COTTON IN EGYPT AND THE SUDAN. 13 



is called " el Bahri," that means the " land of the sea," and is really 

 a present given by the Nile. It stands only a few feet above sea 

 level, and where it is not covered with salt lakes and swamps forms 

 one of the most fertile corn lands upon the face of the globe. The 

 soil is quite free from stone. It has a coastline of 270 kilometres, 

 and the greatest length from north to south is 171 kilometres. Its 

 cultivated area at present amounts to 20,600 square kilometres. 



The fall of the Nile is small, and from Assuan to Cairo amounts 

 to only 92 metres ; from there to the sea it is only 10 metres. 



The entire culturable area is stated as follows : 



In thousands of feddans. 

 Lower Egypt. Upper Egypt. Total. 



1881 2,610 2,104 4,714 



1890 2,762 2,179 4,941 



1900 3,218 2,266 5,484 



1905 3,305 2,286 5,591 



1911 3,403 2,253 5,656 



It follows from this tabulation that the whole area of culturable 

 land since the opening of the Assuan Dam has increased very little, 

 whereas the area available for summer irrigation has been substan- 

 tially increased, and both in the Delta and in the Nile Valley proper 

 the producing power will be considerably greater through the exten- 

 sion of irrigation on the lands which up to now had not been irri- 

 gated. 



It was estimated in the year 1911 that 32,270 square kilometres 

 of arable land were outside the desert; in other words, only about 

 one-thirtieth part of the whole area of Egypt. Thanks to the great 

 fertility, this little strip of land has always been one of the most 

 populous tracts in the whole world. The population stands to-day at 

 11^ millions, against 9f millions in 1897, and 6 millions in 1882, 

 only eclipsed in comparative density by Bengal ; it is 20 per cent, 

 more densely populated than Saxony. In Saxony we have a popula- 

 tion of 301 to the square kilometre, while Egypt has a population of 

 362 to the square kilometre. A soil which gives several crops per 

 year can maintain by its own resources a greater number of people. 



Among the mixtures of people who inhabit Egypt to-day, the 

 Mohammedan fellaheen, which means the " ploughers " or 

 " peasants," are the most important; in spite of their frequent mixing 

 with immigrants, conquerors, and slaves, they still show the old 

 Egyptian type. They are, generally speaking, a very hard-working 

 class of people, and their race is still very strong. They have 

 remained without any wants, and are very frugal. They still build 

 their house of dried Nile silt, cover them with a few mats made of 

 straw, reeds, or cotton stalks ; there is hardly any furniture in their 

 huts, and their clothing is very simple. Elementary education requires 

 to be extended very much, as the census of 1904 showed that 94 per 

 cent, did not know the alphabet. On the other hand, in consequence 

 of these lamentable educational conditions, juvenile workers in Egypt 

 are plentiful. As the children do not go to schools, they find readily 

 work in the fields and factories. The limit of age for work in the 

 latter is 13 years ; a special law regulates the employment of children 

 in ginning factories. 



