

 ( Transvaal Agr. .lour., .' (1904), No. 8, pp. 506-512). — The conditions and methods of 

 irrigation in the inundation area, the large storage reservoir area, the small storage 

 reservoir area, and the rain supplied area of Bombay Presidency are described. 



General report on irrigation and drainage in the Lower Menam Valley, 

 J. H. van der Heide ( Bangkok, Siam: Ministry of Agriculture, 1903, pp. 149-\~ VIII). — 

 This is the detailed report, a review of which has already been noted (E. S. R., 16, 

 p. .305). It is stated that this report "is not meant to give any detailed plan, but 

 only to show the possibility and utility of adequate irrigation and drainage in lower 

 Siam and to indicate the outlines of the principal scheme, in order to form a basis of 

 provisional consideration for the government, and further to point out the direction 

 in which plans should be made." 



It deals with the possibilities and utility of irrigation and drainage in this valley, 

 the urgency of improvements, and outlines plans of construction, management, and 

 organization. An appendix gives summaries of all available rainfall statistics for the 

 region. 



Irrigation of paddy, F. Limouzin (Natal Agr. Jour, and Min.Rec.,7 (1904), No. 

 10, pp. 944-947, fig. 1). — What is known as the swamp or bund (flooding) system of 

 irrigation in India is described. 



Ditching dredge at Council Bluffs, Iowa (Engineer. News, 52 (1904), No. 17, 

 p. 382, figs. 5).— The construction of this dredge and the nature of its work are 

 described. 



Recent improvements in methods for the bacterial treatment of sewage, 

 W. J. Dibdin (London: Sanitary Pub. Co., 1904, pp. 32; rev. in British Med. Jour., 

 1904, No. 2287, p. 1175). — Various methods of the author and others are described 

 and discussed. 



Sewage disposal in England, A. Bredtschneider and K. Thum (Mitt. Kgl. 

 Prufungsanstalt Wasser. u. Abw. Berlin, 3 (1904), pp. 264, figs. 46; rev. in British Med. 

 Jour., 1904, No. 2287, p. 1175). 



Suggestions concerning the septic treatment of sewage of farm and station 

 homesteads, T. W. Seaver (Agr. Gaz. New South Wales, 15 (1904), No. 1", />/i. 

 963-966). — A popular explanation of the principles underlying septic purification of 

 sewage, with general suggestions as to how it may be successfully employed <»n a 

 small scale. 



Traction engine plowing at the Central Experiment Farm (Natal Agr. lour, 

 and Min. Rec., 7 (1904), No. 8, p. 744, pi- 1)- — A brief account is given of trials of an 

 8-horsepower engine combined with 2 plows, one heavy (3 disks and the other 4 disks, 

 on very hard soil, in which the rate of plowing was an acre in ] hour and 36 

 minutes, the consumption of coal per working day being half a ton. 



The largest plow in the world, A. Inkersley (Amer. Inventor, 12 (1904), No. 22, 

 p. 466, fig. 1). — A plow built for use on a ranch near Bakersfield, Cal., which is 18 

 ft. high and cuts a furrow 8 ft. wide and 6 ft. deep, is described. 



The experimental grain elevator and scientific investigations in it, J. F. 

 Hoffmann (Das Versuchs-Kornhaus und seine wissenschaftlichen Arbeilen. Berlin: 

 Versuchs-Kornhaus, 1904, pp. XII + 593, pis. 7, figs. 65).— The grain elevator con- 

 structed for experimental purposes in Berlin in 1898 is described, and the results of 

 series of experiments with various appliances for handling and treating the grain 



