MANURES. 215 



crop, heavy manuring is practised. In the more southern 

 basins where the soils are poor, the winter crops are large- 

 ly grown by means of artificial irrigation and the man- 

 ure which the latter always necessitates. In Lower 

 Egypt, the question of the quantity of manure available is 

 especially considered in its relation to the cotton and 

 maize crops : while in Upper Egypt in addition to these, 

 both sugar-cane and millet have to be considered, and 

 in some districts cereals also. Maize has always been 

 heavily manured, though it is only recently that the 

 importance of cotton manuring has been fully realized. 

 A detailed treatment of the various systems of manuring 

 in practice will be found in subsequent chapters when 

 dealing with the cultivation of individual crops. In the 

 present it is proposed to deal with the various manures 

 in use from a general point of view only. 



When we consider the intensive system of cultivation 

 practised in Egypt, and also that the whole of the soils 

 are arable, we at once see that the demand for manure, 

 under ordinary circumstances, must be very great. The 

 fact that the system of irrigation is so perfect that a 

 supply of water is always at the disposal of the farmer 

 renders this even more prominent. For the ordinary 

 purposes of successful agriculture, the Egyptian cultivator 

 has therefore always the difficulty of procuring sufficient 

 natural manure of a suitable nature to contend with ; and 

 it is a fuUer appreciation of this fact which has, during 

 recent years, brought the subject into greater prominence. 



Before entering into a consideration of the various 

 manures in common use in the country, it may be 



