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continued the washing and grown another rice crop this year, 

 but owing to the shortage of water throughout the country, 

 it was impossible to allow this to be done. Cotton is now 

 therefore being satisfactorily grown on a fair proportion of 

 this area, and it is hoped will bring in from 15 to 20 an 

 acre. When we consider that there are about 1,500,000 acres 

 of equally waste salt land in the delta waiting for development 

 by drainage, the value of this experiment can, I think, be 

 appreciated. 



The opening up of a new field for the production of 

 Egyptian cotton in the Sudan is a matter of the highest 

 importance. The results of experiments in growing cotton on 

 the Gezira plain have proved that a fair yield, of good quality 

 Egyptian cotton can be produced there at a time of year when 

 there is no special demand for water in Egypt; for the har- 

 vesting of cotton in the Sudan synchronizes with the sowing of 

 cotton in Egypt. Thus a great future is in store for the Sudan 

 as soon as the irrigation works on the Blue Nile now being 

 undertaken are completed, enabling the vast area available for 

 cotton cultivation to be fully developed. 



The advantages which accrue from an International Con- 

 gress such as this consist in the bringing together of the 

 ideas of agriculturists and scientists from all parts of the world 

 for the benefit of each other, and judging by the principle that 

 two heads are better than one, the results obtained from this 

 association should be of the greatest utility. 



Before closing this meeting, I wish to offer my best thanks 

 to Professor Dunstan, who has been good enough to fill the 

 chair during my unavoidable absence. 



The PRESIDENT: Gentlemen I should like first of all to 

 suggest that you should accord a hearty vote of thanks to the 

 readers of the papers this morning, all of which have been 

 important and interesting. I regret, however, that we have 

 not been able to give sufficient time for their full discussion. 

 We are very sensible of Lord Kitchener's kindness in coming 

 here to preside at this meeting and in reading a paper illus- 

 trated by diagrams. That paper, which was a surprise, is one 

 which has a special interest of its own, and I fancy that Lord 

 Kitchener wishes to press home a fact to which I have always 

 attached importance, namely, that the results of scientific work 

 in tropical colonies, including cotton cultivation, require to 

 be brought home to the native growers by practical demon- 

 strations. As you are aware, we are a Congress consisting 

 not only of scientific experts, but also of users of materials 

 grown by the tropical agriculturist, and there is no doubt that 

 is a most important point for all of us to realize. I believe 



