16 COTTON IN EGYPT AND THE SUDAN. 



not know what real frosts are. Whilst in the Southern States of 

 America the frosts in spring or autumn frequently destroy, or at 

 least injure vegetation, this danger does not exist in Egypt. In this 

 country plants are threatened by the desert wind, called " Kham-' 

 seen," which blows from March to May, and causes the leaves to 

 fall off. 



As regards the rainfall, it may be stated that it rains frequently 

 on the north coast from October to March and April, in the remain- 

 ing months hardly ever ; the whole of the rainfall is, however, only 

 200 mm. to 350 mm. In Upper Egypt it rains very seldom. In the 

 Delta it rains mostly in December, January, and February, also in 

 November and March, little in October and April, and not at all 

 from May to September; it is looked upon as a very rare exception 

 when it rains for 5 or 10 minutes in August or September ; June 

 and July are quite free from rain. Alexandria has a yearly average 

 rainfall of 209 mm., but Cairo is satisfied with 35 mm. Thunder- 

 storms are also very seldom, and as at the time of flowering and 

 ripening it does not rain in the whole of Egypt, injury to flowering 

 and ripening cotton by sudden downpours of rain is totally unknown. 

 With such a small rainfall it would be impossible to cultivate cotton 

 unless by some means of artificial watering. Where there is an 

 abundant supply of irrigation water it is easy to regulate the water 

 supply in such a manner as to correspond to the necessities of the 

 cotton plant. Egypt is in this respect much better off than many 

 other countries with uncertain rainfall, as, for example, East Africa. 



In Egypt there are only the morning fogs to fear in the autumn, 

 which start as early as the end of July ; they last up to 9 and 10 

 o'clock in the morning, and when they are accompanied by great heat 

 they cause the buds and bolls to fall off prematurely, or at all events 

 they delay the ripening. These fogs chiefly appear in the intermedi- 

 ate months between rainy and dry weather, when the tem- 

 perature does not get cool enough to cause rains. This period of 

 fogs extends from the end of August to the middle of October, and 

 then again from March to April, but during the latter months they 

 are not severe; one hardly ever hears complaints of these spring 

 fogs as they do not cause much harm. The autumn fogs, too, are 

 not very injurious if they do not last too long in the day, and pro- 

 vided the sun has not already too great a power when the fogs clear 

 away, say from 7 to 8 o'clock in the morning. If the fogs last up 

 to 9 or 10 o'clock, when the sun is already very hot, then the drops 

 of dew which remain on the bolls burn the latter in consequence of 

 the great heat of the sun. Recently certain local fogs are attributed 

 to over-watering. 



Excessive falls of dew during the picking period are also 

 injurious. In Egypt there are dews nearly right through the year, 

 chiefly in autumn and winter, and, as already mentioned, the north 

 wind causes at times hoar-frost, and even thin ice. 



Otherwise the humidity of the air is relatively small in Egypt, 

 although it varies in different places. In the Nile Valley itself the 

 humidity, being caused by the evaporation of the Nile water and the 

 water from the irrigation system, is greater than in the adjoining 

 desert tracts, although the maximum in November and December 

 shows only 52 per cent., and the minimum in May 24 per cent, of 



