THE HISTORY OF IRRIGATION. 5 



more than recompenses the drainage by the immense 

 crops. An illustration of such a farm will he seen in 

 FigureS. The plats are laid off in squares divided !>;. 

 the irrigation furrows. 



China is equally celebrated with Egypt for the 

 great antiquity of its numerous canals. The Great or 

 Imperial canal is one of the most stupendous works of 

 ancient or modern times. It is 650 miles long and con- 

 nects the Hoang-Ho and Yang-tse-Kiang rivers. It is 

 available both for navigation and irrigation, and together 

 with its numerous branches irrigates an immense area of 

 country, thus affording millions the means of livelihood 

 and support. Immense tanks, reservoirs and irrigating 

 canals appear to have been constructed in India many 

 centuries anterior to the advent of Christ, and some of 

 them are probably equally as ancient as the Egyptian 

 canals. The Assyrians were equally renowned with the 

 Egyptians from the most remote periods of history for 

 their skill and ingenuity in the construction of hydraulic 

 .works. Through the foresight, enterprise and energy 

 of their rulers, they converted the sterile country in the 

 valleys of the Euphrates and Tigris into fertility, which 

 was the theme of wonder and admiration of the ancient 

 historians. The country below Hit on the Euphrates, 

 and Samarra on the Tigris, was at one time intersected 

 with numerous canals, one of the most ancient and im- 

 portant of which, called the Kahr Malikah, connecting 

 the Euphrates with the Tigris, is attributed by tradition 

 to Nimrod, king of Babel, 2204 B. C , while other his- 

 torians assert that Nebuchadnezzar constructed it. 



Among the ancient works at Babylon, with its 

 fabled hanging gardens, was a lake 42 miles in circum- 

 ference and 35 feet deep, to store the flood waters of the 

 Euphrates and distribute them for irrigation. The 

 Nahrawn canal, taken from the Tigris river, was over 

 400 miles long, and varied in width from 250 to 400 



