November, 1912,] 



377 



THE COST OF AGRICULTURAL IMPROVE- 

 MENTS IN EGYPT. 



The following is a list of the works and of the accounts published in 

 the Bulletin oj Agricultural Intelligence and of Plant Diseases for Sep- 

 tember, 1912, which may be comprised in Egypt under the heading of 

 agricultural improvements. The figures given are per acre : — 



1. Division of the land into lots and setting out the chief roads or 

 scetions of the estates as a preliminary to the programme of further 

 work : 20 to 30s. per acre. 



2. Breaking up uncultivated land by means of steam or ox ploughs 

 after cutting down shrubs and burning the bush : £1. 10s. to £2 and some- 

 times, though rarely, even £4. 



3. Levelling the surface with the levelling machine worked by steam 

 or by oxen or by means of Decauville waggons drawn by mules or pushed 

 by men, the work being finished sometimes by flooding the land and 

 dragging heavy planks drawn by strong teams over the submerged soil. 

 The cost of this woik is very variable, from £3 to £4 and sometimes £8 to 

 £9 12s. Very undulating sand surfaces and the filling up of very low- 

 lying lots may cost as much as £14, 10s. to £19. 5s., and in some rare 

 instances £24 or £30 per acre. 



4. Cutting of canals, consisting in the excavation proper done with 

 spades, hoes, by hand or with baskets. Under this head syphons, cul- 

 verts, small bridges etc. , are included. These canals of ten complete the 

 work of parcelling the land in lots. The cutting of irrigation canals costs 

 generally 20 to 3Cs. per acre, everything included. Drainage canals are 

 often omitted when the ground does not require them and is not liable 

 to infiltrations. According to the level and degree of salt content of the 

 ground the cost of canals varies between £1 and £2. 10s. per acre. 



5. Irrigation or drainage pumping stations, which may be either 

 simple water wheels driven by oxen and costing from £24 to £32, or more 

 expensive plant up to the powerful machines worth £3000 to £4000, with 

 all intermediate classes ; the cost is generally about 17s to 38s per acre. 



6. Removal of salt : this consists in freeing the soil from salts, princi- 

 pally sodium chloride, by a system of washing and under-draining. 

 Warping does not remove anything and consists principally in bringing 

 Nile mud on to the land ; in this case surface-drainage is used. Washing- 

 out salt can generally only take place from late autumn to the middle of 

 spring. It costs about 8s. to 10s. per acre for the season, not reckoning the 

 use of any pumping apparatus required. Warping is carried out in 

 flood-time and costs rather less. 



7. Improvement by crops : this is intended either to continue the 

 work of salt-removal (rice), or to enrich the land (clover). Certain alkali- 

 land can only be improved by a further treatment of applications of 

 gypsum or soil. Alter vigorous washing-out of salt the improving crops 

 may give a yield equal to their cost, but the first crop frequently shows 

 a deficit of some 20s. This deficit, to some extent reduced however, may 

 be repeated for each subsequent crop till the land is in good condition. 

 Improvements by gypsum or earth may cost respectively 20 to 30s or £6 

 to £10 according to the amounts applied. 



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