THE NILE. 
117 
ed to chemical analysis, it is found to consist 
chiefly of alumine or pure clay, with a small 
quantity of silex ; but the proportions of these in^ 
gredients vary according to the place where the 
slime is collected.* In the immediate vicinity 
of the Nile, it contains a considerable quantity of 
siliceous sand, which, being most ponderous, is 
soonest deposited. This mud is so tenacious, 
that a considerable intermixture of sand increases 
its fertility ; and hence the soil derives some ad- 
vantage from the rapid winds of the south, which 
convey the sand in immense clouds from the 
desert to mingle with the slime of the Nile. 
As the waters of the river recede, the cultiva- 
tion of the ground commences. If it has imbibed 
the requisite moisture, the process of agriculture is 
neither difficult nor tedious. The seed is scatter- 
ed over the soft mould, and vegetation proceeds 
with extreme rapidity. To the activity of vegeta- 
tion, the air, which is strongly impregnated with 
saline particles, contributes in an eminent degree. 
If the ground has been only partially inundated, 
recourse is had to the process of irrigation, by 
which many species of vegetables may be raised 
* According to Regnault's Analysis, the slime of the Nile, 
in 100 parts, contains 11 of water, 9 of carbon, 6 of oxyd af 
iron, 4? of silex, 4? of carbonate of magnesia, 18 of carbonate 
of lime, and 48 of alumine. — Memoirs on Eg^pf, p. 39^. 
