66 Rise of the Nile Its Uses. 



way by inundations, they are not always destruc- 

 tive; indeed, in some places people could not 

 live without them. 



27. One of the oldest and most celebrated 

 countries in the world owes its existence to the 

 yearly rise and overflow of a river. That coun- 

 try is Egypt, and that river, the Nile. 



28. Rain is almost unknown in Egypt, and, 

 consequently, without the yearly rise of the 

 Nile, that country would be a desert. 



29. The Nile rises so high (30 to 35 feet) 

 that very high banks have been constructed in 

 Egypt. 



30. Through gates or openings in these banks 

 and by means of small canals or ditches, the 

 farmers conduct the muddy water of the Nile 

 to their farms and allow it to flow all over their 

 land and cover it with that soft mud which 

 makes the soil very fertile. 



3 1 . Dry and barren lands in Utah have been converted 

 into rich and productive farms, orchards and gardens, 

 simply by water conducted from mountain streams. 



32. The Nile receives its water from the lakes of Cen- 

 tral Africa, which are supplied by annual rains. This 

 river begins to rise in Egypt in the month of June, and 

 attains its greatest height in September. 



