granary of Rome, is now a wheat-importing country What crops of wheat 

 I was able to see were, according to my ideas, very rank, and open to lodging 

 and red rust ; these accidents, however, I was informed, were not to be feared. 

 I saw some grain at the native markets ; it was, however, poor and ill-grown. 

 By comparison with local wheat, and indeed with imported wheats, I have 

 heard a shipment of South Australian wheat (1907) very highly spoken of. 

 No statistics as to yields are collected ; I am informed, however, that the 

 average is probably between 20bush. and 24bush. 



Next come beans, then barley, then rice, then sugarcane, which is almost 

 exclusively confined to Upper Egypt, and a few other minor crops. 



In the distribution of crops grown some attention appears to be paid to a 

 proper system of rotation ; and where the growing of cotton is possible, the 

 rotation adopted is one meeting the requirements of this crop. Formerly a 

 three-year rotation appears to have been in general use ; that is to say, a 

 rotation in which cotton appeared once in three years. This, however, appears 

 to have been abandoned latterly in favor of a two-year rotation ; indeed, in 

 some few instances cotton appears to have been grown several years in suc- 

 cession, which may be one of the contributing factors to the decrease in yields. 

 The three-year rotation was arranged somewhat as follows : 



First Year. Clover in winter, followed by cotton in summer, in the 

 standing plants of which clover might again be sown in early autumn. 

 Second Year. Or else beans are sown, followed by maize in summer. 

 Third Year. Wheat, followed by maize in summer. 

 The two-year rotation most in use at the present time appears to be 

 First Year. Clover in winter, followed in summer by cotton. 

 Second Year. Beans or wheat, followed by maize in summer. 

 Whatever the practice adopted it will be noted that the land is kept always 

 under crop. There is no doubt that this fact, by keeping in check surface 

 evaporation, must do much towards minimising the danger of the rise of salt. 

 I was anxious to ascertain how tenants could make two ends meet after 

 paying the high rents already alluded to. For the purpose I asked the manager 

 of a large estate (Mr. T. L. Smith, of Constantinia) to give me his views of the 

 case. These I reproduce below as closely as I am able. 



According to Mr. Smith, the tenant looks to his cotton crop to pay his very 

 high rent, whilst all other crops represent his personal profits, after deduction 

 of working expenses. He took as an example an area that could conveniently 

 be worked by a pair of oxen, namely 20 acres ; of this area 8 acres would be 

 sown to cotton, 6 acres to wheat or barley, and 6 acres to rice, whilst the bulk 

 of the area would carry " berseem " in winter, except the area under wheat. 

 For these 20 acres the tenant would pay about 80 rental. 



The 8 acres of cotton might yield him 3J cantars ( = about 991bs.) an acre 

 Locally within the last 10 years the value of the cantar of cotton appears to 

 have fluctuated between 2 and 5 ; at 3 10s. this would represent per acre 



