Much has been written about Egypt and its soil; but in giving here an
account of its possibilities and prospects for cultivation in the ways
of modern farming, some repetition is necessary. It is fair to say that
the soil of Egypt is one of the richest in the world. It is alluvial,
ranging from the heavy argillaceous to light loam. It varies, too, in
its fertility, and in low-lying lands is frequently impregnated with
salt. This is generally owing to want of drainage. When properly
treated and flooded with water it soon becomes what is technically known
as "sweet," and available for the growth of crops.
Very rich soils are to be found in the provinces of Menoufieh and
Charkieh, while those of Beherah are flat and generally low-lying; but
the depth may range up to forty feet!
The preparation of the land for the various crops is not what may be
termed difficult, although in the heavy black lands powerful draught
oxen are required for the ploughs and other implements. But with
irrigation at command, and abundance of moisture becoming more and more
common in connection with the modern dams and canals, if the land be
hard and baked it can be flooded with water as required, when it quickly
becomes in a friable condition, and hence comparatively easy to break
up.
In the Delta such conditions are never experienced as frequently are
encountered upon the heavy clays in England, where the land becomes so
hard that it cannot be tilled.
Possessing the qualities of richness, vast depth of soil, and a glorious
climate, it is not surprising that with the steady developments of the
Khedive's country and the safety and security enjoyed under his
enlightened rule, accompanied by the example he is setting in his
experiments for the advancement of Egyptian agriculture, the price of
land has risen enormously. Within the last few years one hundred pounds
per acre is quite a common figure; but that which is unreclaimed can
still be purchased for from fifteen to thirty pounds. This, of course,
necessitates an additional outlay, which is, after all, quite a moderate
sum, upon improvements, when it will yield a good return of profit.
The Egyptian agriculturist divides _his_ year into _three_ portions:
Summer, from April 1st to August 1st.
Nileh, from August 1st to December 1st.
Winter, from December 1st to April 1st. But it must be remembered that
the Egyptian winter would be better named balmy spring.
As this little work is written primarily for those who take an interest
in the progress of a favoured country, and who may possibly be looking
towards the East with the eyes of investment, or for a future home where
they may lead a Virgilian or bucolic life, it is proposed to give here a
simple, business-like account of the various processes and preparations
made for the growth and harvesting of the different crops sown in the
above seasons:--
Winter Crops: Clover, barley, beans, and wheat.
Summer Crops: Cotton and sugar-cane, and also maize.
Nileh Crop: Maize alone.
Rotation.--A three years' rotation is the one generally practised,
although there is a tendency to limit it to two years.
It would be as well to consider the crops as they succeed each other,
beginning with the cotton.
A great deal of interest attaches to the growth of cotton in Egypt. It
was largely cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, and its products
utilised, but after a time--it is impossible to say how long, possibly
during the great changes that took place during incursions, conquests,
or change of rulers--its growth died out to such an extent that a few
generations back, as an article of utility, its cultivation had pretty
well ceased, and cotton was scarcely known, save as a decorative shrub
in the gardens of Cairo.
But during the reign of the Khedive's ancestor, Mehemet Ali, a man of
great foresight, full of determination for the advance of his people, he
completely grasped the idea that Egypt was one of the most suitable of
countries for the cultivation of the cotton tree, and that it ought to
be produced in his dominions instead of dependence being placed upon
importation from other lands.
In pursuance of this idea, he began to make experiments, testing it, so
to speak, by forming plantations. These turned out so well that he
proceeded to take further steps, and with great enterprise commenced the
cultivation upon a large scale. Many thousands of the Egyptian acres
were planted in the lower provinces, and to a far greater extent
planting was carried on in the rich lands of Upper Egypt bordering on
the Nile.
The little trees responded freely to the Egyptian cultivation; the rich,
irrigated soil, yearly replenished by the sediment left by the floods,
proved that the ancients were right, and wherever the land was deep the
results were most favourable; while where a bad selection had been made,
and the soil was shallow and inferior, the return of the pods, or
technically _bolls_, was poor.
The method of its cultivation will be given _in extenso_ farther on, but
it will be as well to note here, in regard to the enterprise which
turned Egypt into its present state as one of the great cotton-growing
countries of the world, that the seed was originally imported from
Brazil, though it is undoubtedly a native of Northern Africa; and at the
present time the returns are very great.
The preparation of the land for the growth of cotton commences in
January. The seed is sown from the middle of February till the middle
of March, and the cropping harvested, or picked, about the end of
November; while previous to the last picking of the soft woolly pods,
clover seed is sown amongst the standing cotton trees.
This, so to speak, stolen crop provides a supply for horses, cattle, and
sheep till the end of June; for it must be borne in mind that Egypt is
not a land of fields and meadows enclosed by hedgerows; hence grazing
for cattle is the result of foresight, and has to be provided as
required.
On the land not sown with clover, and at the end of the cotton harvest,
after the little trees have been uprooted, a crop of beans is sown,
which becomes ready for harvesting in April; and now there is a period
in which the agriculturist may take his choice of sowing what may be
termed catch crops, or fallowing his land for five months. In this he
is guided by position and the facility offered for the disposal of such
easy crops as water melons or maize, which can be taken after beans.
It is at the end of October that he begins to think of his main crops,
when wheat and barley are sown, to be harvested from the beginning of
May to the end of June. Then follows the main crop of maize, which
occupies the land from July 15th to November 15th.
Previous to the harvesting of this main crop of maize, clover is again
sown, and from this one or two pasturings are obtained before the land
is broken up once more for the succeeding important crop of cotton, this
completing the rotation.
The sugar-cane has not been given a place in this rotation, as it is
principally grown in Upper Egypt for the manufacture of sugar, while we
are dealing with the rich lands of the Delta and the farming there. But
we may here remark that the Egyptians are as fond of the green
sugar-cane as an article of diet as the blacks of the West Indies, who
may be seen munching its luscious saccharine at all times and seasons.
There is something more in this among the Egyptians than the
gratification of a sweet palate, for it is eaten largely from the great
faith of rich and poor alike in its tonic qualities. "Gasab," or as
they pronounce it in Cairo "'asab," is considered to be one of the
greatest restorers for those who from weak health or excess are what we
call in modern phraseology "run down"--perhaps as pleasant, plentiful,
and economical a medicament as could be used. It is a common sight for
the European to see the poor, patient, overladen, and underfed donkeys
coming into Cairo every morning heavily laden with the juicy caries that
have been grown in the neighbouring fields.
It will be observed in the above rotation that a crop of clover precedes
and succeeds the cotton.
We now proceed to a technical statement of the treatment of an Egyptian
farm; not merely a description of farming in Egypt, but of the
management of a farm based upon the careful observations of one who has
passed many years in the Delta and has made the cultivation and cropping
of its peculiar soil a thorough life study. In fact, the tracts of land
under his superintendence offer themselves as specimens worthy of
copying by all who seek to make the land of Egypt profitable and well
paying in return for the capital, large or small, that may be invested
there. This being said, we at once plunge again _in medias res_, and,
at the risk of being too formal and technical, recapitulate the crops in
their order. Cotton.
Followed by Clover, or Beans, or both.
Followed by Fallow, or catch crops of Maize or Water Melons.
Wheat and Barley.
Followed by three months' fallow, or Maize, main crop, and catch crop of
Sesame. Clover--"Fachl" on land after Maize and Clover "Miscowy" after
Fallow. Then Cotton.