i>58 EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURE. 



Lower Egypt, the use of the latter is confined to Upper 

 Egypt. 



With the exception of ordinary farm -yard manure, 



coufri is generally speaking the most important natural 



manure at the cultivator's command, and finds a most 



important place in the agriculture of the country. It really 



consists of the remains of ancient villages, mixed with debris 



and organic matter of various kinds. These mounds, 



scattered over the whole country, are generally of great 



age, and having accumulated in a climate which is more or 



less rainless, there has been but little loss of valuable 



matter. Through the length of years which have elapsed, 



the organic matter has undergone decomposition and decay, 



and by the process known as nitrification, the nitrogen of 



the organic matter has become largely converted into soluble 



nitrogenous compounds, which we now find in the so-called 



sebach coufri. It is impossible to estimate the great 



quantities which existed in such natural mounds, but it 



was certainly enormous and has formed for many decades 



a valuable supplement to the farmer's manure supply. As 



would naturally be expected, however, the best heaps are 



being rapidly used up and cultivators have to go further 



afield to obtain good supplies. The day must naturally 



come, in fact is rapidly approaching, when, the better 



quantities having become exhausted, the poorer mounds 



will riot bear the cost of transport for the long distances 



which will become necessary. 



At present immense quantities of coufri are carried from 

 the large mounds to less favoured localities; in some cases 

 the material is transported for very considerable distances? 



