1891.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 171 



as if the labor were a pain ; and the men chant a sad strain 

 in a minor key, unchanging in character, never ceasing from 

 early dawn to dark. 



When wheat and clover or beans are off, the ground is 

 ploughed and seeded at once with dourra, a sorghum raised 

 for seed and fodder. This is the grain for animals and for the 

 bread of the poor ; or cotton may be planted. This is irri- 

 gated, and is perfected during the inundation. The date 

 palm is a certain source of revenue. A grove of palms is a 

 valuable property. Like all the palm family, it is a beauti- 

 ful feature in the landscape, though far inferior in this 

 respect to the glory of the cocoa palm of the East Indies 

 and the American tropics. 



The animals of Egypt that assist the labors of the farmer 

 are the patient and laborious camel, who bears the heavy 

 burdens, and makes long journeys sustained by the most 

 slender fare. I could not learn that either the flesh or milk 

 of this coarse animal was part of the diet. The horse is not 

 common, though I saw fine specimens belonging to the 

 Bedouins ; but his cousin, the ass, is in great numbers, and 

 useful to an unexpected extent. They ride them without 

 saddle or bridle, guiding them with a stick or sorghum 

 stalk, or by cuffing them with the hand. Docile, patient, 

 industrious and frugal, the ass is the friend and companion 

 of the poor Egyptian. The buffalo of the East Indies was 

 introduced into Egypt at a very early period, and is an ugly 

 but useful servant; the cows are large milkers, and the 

 milk is rich. There is a native breed of cattle much resem- 

 bling the Jersey in size, shape and color. They are poor 

 milkers, but good workers, and are used greatly in working 

 " sakias." Sheep are largely kept, and are nearly all of a 

 rich, reddish-brown color; the wool is about the quality of 

 Southdown, the mutton excellent, and the lambs large and 

 fine. They are kept in small flocks, and, when fed upon 

 growing clover, are each tethered to a peg, and made to eat 

 the ground clean as a floor. I bought sheep occasionally as 

 a gift to the sailors, and found a good sheep cost about the 

 same price on the Nile as in Massachusetts. I saw some of 

 the fat-tailed Syrian sheep, and crosses of them. They are 

 not large, but have an enormous development of tail, which 



