176 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



windows except sorghum stalks, wattled together ; no furni- 

 ture except a few earthen jars and pots. They do not suffer 

 for food, and only need fire for cooking. Bread made of 

 millet or sorghum seed, with milk, cheese, eggs, vegetables, 

 dates, etc., comprise the common food. They do not drink 

 spirits ; their luxuries are tobacco and coffee. Their dress 

 is a plain blue cotton frock, from the neck to the knees. 

 The men wear a turban of white cotton cloth ; the women a 

 dark scarf of camel's hair so disposed as to nearly cover the 

 face. In cool weather the frock or robe is of woollen stuff of 

 domestic make, the color of the brown sheep. They are 

 usually barefooted ; if shod they wear a slipper. The older 

 people look worn, weary and discouraged. Four-fifths of 

 the people are Mohammedans ; of the remainder there are a 

 few Jews, and about a million of ancient Egyptian Christians 

 or Copts. The Jews and the Copts are by far the most 

 flourishing inhabitants. They are the best educated, and 

 for that reason have important employment under govern- 

 ment. They have the best houses in the towns and cities. 



The winter climate of Egypt is the finest in the world. 

 The air is absolutely dry, and from November to March 

 cool, sweet and bracing. In the early morning the glass 

 shows about 50° Fahrenheit ; this may rise at mid-day to 

 65° to 70°. Exercise on foot or riding camels or asses is 

 never irksome ; labor is performed with ease, and all the 

 natural conditions of life are favorable to man. The prevail- 

 ing winds are from the north and west. The sun rises clear, 

 and all day pursues his course through a cloudless sky, 

 blue as that of Italy. The sunsets are more glorious for 

 beauty of color and golden light than those of the south of 

 Europe. Fleecy clouds of vapor, of a transparent rose 

 color, without shadow, float about the sunset. The sands of 

 the Lybian desert reflect this glow, and all the air seems 

 luminous. When the sun is gone, and dusk comes on, a 

 green tinge mingles with the dark blue of the upper sky ; 

 then a strange return of light suffuses the heavens with a 

 roseate flush. This heightens in the east and gradually 

 darkens in the west, and then all fades into the night. At 

 midnight the sky is ablaze with stars, and the brilliance of 

 the night is beyond the power of description. 



