152 



NATURE 



[June i8, 1891 



flooded without the expense or trouble of raising the 

 water artificially ; and (2) the irrigation effected by the 

 Nile at its lowest, in those hot months of May and June 

 when the water surface is 20 feet below that of the field, 

 and when it is only by the strictest economy that we can 

 water an area not exceeding one-fourth of the whole of 

 Egypt. 



2. The Irrigation of Old Egypt.— The first irrigation is 

 the ancient art of Egypt, the culture that, from the days 

 of the Pharaohs, made this little valley the granary of 

 Europe. The products are wheat, barley, beans, maize, 

 .and rice. These two last crops require special irrigation. 

 For the gro.vth of wheat, barley, and beans, it is enough 

 to saturate the fields, during high flood, from August to 

 October. The seed is scattered as the waters retreat, and 

 the fields receive neither irrigation nor rain from that 

 time till the harvest is gathered in at the end of April. 



3. Perennial Irrigation.— 1h& introduction of the 

 second system is due to the sagacity of Mohamed Ali, who 

 saw that the conditions of soil and climate were such as to 

 favour the growth of cotton and sugar-cane, sub-tropical 

 products greatly exceeding the value of cereals. But 

 these crops require irrigation during the months when 

 the Nile is at its lowest, hence a system of deep canals 

 was necessary, and it was in trying to carry out this 

 system in Lower Egypt that the Egyptians got into hope- 

 less difficulties, for the canals got blocked with silt, and 

 it was most difficult to clear them. 



4. The Barrage unused. — The obvious remedy was to 

 raise the water in the river, and divert it into the canals 

 by a Barrage or dam at the apex of the Delta. Such a 

 work was constructed, at a cost of about two millions 

 sterling ; but soon after its completion it cracked in a 

 very alarming way, and, from 1867 to 1883, remained 

 practically useless. The great network of canals con- 

 tinued to be cleared year after year to a depth of about 

 20 feet below the soil, and for half of each year the corvee 

 was constantly employed on them. 



5. Pumping. — The Egyptian Government had aban- 

 doned all hope of again using the Barrage. They had 

 entered into a contract with a private company to irrigate 

 Behera by a system of pumps, at an annual cost of from 

 ^50,000 to ^60,000 ; and they were about to come to 

 similar arrangements for the rest of the Delta, at an 

 initial cost of ;^7oo,ooo, and an annual one of ^250,000. 



6. Neglect of Drainage. — Continuous irrigation like that 

 of Lower Egypt requires to be accompanied by drainage, 

 otherwise the land becomes soured and waterlogged. No 

 attention was being paid to this subject in 1883. 



7. State of Upper Egypt. — The first system of irrigation 

 alluded to above continued to be practised in Upper 

 Egypt. A few very costly bridges had been built to 

 assist it, but little attention was being bestowed on it, 

 and even in years of average Nile flood we found a loss 

 of annual revenue amounting to about ^^38,000 taking 

 place. 



8. Addition to Area of Egypt.— Such was the state of 

 affairs when we took charge of the irrigation in 1884. I 

 am frequently asked whether, since then, there has not 

 been a great addition to the cultivated area of Egypt. 

 My reply is in the negative. 



The question of extending cultivation into the desert is 

 partly one of displacement of population, chiefly ona of 

 level, for above the point that the Nile flood can be 

 brought to reach we must not look for an extension of 

 cultivation. Some goes on— notably to the west of the 

 province of Behera and in the Fayoum j but it is not on 

 a very large scale. 



9 A'eclamation of Marshes. — An extension much more 

 rapid, and of more importance, is in progress along 

 all the north of the Delta, where land is being yearly 

 reclaimed from marsh and lagoon by our drainage 

 operations. 



NO. 1 1 29, VOL. 44] 



The cultivated and revenue-paying area of Egypt is 

 about five millions of acres. The lagoons in the north 

 cover an area of about 1,280,000 acres. I expect in a 

 very few years to see at least half of this land reclaimed 

 and cultivated. 



10. The Barrage repaired, and the Effect on Lower 

 Egypt. — What we have done, are doing, and propose to 

 do, then, in future years is as follows : — 



First. The Barrage has been completed, and placed 

 in a condition to fulfil its original purpose. From up- 

 stream of it are derived three main trunk canals which 

 irrigate the whole Delta, and three smaller canals which 

 irrigate all the country north-east of Cairo and to the 

 south of Zagazig ; one of these takes water to Port Said 

 and Suez. The outlay on the Barrage has been, since 

 1884, about ;^ 460,000. 



Of the three trunk canals, that on the west had been 

 neglected, and completely filled in with sand. It has 

 been restored, and the system of pumps alluded to in 

 paragraph 5 will, I hope, never be used again. 



The canal supplying the East Delta (termed the Tew- 

 fikieh Canal) has been entirely made since 1886, at a cost 

 of ^372,000. 



Practically, the whole summer supply of the Nile is 

 diverted by the Barrage into these canals, and none flows 

 out useless to the sea. The value of the work is this — 

 that so long as there is water in the Nile it is under our 

 control, and, however low the river may fall, the water 

 will get on to the fields, and the great cotton crop will be 

 secured. In former days, during low Nile, the canals 

 were left high and dry, and what water there was flowed 

 out to the sea, useless. 



The Barrage has not much increased the area of cul- 

 tivation, but it has very largely increased that of land 

 bearing double crops— that is, the area producing cotton. 

 It was in 1884 that, by employing temporary measures, 

 we began to use the Barrage. Since then, the average 

 annual yield of cotton has been 333,893 kantars (i5;000 

 tons) greater than in the five years preceding 1884. This 

 represents a value to the country of ;!^835,ooo a year, 

 exclusive of the value of cotton-seeds. 



11. Provision for Navigation.— ?>tcond\y. As the ab- 

 straction of water renders impossible the river navigation 

 during four or five months every year, two main canals 

 have been selected, one of them roughly parallel to each 

 of the branches of the Nile, and fitted with locks and 

 rendered navigable. This is not yet quite finished. 

 When it is, it will enable laden boats to pass freely be- 

 tween Cairo and Alexandria on one side, and Cairo and 

 Damietta on the other side, at all seasons of the year. 

 Other locks have been built, and obstructions removed, so 

 that navigation has had an impulse given to it throughout 

 the whole Delta. 



12. Drainage Introduced. — Thirdly. Year by year have 

 been opened out new miles of drainage arteries, and in 

 Behera, Gharbieh, Dakahlieh, Sharkieh in Lower Egypt, 

 and in the Fayoum, large tracts have been reclaimed 

 from salt-marsh, and now yield good crops. The Budget 

 for the current year contains ^140,000 for new drainage- 

 works in Lower Egypt. No part of our work has been 

 more appreciated than this, but, unfortunately, the de- 

 fective system of revenue statistics makes it impossible 

 to say what lands have been reclaimed. The mileage of 

 drains is not less than 1500. 



13. Measures for Improving Irrigation of Uppei 

 Egypt. — Fourthly. I have said, in paragraph 7, that 

 there has been an annual loss of about ^38,000 in average 

 years, due to the Nile flood not attaining all the fields of 

 Upper Egypt. In exceptional years this loss has been 

 much greater. Thus, after the very deficient flood of 

 1877 it amounted to ^1,11 1,880. After 1888 it was about 

 ^300,000. If such was the loss of revenue alone, it may 

 be imagined what a heavy calamity was inflicted on the 



