August 26, 1922] 



NA TURE 



285 



Weights are compared with standard copies at the 

 observatory, and sets of certified weights are supplied 

 to all who require them. 



The Government analytical laboratory and assay 

 office undertake a large amount of important work 

 which falls under the headings of (a) chemical and 

 physical inspection of materials ; (b) technical chemical 

 consultations ; and (c) experimental research. Stores 

 and materials of inferior quality frequently find their 

 way on to the Egyptian market, and only by the 

 systematic analysis of material tendered can these be 

 eliminated and economies effected. To the same end 

 the technical clauses in specifications governing supply 

 by contractors are drafted by the staff of the laboratory. 



The chemical work carried on in connexion with 

 criminal investigation and other legal matters forms a 

 branch of work which demands much time and great 

 care. Recently published reports indicate that the 

 consultative and research work is at present mainly 

 related to questions affecting petroleum, and the 

 development of petroleum resources in Egypt has given 

 rise to an inquiry into the actual conditions under 

 which petroleum products are used in Egypt, which 

 was undertaken by the laboratory. The small refinery 

 which the Egyptian Government has recently installed 

 at Suez to deal, in the first instance, with royalty 

 petroleum only, but with a view to its ultimate exten- 

 sion if that is found to be desirable, is also under the 

 supervision of the director of the laboratory. 



The first medical school in Egypt was formed in 

 1827 at Abu Zabel by Clot Bey, a French doctor in 

 the service of Mohammed Ali, and ten years later it 

 was transferred to Qasr el Aini on the south side of 

 Cairo, where it still remains. For many years the 

 number of students was small, but of late the school 

 has been much enlarged and the number now amounts 

 to 387. Attached to the school is the Qasr el Aini 

 hospital, and these two form an important centre of 

 scientific work in the country. There are now in the 

 medical school well-staffed departments of biology, 

 physics, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, pathology, 

 and pharmacology, and in all of these not only is 

 instruction given to students but research is carried on 

 by the staff. 



Although the number of scientific men in the institu- 

 tion has until recently been too restricted to admit of 

 much research being undertaken in addition to teaching, 

 several important investigations have been carried 

 out ; among these may be mentioned the study of 

 the anatomy and racial characteristics of the ancient 

 Egyptians, and of those neighbouring races whose re- 

 mains occur in the cemeteries of the Nile Valley, and 

 the comparison of them with the present inhabitants 

 has added greatly to our knowledge of the Mediter- 

 ranean peoples ; the investigations which have been 

 carried out of the life history of Ankylostoma and 

 Schistosomum (Bilharzia) have done much to place our 

 knowledge of these on a sound basis, the Bilharzia 

 organism having been discovered in these laboratories, 

 while work of no less importance has been done on the 

 treatment of the diseases which are caused by these 

 parasites. Valuable work on pellagra has also been 

 done recently. Not only is there much more to be 

 investigated in the interest of Egypt itself, but the 

 special conditions, climatic, racial, etc., which occur 



NO. 2756, VOL. I io] 



there provide opportunity for many promising lines of 

 research. 



The Department of Public Health, which dates from 

 1886, is also actively working in the same scientific 

 field and, in addition to the administrative work which 

 it carries on throughout the country, maintains several 

 branches specialising in scientific work. Under the 

 director of the laboratories of the department the 

 water service carries out a regular inspection of all 

 public water supplies, whether in the hands of the 

 Government, municipalities, companies, or private in- 

 dividuals. The examination of substances having a 

 direct bearing on questions of hygiene, such as foodstuffs, 

 drugs, etc., is also undertaken in these laboratories, as 

 well as the chemical and bacteriological examination 

 of water. 



Here too research on the main diseases of the country, 

 ankylostoma, bilharzia, and typhus, is in progress with 

 the co-operation of eminent specialists, and in this 

 connexion the recent work of the late Mr. Bacot and 

 of Dr. Arkwright will be recalled. An antirabic insti- 

 tute provides for the treatment of persons bitten by 

 rabid animals. The annual reports of the Department 

 indicate the wide scope of the scientific investigations 

 which have to be undertaken in the course of its work, 

 and highly expert assistance must without doubt be 

 employed if they are to be brought to a successful 

 conclusion under the peculiar conditions which an 

 arid subtropical climate provides. 



The special conditions which obtain in Egypt, a 

 highly fertile soil, a controlled water supply rendering 

 agriculture independent of rainfall, and a moderately 

 hot climate, form the foundation of its agricultural 

 wealth ; the prosperity of the country depends on the 

 efficiency with which these favourable conditions are 

 utilised, and to this end the irrigation engineer, the 

 entomologist, the economic botanist, and the agricultural 

 chemist are working in co-operation. Perennial irriga- 

 tion has now been extended until about half the 

 cultivable area is supplied with water at all seasons of 

 the year, with the result that in normal years about 

 32 per cent, of that area is occupied by cotton. It 

 will be evident therefore that the scientific institutions 

 of the Ministry of Agriculture are of the highest 

 national importance, and on their efficiency Egypt's 

 prosperity must mainly depend. 



In 1919 a Cotton Research Board was appointed 

 with the object of bringing together the heads of all 

 the technical departments which were interested in the 

 cotton crop, and to ensure that all problems relating 

 to it were dealt with as adequately as possible. It 

 was also to provide laboratory accommodation for 

 investigators engaged in research on cotton. In its 

 first annual report published last year the experimental 

 work upon cotton which had been undertaken was 

 reviewed, and a programme for further work at the 

 scientific institutes of the Ministry was outlined. These 

 institutes include laboratories, experimental farms, 

 gardens, etc. 



The chemical laboratory of the Ministry, which 

 undertakes examination and study of soils, water, 

 manures, feeding stuffs, and agricultural products, is 

 situated close to the botanical laboratory and the 

 experimental farm. The work carried on at these has 

 for its object the improvement of cotton, wheat, and 



