MA XV HEX. 259 



boats being extensively employed as well as railway 

 transport. 



As the supplies diminish the cost of transport becomes 

 an ever increasing one. For more or less short distances 

 camels and donkeys are employed, and the cultivator 

 possessing such animal transport do^s not allow the labour 

 of such animals to enter into his cost of manuring. 



The natural material is generally roughly sieved before 

 transport, to remove broken pieces of pottery, stones, &c., 

 which are almost invariably mixed with it. It is difficult 

 to arrive at the cost of manuring with couf ri owing to the 

 fact that while some localities are specially favoured, others 

 are placed at a disadvantage. An ordinary dressing of 

 about 10 tons per feddan for the maize crop costs at least 

 from 100 to 150 P.T. per feddan but generally more. 



Couf ri is valuable chiefly as a nitrogenous manui e, and 

 this ingredient exists largely in a soluble form. It has 

 thus naturally resulted that it is most extensively used 

 for quick-growing leafy crops, such as maize, sorghum, 

 cereals, &c., rather than for cotton, though very considerable 

 quantities are used for the latter crop. It is also used 

 largely for vegetables, and extensively in Upper Egypt 

 for sugar-cane. We may say in fact that it is used for 

 all crops, more or less, but in some cases with greater 

 success than in others. 



Its percentage of total nitrogen varies from as much 

 as '75^, in exceptional cases, to less than '%% in very 

 poor samples. It is evident therefore that its value as a 

 manure varies greatly, and some heaps cannot with 

 advantage bear the cost of transport. 



