EGYPT 



1967 



EGYPT 



it will not be discussed here. There is prob- 

 ably nowhere else in the world an instance of 

 such utter dependence of a country on a 

 waterway. 



Agriculture. Among the delights of Egypt 

 are its sunny skies and its dry air, but for 

 these the country has to pay heavily, for the 

 rainfall is so light that without irrigation 

 agriculture is impossible. And yet, notwith- 

 standing this drawback, Egypt is primarily an 

 agricultural country, and two-thirds of the 

 working people are engaged in tilling the soil, 

 for irrigation is widespread. In Lower Egypt 

 there is an extensive network of canals, many 

 of them navigable, and from these water is 

 led out over the fields until a great area is 

 transformed into a vast garden. Since there 

 is no cold weather, three crops a year are 

 raised in this northern section, wheat, beans, 

 barley and clover being produced in the win- 

 ter; cotton, sugar cane, millet, rice and fruit 

 in the summer; and maize and millet in the 

 flood season. Particularly valuable among 

 these Lower Egypt crops is the long-staple 

 cotton, used in making thread and hosiery. 

 About one-tenth as much is produced as in 

 the United States, but efforts are being made 

 by the English to extend its cultivation to 

 Upper Egypt. 



This latter region was for years dependent 

 upon irrigation of the most primitive sort. 

 During the flood season the water was col- 

 lected in big mud basins, and after the Nile 

 waters subsided it was let out upon the fields. 

 Too often, however, it did not last through 

 the dry season, and parched crops were the 

 result. With a view to remedying this con- 

 dition a barrage was constructed at Assiut, 

 and a great dam known as the Assuan Dam 

 was erected near Assuan in 1902; in 1912 this 

 was considerably enlarged, so now the 

 stored-up waters reach the tremendous vol- 

 ume of nine million cubic feet, and large new 

 areas are made cultivable. Upper Egypt 

 raises chiefly grain, vegetables and fruit, but 

 the cotton culture is increasing in importance. 



Throughout Egypt most of the land is 

 rented by those who work it, and the former 

 exorbitant rental rates have been lowered dur- 

 ing the British protectorate. Methods of agri- 

 culture are most primitive, but the fertility 

 of the soil makes up for this, little more than 

 a scratching with the old wooden plows being 

 necessary to secure good crops. 



Other Industries. The only manufacture of 

 any importance in Egypt is the making of 



PHYSICAL 



MAP OF 



EGYPT 



Feet Above 

 to 500 m 

 500 to 2000 ^ 



the Sea 

 ZOOO to 5000 

 Over 5000 



