CUCUKBITACEOUS FKUITS IN EGYPT. 



33 



In Egypt melons are grown largely on the light loam found on the 

 islands and the banks of the Nile when the river is low. The following 

 is the system of cultivation practised. Trenches running in a transverse 

 direction to the prevailing wind are dug in the silt bordering the water. 

 The trenches are made 20 cm. wide, 30 cm. deep, and 90 cm. apart. A 

 layer of decayed pigeon manure is placed in the bottom of the trenches, 

 which are then refilled with soil. Farmyard manure is used where pigeon 

 dung is not available, but does not give such good results. The seed is 

 soaked in water and germinated before sowing. It is then sown in holes 

 about 40 cm. apart, and a row of maize-stalks fixed in the soil by the side 

 of each trench, in such a manner that the maize leans over the young- 

 plants and protects them from the wind, while leaving them exposed to 

 the sun. Where there is a danger of the plants being covered with 

 drifting sand, low barriers are constructed around the plots. Four cr 

 five seeds are sown in each hole, but when the seedlings have attained 

 three or four leaves they are thinned so as to leave one plant only. 

 During the growth of the crop the soil is hoed to keep it moist and loose. 

 When the fruit begins to appear, the maize-stalks are removed and a 

 second trench is often dug parallel with and close to that in which the 

 plants are growing. This is filled with manure and soil in the same way 

 as the first, and forms an additional supply of food for the plants. The 

 best fruit on each plant is allowed to remain, the others being removed 

 when small. These small fruits are in the case of the ' Shammam ' known 

 as ' sirt,' and in the case of the ' agour ' they are called 'hersh.' They 

 are eaten in the same way as cucumbers, but are in much greater demand 

 and bring better prices than the latter. The ' Shammam ' is grown 

 almost always as a river crop. As the roots descend 60 cm. to 70 cm. into 

 the soil, the water-level is sufficiently near the surface to enable the 

 plants to grow without irrigation. The ' qaoon Santaouy ' on the other 

 hand, is cultivated chiefly on the high sandy lands on the edge of the 

 desert, in which situations it is of course necessary to water the plants. The 

 preparation of the ground, however, is the same. The ' agour ' requires a 

 more compact soil than the melons, and is therefore grown chiefly on basin 

 lands which have been flooded during the previous autumn. In this case 

 the seed is sown on the edge of a shallow furrow, and the manure applied 

 when the seedlings have four or five leaves. Water melons are cultivated 

 in the same way as sweet melons. They can, however, be grown on 

 much poorer ground than the ' Shammam ' and in situations where the 

 sand is too loose for the ' Santaouy.' 



The water melon is a very important crop, and is sown in large areas 

 both on the river banks and inland. The number of varieties of red- 

 fleshed water melons is large, but many of them are not well defined, 

 intermediate forms making classification difficult. An attempt to do 

 something in this respect was made last year by the Horticultural Society, 

 by collecting and comparing fruits from various parts of the country. 

 It was, however, found that it would be necessary to cultivate all the 

 varieties together on the same soil for one or more years, in order to 

 arrive at definite conclusions. The most distinct varieties are (1) the 

 ' beledi,' a rather large, light green or grey fruit of medium quality, (2) 

 the ' saidi,' which is dark green and has a firm, sweet flesh, and (3) the 



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