118 COTTON IN EGYPT AND THE SUDAN. ^ 



of the Sudan increase towards the sea coast and towards the south, 

 and many districts have a heavy rainfall. The climate does not, every- 

 where and always, afford enough nourishment, but in many places 

 agriculture is possible without artificial irrigation. All the more profita- 

 ble plants, such as cotton, certainly require a period of watering, which 

 should extend over the flood time and rainy season ; without artificial 

 irrigation, with rainfall alone, hardly anything else but Durra can 

 be produced, and even this crop can only be grown on an extensive 

 scale in years of ample rainfall. 



Along the Nile, irrigation through the flood or \vater lifts is 

 feasible on a narrow strip along the banks, except where the hills 

 approach the stream so closely, as is the case in the unfruitful 

 and sparsely-populated province of Wadi-Halfa, that cultivation of 

 any crops is practically impossible. In the provinces of Dongola and 

 Berber the valley is mostly broader, the land rises very gradually 

 from the river banks, whilst in some specially favourable places the 

 hinterland of the dams is below the level of the river banks, so that 

 cultivation can be carried on there with the aid of irrigation as far 

 inland as 5 km. to 7 km. from the river. It is precisely in these 

 places where concessions for agricultural purposes have been granted 

 by the Government, and where the first trials have been made to 

 introduce systematic methods of irrigation and cultivation, includ- 

 ing cotton. Besides, transport is facilitated here by the proximity 

 of the railways, especially in the province of Berber. Cultivation by 

 natives is here also more developed than in the southern provinces. 

 Nevertheless, to the north of Khartoum agriculture will always be 

 limited to a narrow strip of land on the river bank. 



Regarding the possibilities of irrigation in the Sudan, four 

 principal kinds of land enter into the question : 



(1) The small tracts of land lying in and around the Nile valley, 

 \vhich during high water become flooded naturally without artificial 

 assistance, and which are clear of water and cultivable at low water, 

 viz. : Islands (Gesireh) or the slopes of river banks (Garf). The 

 ownership of cultivated land, which is covered at flood time and clear 

 at low-water of the Nile, called " Seluka " lands, seems very diffi- 

 cult to ascertain. 



(2) " Sakieh " land, which is watered direct from the river by 

 means of water-wheels, draw j wells, or ordinary wells. As this 

 manner of watering is unprofitable on account of the difficulty of 

 procuring labour and fodder for the oxen that work the wheels, one 

 endeavours, where possible, to provide a substitute ; in the districts 

 of Dongola and Kassala this is being done by the introduction of 

 basin irrigation, and in the provinces of Berber and Khartoum by 

 pumping plants. 



(3) Hinterland of the rivers, situated somewhat lower than the 

 dams, and which is only now and then, about, say, once in every 

 3 to 20 years, watered through the occurrence of a specially high Nile 

 flood, which then makes the cultivation of "duchn" possible. Other- 

 wise these tracts of land, called " Karu," which are chiefly to be 

 met with in the provinces of Berber and Khartoum, are used as 

 pasture for rattle, and, when they are timbered, for the supply of wood 

 for Building purposes and fuel. 



In the above-mentioned three kinds of land, it is necessary tor 



