26 COTTON 



hoed . About three weeks later the fields are watered 

 for the third time, and are subsequently hoed again. 

 The water is now applied more frequently, during 

 June, July, and August two waterings being given each 

 month if possible. During these summer months, 

 however, in which the Nile is low, the amount of water 

 is somewhat limited, and for this reason the frequency 

 of watering is restricted by the Irrigation Department. 

 It is estimated that the amount of water supplied to 

 the cotton plants from the time of sowing until the 

 first crop is gathered is roughly equivalent to a rainfall 

 of 31 to 35 inches. 



A brief description may be given here of the 

 manner in which the watering is effected. The water 

 is supplied by the canals of the irrigation system ; it 

 reaches the land by free-flow where the water-level is 

 high, but where the high-water level is below that of 

 the soil the farmers themselves must raise it. This 

 is effected either by various primitive means or by 

 rotatory pumps worked by steam. The water is then 

 distributed throughout the farms by a rough and 

 somewhat leaky system of canals. From the canals 

 the water is conducted round the fields in small 

 ditches ; from these, in turn, it is allowed to run 

 along the furrows separating the ridges on which the 

 cotton, grows. The tops of the ridges always remain 

 above the water. 



Since the ripening of the cotton bolls is not simul- 

 taneous, but extends over a period of two months or 

 more, the whole crop cannot be gathered at once, but 

 is collected in two or even three portions at intervals 

 of about a month. The picking is done by women 

 and children. In the Delta, the first crop is gathered 

 towards the middle of September, but in Upper 

 Egypt, where " Ashmouni " is grown, it is collected 

 at the end of August. In recent years, the time of 

 maturity of the crop has been accelerated by selection, 

 and, in addition, it is now common for 70-80 per cent, 

 of the crop to be gathered in the first picking. The 

 last portion of cotton to be picked is of inferior 

 quality ; it is not mixed with the other portions of 

 the crop, but is sold separately. 



