103 
quality is Eos exceptionally good, and ranks next to o VES 
Sea-island cotton of America. 
The following sketch of the history of cotton cultivation Eg ypt 
lately appeared in Journal of the Society of Arts (December 98th, 
1896, pp. 98, eii 
* Sor 
he 
reign of Mehemet Ali, in 1820. M. af who was a Frenc man n, 
remarked in the garden of one of his friends living near Cairo, certain 
cotton plants, of which the seed had been imported from the Soudan. 
He succeeded in culttrating the plant from seeds which he obtained, - 
and presented certain of them to Mehemet Ali, who, foreseeing the 
sources of wealth that the cotton might assure to the country, placed at 
the disposal of Jumel vast extents of territory, d gave him every 
facility in his enterprise. This cotton was also known by the name of 
0, after a bey in whose gardens Jumel had p ria found the 
tivated, but for a time it was replaced by a new variety called Ashmou 
This Ashmouni degenerated after 20 years - cultivation, and w 
abandoned for Mit Afifi, which at T present time is most largely 
cultivated in Egypt. Mit Afifi is a very deca variety of cotton, 
easy to grow, and does not require any very excessive irrigation. 
The colour is slightly yellow and is much appreciated by spinners. 
Another kind of cotton called Bahmieh* is grown to a limited 
extent, and this is a delicate variety requiring a stronger soil. 
It yields a whitish MOM which is particularly used for certain articles 
of hosiery. It enjoys a great reputation in the United States, while 
Franc any consume small quantities of it. The cultivation of 
the varieties sailed * white cotton” has very considerably fallen off. 
Their total annual production hardly exceeds from 60,000 to 70,000 
quintals. other varieties, such as Zafivi, Abbassi, &c., have 
been experimented with by many growers, but up to the present the 
results have not been sufficiently advanced to enabie an accurate opinion 
to be formed as to their merits. Egyptian cotton, whatever its variety, 
preserves its essential qualities, which causes it to be much ius is 
uropean and American manufacturers. As a matter of fact, 
first seeds. _ Jumel, or Mako, was for many years the only cotton cul- 
iount. 
e 
* £u 
D 
G 
its general and Aii erai consumption, has the ncn ths stre uy 
and the brilliancy necessary for the manufacture under good conditions 
of a large number of special articles. | Eg 
threads of numbers 5 to 18, and American cotton threads from 20 to 
50. The esed of Egyptian cotton are such that it finds a ready 
outlet on Euro markets, no matter what may be the production and 
prices of cotton ofc other origins. 
The following further information respecting Egyptian cotton is 
taken from the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, vii. 627, 
and contains notes on the use of manures for increasing coiton crops in 
the Nile Valley : 
“Tt is tothe cotton crop of the Delta that Egypt owes its prese 
financial prosperity. It covers between a third and a half of the ea, 
Pp. 
U 95709. B 
* An account of Bahmieh or Bamia Cotton is given in the Kew Report for 1877, 
26, 24. 
