36 COTTON IN EGYPT AND THE SUDAN. 



do not supply to-day's increasing demand, especially as the perennial 

 canals give very much less Nile silt on the fields than was formerly 

 the case with basin irrigation ; up to a certain degree, berseem helps 

 as a green manure. 



Artificial manure is bound to come more and more in the fore- 

 ground. This kind of manuring has been studied in Egypt only 

 since 1896, and in 1901 the Khedivial Agricultural Society distri- 

 buted among the Egyptian farmers for the first time ^E6,000 worth 

 of artificial manure at cost price. In order to make the sale of 

 artificial manure as cheap as possible, the Government repeatedly 

 lent to the above Society large sums, for example, in 1906 

 ;E100,000 at 2 per cent, interest per annum. After this the 

 Government refused to advance more money and left the importation 

 of artificial manure in the hands of merchants, but no custom duties 

 have been levied for a number of years on these fertilisers. In fact, 

 the import of artificial fertilisers has substantially increased since 

 then, and in the year 1910 35,000 tons, of a value of ^E296,000, were 

 imported, namely 30,000 tons of Chile saltpetre, 3,300 tons of super- 

 phosphate, and 1,600 tons of ammonium sulphate. Germany was 

 interested in this importation only with 900 tons of superphosphate 

 and potassium nitrate to the value of ;E3,000. The customers were, 

 principally, the Agricultural Bank and a few large agricultural com- 

 panies, which buy large quantities and are content with a small profit, 

 although they sell to the small peasants. Artificial manuring, gener- 

 ally speaking, is rendered very difficult because the poor tenants are 

 unable to bear the cost, and the landowner refuses to do anything for 

 him because a large crop does not benefit him, but the tenant. 



In 1909/10 only 5 per cent, of the cultivated land were 

 artificially manured. 



Artificial manuring must, indeed, be very carefully carried on 

 according to its kind, quantity, and the composition of the soil, and 

 requires a most careful stu3y in order that the development of the 

 cotton plant be not pushed on at the expense of the fibre, and that 

 the development of the fibre is not becoming too late. Egyptian 

 cotton has, as most of the fine staple kinds, a tendency to ripen late, 

 and a late ripening must be avoided at all costs. 



Among the artificial manures in Egypt are to be mentioned : 

 Nitrogen, namely, Chile .saltpetre (sodium nitrate in the main),, 

 ammonium sulphate. 



Phosphoric acid, in phosphates of different kinds. 

 Potassium salts, such as potassium chloride and potassium 

 nitrate ; the latter is preferable, but must go hand in hand with an 

 abundant supply of chalk as manure ; so far, the manuring with 

 potash in the heavy Delta soil has not had good results with cotton, 

 but on the other hand, it has proved useful on the sandy soils. 



Nitrogen manuring is on the whole less needed, as usually 

 before cotton cultivation clover has been ploughed under as a green 

 manure, instead of cutting it a third time at the beginning of the 

 year; even if the forage crop is grazed off, the following cotton has 

 sufficient nitrogen, except on very poor soil. If the clover is cut 

 and harvested it alters the case. 



According to. Mr. Foaden, the best manure mixture for Egyp- 

 tian cotton is superphosphate ancl Chile saltpetre ; of the former, if 



