50 



COTTON IN EGYPT AND THE SUDAN. 



create in Egypt agricultural and urban banks, for which the example 

 of the German Raiffeisen-Societies or the Italien co-operative banks 

 had been selected. Whilst a bill for the country population was 

 being drafted, but not further proceeded with, the urban popu- 

 lation have established, in 1910, first for the benefit of the native 

 merchants in Cairo, the " Societe egyptienne co-operative comerciale 

 de Credit," which, however, does not enjoy a bright existence. The 

 idea of creating Agricultural Syndicates, which would come to the 

 help of the planters and assist them financially, has latterly taken 

 good hold. Lord Kitchener and the Egyptian Government have 

 caused the State Agricultural Bank of Egypt to give support to this 

 new enterprise, and thus a further suspension of the idea will 

 be prevented. The Khedivial Agricultural Society is also taking a 

 keen interest in the organisation of agricultural credit societies, and 

 in 1912 caused a thorough investigation of the subject to be made 

 by the French specialist, M. J. Ribet. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF COTTON IN THE 



NILE LAND. 



On a journey up the Nile, from the Mediterranean to the source, 

 up to the lakes of its source, in the heart of Africa, one comes across 

 cotton almost everywhere, be it cultivated or in a wild state. 



The whole of the Delta district, north of Cairo and the Nile 

 valley, north of Beni Suef, produces the very best kinds as summer 

 crops. It is this district that has in summer an almost even tempera- 

 ture, the slight changes being steadied by the breezes from the 

 sea. Fe*r the growing of the finest kind of cotton this is the climate 

 par excellence throughout the world. In these six provinces of 

 Lower Egypt the area planted with cotton is as follows : 



Thousands of Feddans. 



In Central Egypt, the district south of the Delta, up to Assiut, 

 cottons are planted which are only slightly behind those of the pro- 

 ductions of the Delta, as regards quality and length of staple. The 

 provinces of Central Egypt growing cotton are the following : 



Thousands of Feddans. 



In Fayum, too, there are, just as in the Delta, large tracts of 

 salty lands which were formerly cultivated, and these are being 

 gradually reclaimed again for cultivation. 



