96 MYPTIAN AGRICULTURE. 



Sowing on the crest of the ridges is scarcely suited to 

 Egyptian conditions, as on the top of the ridge there is 

 no shelter, and in deep fassing the plant roots would be 

 damaged. The height of the ridge will depend on the 

 breadth and on the nature of the soil. On poor soil the 

 ridges are made closer together, as the plants on such soil 

 are small and require a smaller growing area. 



Crops which are sown on the flat are ridged off into 

 beds. The smaller the beds, the greater is the amount of 

 land lost in the ridges, but the easier it is to water the 

 crop. The beds are made small when water is scarce, 

 when the land is sandy or not level, and when the crop is 

 one of tall growth. When the crop is laid out in small 

 beds, it can be much more easily and more lightly watered, 

 and frequent light waterings are always better than a 

 heavy flooding. 



"Cultivators" are implements for stirring the soil. After 

 the soil has been turned by the plough, in many cases 

 cultivation is as good as further ploughing. It costs 

 much less, but with one pair of oxen it is impossible to 

 cultivate as deep as the plough can go. On the other hand, 

 steam cultivation can go much deeper than the ordinary 

 plough. Cultivators are better for opening up the soil 

 than the plough which turns it over, for in ploughing there 

 is always a certain amount of compression. The cultivator 

 can only be used after the land has been ploughed and 

 broken up so as to permit of the easy passage of this 

 otherwise heavy implement. In this country the " Grub- 

 ber," on account of its strength, its simplicity and the ease 

 of regulating its depth, does very good work and saves 



