Romance of the Barrage 127 



in Europe. They worked largely under the 

 direction of eminent French engineers, and 

 they began successfully the works which 

 were designed to control the water supply 

 of the Nile. Perhaps the most remarkable 

 of these native built barrages was that of 

 the Delta, which was constructed in 1843. 



Another great Egyptian, the Khedive 

 Ismail, who reigned from 1863 to 1879, 

 proceeded further with the work of irriga- 

 tion. He cut that famous Ismailia Canal, 

 which not only irrigates a very large portion 

 of desert land in the Delta district, but 

 actually carries drinking water to Port Said 

 and the canal zone generally. 



Another great canal, the Ibrahimieh, was 

 dug in 1873, an d this enabled sugar to be 

 cultivated on a large scale in Upper Egypt. 



All this was very excellent, but it did not 

 go far enough, and in 1883 the Government 

 of Egypt summoned well-known Anglo- 

 Indian engineers to advise what could be 

 accomplished in the future, and to re- 

 organise the works which had already been 

 carried out. 



