2o2 



The Nile makes Egypt independent of the weather changes. No 

 rains or droughts endanger her harvests so that little risk is con- 

 nected there with the cultivation of cotton. 



The cultivated cotton plant requires a growing time of from 4J 

 to 5^ months according to the kind and to the climate, on the 

 average 5 months. 



It is not simply grown as an annual but as a perennial plant 

 which can only be done exclusively in forest-free places. But the 

 cultivation of this is less profitable, as the second and subsequent 

 crops decrease in quality as well as in quantity. 



The cotton plant requires for its vegetation a temperature of 

 i8°C. This must never fall to 0°C. Shade does not suit the plant. 



As regards the soil cotton is grown with more or less success on 

 nearly all sorts of soil. It is grown on light sandy soil, heavy clay 

 soil, sulphur-bearing soil etc. 



On the higher lying sandy soils, the harvest of cotton is gene- 

 rally small, on heavy clay soils, especially in wet seasons the 

 plants attain large dimensions but the produce of fibre is not 

 proportionate. 



It is an established experience that cotton growing on these 

 extremes of soils, suffers more from disease and plagues, and from 

 unsuitable temperatures than otherwise. If the temperature is 

 suitable and other factors good, then the heaviest clay soils yield 

 the biggest harvests. 



The light clay soils may be looked upon as those yielding the 

 surest harvests. 



The soils of South Carolina which may be taken as a model of the 

 best cotton soil consist of from 25-30% of clay. At the time of 

 growing they contain from 10 to 12 % of moisture. 



The Sea-island cotton, the best kind grows on very different 

 kinds of soil but the best for it is light fine-grained sandy soil 

 which has from 75 to 90 % of fine sand. It contains during the 

 growing-time of the cotton about 5 % of moisture. The percent- 

 ages of the moisture in the soils are of great importance to us. 



It seems to us though that there are to be found here, fairly few 

 soils, which have even in the driest mouths such a low percentage 

 of moisture, as those cotton lands in America of which mention 

 has just been made above. 



During the severe drought of 1902, when the leaves of different 

 plants in the Agricultural Gardens were drooping, we found that 

 the soil on which those plants were growing still shewed th~ fol- 

 lowing percentages of moisture : — 



At a depth of 3 c. m. 18.4 %. 

 >> )) 25 j ) 22.2 



60 „ 24.8 „ 



