Cotton is the principal crop in the rotation, and gives far the best
monetary return, while at the present time reports from the Egyptian
Soudan are beginning to speak very highly of the alluvial tracts between
the White and Blue Niles as being more favourable to the growth of
cotton than the lower portions of the Nile Valley, while affording ten
times the area for the planting of this important staple that can be had
in the lower portions of the Delta. In fact, matters seem to prove that
Upper Egypt is going to develop into the finest cotton-growing country
in the world.
The preparation commences in January, and generally three ploughings are
required to bring the land into a proper tilth. The more thorough the
cultivation the better for the crop. The land is then thrown into
ridges measuring from crest to crest three feet. Then a pair of ridges
is drawn across the longitudinal ridges, the distance between each pair
of ridges (which form a waterway) being twenty-two yards. Between these
pairs--_i.e._ eleven yards distance from each--a single ridge is made.
This acts as a partition to stop the water. Six ridges are irrigated by
allowing the water to flow from these cross-waterways, and the reason
for confining the length of the ridges to eleven yards is to ensure the
evenness of the irrigation as to height of water level, as the ground
may have slight fall, and if the whole length of the ridges were to be
watered at once the water would rise too high at the lower parts before
the higher levels were properly soaked.
The sowing commences February 15th. Boys and girls drop the seed in
clusters of, say, twelve seeds in set-holes made by a pointed stick on
one side of the ridge, two-thirds from the bottom of the furrow, and at
a distance of sixteen inches between each set-hole.
After "planting," the ridges are watered, care being taken not to allow
the water to rise to the level of the seed. Sufficient moisture for
germination is derived from capillarity. The seeds shoot and the plants
appear above ground in from ten to twelve days. Twenty-five days
elapse, and then a light hand-hoeing is given, while after fifteen days
more the plants are thinned, two or three being allowed to remain in
each set-hole.
Immediately after thinning the young plants receive their first
watering. After, say, twelve days a second hand-hoeing is given, and
again after twelve days a third. Then comes the second watering, by
means of trench and canal. After an interval of ten days another
hand-hoeing is given, and this finishes the task, as the cotton trees
have attained a height which precludes the possibility of using the
implement.
At intervals of from ten to fifteen days six waterings are given. This
brings the grower to the time--about September 10th--when the crop is
ready for the first picking. Women, boys, and girls pluck the cotton
from the trees. Eight to twelve of the workers may pick an acre per
day, and they receive as payment one shilling per 100 pounds. At the
conclusion of the picking the field is irrigated again, and after
twenty-five days the second crop is dealt with. Another irrigation
follows, time is given for development, and then comes the third and
last picking.
The cotton trees are next cut close to the ground or pulled up by the
roots, and are utilised as fuel.
An average crop on good land may produce 1,890 pounds of raw cotton,
which on being ginned will yield 600 pounds of fibre. The raw
cotton--_i.e._ in seed--is sold per 375 pounds at, say, 3 pounds. This
will gin out, say, 105 pounds fibre and 205 pounds seed; so that the
total worth of the crop may be estimated at 18 pounds, exclusive of the
value of the wood, which may be placed at 4 shillings per acre. These
figures are often exceeded where the cultivation is well attended to.
Cost of raising one acre of cotton in Egypt.
+===============================+=============+
Y Ypounds s. d. Y
+-------------------------------+-------------+
YThree Ploughings Y 0 12 0Y
+-------------------------------+-------------+
YOne Ridging Y 0 4 0Y
+-------------------------------+-------------+
YDressing Ridges Y 0 2 0Y
+-------------------------------+-------------+
YPlanting Y 0 0 10Y
+-------------------------------+-------------+
YSeed Y 0 5 0Y
+-------------------------------+-------------+
YWages for Nine Irrigations Y 0 5 6Y
+-------------------------------+-------------+
YSix Irrigations by Pump Y 0 15 0Y
+-------------------------------+-------------+
YThree Irrigations by Free Flow Y 0 0 0Y
+-------------------------------+-------------+
YThree Cultivations by Hoe Y 0 7 0Y
+-------------------------------+-------------+
YThree Pickings Y 1 0 0Y
+-------------------------------+-------------+
YPulling Trees Y 0 3 0Y
+-------------------------------+-------------+
Y Y3 pounds 14 4Y
+-------------------------------+-------------+
YFarmyard Manure and ApplicationY 0 10 0Y
+-------------------------------+-------------+
YTotal Y 4 4 4Y
+===============================+=============+
The varieties of cotton grown in Lower Egypt are Mit-Afifi, Abbassi,
Yannovitch; in Upper Egypt, Ashmouni.
Generally speaking, the quality of Egyptian cotton is of a high grade.
Its fibre is long, fine, and at the same time strong.
Unfortunately this country has pests, not like the old Biblical plagues,
but which give much trouble and do a certain amount of damage to the
cotton crop. Among these are the cotton caterpillar and the boll-worm,
the former being propagated from eggs deposited by a moth, which do
great damage if allowed to hatch, by the larva feeding upon the plant.
If the leaves upon which the eggs are deposited are pulled and burned,
this mitigates the destruction so far as it is successfully carried out.
The boll-worm bores into and feeds upon the heart of the young bolls,
and thereby totally destroys them for the production of fibre. Up to
the present no remedy has been found to prevent the ravages of these
pests. The damage may amount to 20 per cent. Fogs and dews in the
month of October also cause injury to the bolls.
*Beans after Cotton*.--This crop may be sown at any time during the
month of November, the earlier the better. The beans may be either sown
broadcast or dropped into the furrow, behind the native plough. The
quantity of seed required is two and a half bushels. The land must be
very moist, or an irregular germination of the seed will be the result.
The crop receives the first watering thirty days after sowing, or
immediately before flowering, and again when the beans have formed in
the pod. Harvest will commence about the middle of April. Men, women,
and boys pull the crop by hand, breaking the stalks close to the ground,
sometimes uprooting them, but a small serrated hook is also used to cut
the stalks. Six hands will reap one acre per day, and the payment is in
kind, at the rate of one sheaf per thirty. The crop is then carted to
the threshing-floor, spread out to dry, and threshed by the Norag; or,
as modern implements are creeping into use, by a steam threshing machine
made by one of the famous English firms.
This crop does not receive any manure, but requires a rich, heavy soil,
when under favourable conditions a yield may be expected of from
twenty-five to thirty-five bushels per acre--price per five bushels, 1
pound. Occasionally this crop is damaged by hot blasts--"Khamsin
winds"--which shrivel the bean, especially if they occur when it is
soft. We have also the pest of broomrape; and if badly infested by this
weed, great destruction follows to the crop. Beans are the main feed of
working bullocks, milch cows, and donkeys.
Catch crops, on land after beans.
*Maize (summer)*.--Sown end of April, ready to be pulled after sixty
days. This crop is consumed by the natives, who roast the cobs. Cost
of raising one acre, 2 pounds 10 shillings, exclusive of rent. Gross
value of crop may be approximately 10 pounds.
*Water Melons*.--Sown at the same date, ripe after eighty days. Cost of
raising, 3 pounds 10 shillings. Probable value of the produce of an
acre, 12 pounds. After these crops have been harvested the land is
fallowed for three months. During the fallow it receives two or three
ploughings, and is flooded with water to prepare it for sowing the
cereal crops.
*Egyptian Clover (_Trifolium Alexandrinum_)*.--After Cotton.--This crop
may be termed the preserver of Egyptian agriculture, since, as
previously alluded to, it provides pasturage for horses, cattle, sheep,
camels, mules, and donkeys, for a period of seven months, and also
taking into account its beneficial effects on the soil, restoring
fertility by root residue containing nitrogen. Sown in the end of
October amongst the standing cotton trees, the seed falls upon the newly
irrigated soil and takes root, no covering being required. Sixty pounds
of seed is sufficient for an acre. The first crop should be ready for
pasturing at the beginning of January; second crop, seventy-five days;
third crop, forty days; fourth crop, thirty-five days' interval.
This variety is named "Miscowy," and stands copious watering. The first
and second crops contain about eighty per cent, of moisture. The third
crop may be made into hay, and the fourth crop--part only--may be
threshed to furnish seed. The gross weight of the four crops, cut
green, may be estimated at thirty tons, or five tons of hay. The
work-bullocks, cows, buffaloes, horses, etc., are tethered by a rope
attached to their fore-legs and fixed to a peg driven into the ground,
the cattlemen moving the animals forward as required. The cattle lie
out at night while pasturing on the clover.
If the crop of clover is near a large town where dairymen require green
pasture, the price per feddan, to be consumed on the land, may be put at
4 pounds, 3 pounds, 3 pounds 10 shillings, 3 pounds 10 shillings for the
four crops, or a total of 14 pounds. Growers are sometimes troubled by
attacks of cut-worms, which ravage the young shoots of clover; but
flooding with water often destroys the pest. There is also the
parasitic weed Dodder (_Cuscuta Trifolii_), which occasionally does
damage to the crop. The cost of five bushels of clover seed varies from
one pound 10 shillings to 3 pounds 10 shillings, according to supply and
demand. The variety "Fachl" clover occupies a separate place in the
rotation, and will be treated later.
*Wheat*.--Varieties: Common wheat, Bocchi, and Indian. The Bocchi, a
white wheat, is extensively grown. The third, a reddish wheat, has
recently been introduced from India, and gives good crops. Egyptian
wheats are hard, but are deficient in albuminoids. Unfortunately, care
is not taken in selecting the seed, and many samples are badly mixed
with red and white varieties. The crop is sown on fallow land after
clover and beans. The land, previous to sowing the seed, has received a
watering. Fifteen to twenty days after, the seed--two and a half
bushels--is sown broadcast, and is ploughed in by the native plough.
The sowing is very often imperfectly performed, the distribution of the
seed being very irregular. The next process is rolling by drawing a
baulk of wood (see illustration), three yards long, over the land; then
ridges are made seven yards apart to regulate the even distribution of
water.
Somewhere about twelve days after the sowing the shoots appear above
ground, when the "braird" is about four inches high. Occasionally there
is an attack of "grub," or cut-worm; but the damage is never serious, a
watering destroying the pest, and some seed sown on the blanks caused by
the worm soon make good the damage. Rolling with a press roller has
been found to materially stop the destruction. Eighty days after
sowing, or when the crop has attained a height of two feet, it receives
its first watering; forty days afterwards its second and last. Sixty
days after the final irrigation the crop will be ripe for harvest. The
method of harvesting--reaping--is by small hand hooks, men, women, and
boys turning out to work at midnight, reaping till seven a.m.,
subsequently gathering the unbound sheaves into rows, and afterwards
gleaning, finishing up about nine a.m.
The foremen then distribute to the reapers one sheaf for thirty-five, as
payment in kind. The reason for reaping the crop by night is that, if
performed in the daytime, while the heat is great, the grain would shed,
the dews at night preventing this loss. Reaping by self-binders has
been tried, but the shedding of grain was excessive, as they could only
be worked in the daytime; while the farm labourer was not qualified to
work such a complicated machine. Labour is so cheap that it is not
necessary to resort to labour-saving machinery. The sheaves (unbound)
are transported from the fields to the threshing-floor by camels, carts
drawn by oxen, or mules. The sheaves are then placed in a circle
measuring twenty yards in diameter. Four, five, or more pairs of oxen,
each pair attached to a Norag, circle round on the top of the grain, and
when it has been threshed out and the straw cut and bruised by the
revolving discs and the feet of the oxen, it is thrown into a heap in
the centre. Fresh sheaves are added to the circle as they arrive. When
all the grain has been threshed the next process is the winnowing by
throwing the cut straw and grain into the air vertically by means of a
five-pronged wooden fork. The cut straw, _Tibn_, is carried by the wind
to a distance, while the grain falls near to the operator.
The payment to the winnower is at the rate of fourpence per five
bushels. Threshing and finishing machines, made in England, similar to
the one illustrated, are used on all the large estates, and perform the
work quicker and cheaper than the Norag, and of course they are much
cleaner, the straw not being trampled and defiled. They are
complicated, owing to the fact that the straw must be chopped and
rendered soft to the touch, as the oxen will not eat it when it is not
bruised--a serious matter, this, in a country where cattle are almost
entirely fed upon straw. It might be argued that, as in England, the
wheat and other stalks might be cut up by machinery into chaff; but the
explanation is simple. The haulm or stalk of cereals in a hot country
like Egypt grows harder and more woody than that of colder climates, and
when simply cut up into chaff the product is so harsh that the
unfortunate animals find that it soon produces soreness of the mouth,
and reject it in consequence as being unfit for food. The sample of
grain after being threshed by the Norag is often, however, mixed with
particles of earth, as some of the crop has been pulled up by the roots.
But as most of the wheat is consumed in the country the people do not
object to a dirty sample.
The total value of one of these crops may be taken at nine pounds 10
shillings per acre. The cost of raising one acre of wheat, ploughing,
labour, watering, up till harvesting, may be estimated at one pound 10
shillings, and the yield may be thirty-five bushels grain and one and a
half tons straw. The weight of grain per imperial bushel is sixty-four
pounds, and the price per five bushels one pound. Algerian and Italian
wheats have been tried, and the results have been fairly encouraging.
English varieties have also been experimented with, but invariably have
resulted in failure through bad germination.
*Barley*.--The native variety, Baladi, is mainly grown. The head is
four-rowed, and about two and a half inches long. It is sown in
November and December. Seeding, the same as for wheat. Seed, two
bushels per acre. First watering, sixty days after sowing; second and
last watering, fifty days after the first. Harvest commences April
15th. Reaping the same as for wheat. Cost of raising one acre, one
pound 5 shillings. Yield of a good average crop, sixty bushels grain
and one and a quarter tons straw. The weight of grain per bushel is
fifty-seven pounds, and the price ten shillings per five bushels. Total
value per acre, 7 pounds 10 shillings. The barley is fed to horses
mules, donkeys, and camels, while the natives make it into bread after
mixing it with wheat in equal proportions. Egyptian barley grown in the
Delta is not good for malting purposes, the grain not being "plump." In
1893, by way of experiment, a few foreign varieties were grown in Egypt,
principally with a view to providing a good malting sample.
Scotch Chevalier barley gave the best results. A sample from the crop
of 1895, grown from seed raised in the country, was awarded the first
prize for barley grown out of England at the Brewers' Exhibition,
London.
The yield was not so heavy as with native barley, being as eight is to
twelve; but it furnished more straw. The money value in England was
Chevalier, 1 pound 9 shillings, as compared to 17 shillings for native
barley; but the European barleys are more difficult to grow, and if not
reaped before becoming dead ripe the heads break off and fall to the
ground.
Barley is grown on the Libyan Desert (Mariout), west from Alexandria,
and is entirely dependent on the rains in winter. It is sown by the
Bedouins in October--to await the rains which may fall in November or
December--and also after a rainfall. As the Bedouin is not an
agriculturist, he scatters one and a quarter bushels per acre, and
scratches the ground by the aid of a small plough, to which is yoked a
camel or donkey.
This soil is of a rich yellow colour, sandy loam, fine level tracts of
it extending to a thousand acres or more. To obtain a good supply of
water, wells are dug to a depth of forty feet or so, and the supply is
fairly good. Perennial irrigation can be resorted to by means of these
wells.
If the rains are propitious, the Bedouin may reap crops of barley, with
extremely varied returns, running, as they do, from two and a half to
twenty bushels per acre, the price received on the spot being 15
shillings per five bushels. Ninety per cent, of the barley goes to
England for malting.
Next come, in the rotation,
*Maize (Nileh)*.--Main crop on land after cereal crops. Sown end of
July. Seed, about one bushel per acre, dropped in the furrow by a boy
immediately behind the plough. First watering, twenty-five days after
sowing; second fifteen days after; third twelve days, fourth twelve
days, fifth ten days, sixth eight days, and seventh eight days, seven
irrigations being necessary in this dry and thirsty land for the
production of the crop. One cultivation is given by hand hoe after the
first watering. The maize grows quickly, attaining to a height of seven
feet, and occupies the ground one hundred days. Cost of raising, two
pounds 6 shillings. Yield per acre, fifty bushels; value, 8 pounds 10
shillings.
Maize is a most important crop in Egypt, as upon this grain the natives
depend for the bulk of their food. Ground into flour and mixed with
Fenugreek seed, it is baked into bread. Five varieties of this grain
are grown, but the best kinds are known by the natives as "Baladi,"
"Biltani," and "Nab-el-Gamal." As Indian corn is a surface feeder a
liberal application of farmyard manure is necessary to secure a full
crop. Harvest begins in the middle of November. The stalks are cut and
carted to the threshing-floor. Then the cobs are pulled from the stalks
and spread out to dry for thirty days, when they are put into the
granaries. To separate the grain from the cobs, hand shellers are
employed, or it is beaten out by sticks.
For a catch crop on land after wheat and barley, Sesame may be sown in
the beginning of June. There are two varieties, the Red and the White.
Six pounds of seed will sow one acre, broadcasted and ploughed in by the
native implement. The duration of the growth is five months. The crop
receives one hand-hoeing and five waterings. It is harvested in October
before it becomes dead ripe, to prevent the shedding of seed. Sesame is
grown for the sake of the oil, which it yields to the extent of over
fifty per cent. This oil is used for domestic purposes, especially by
the upper class Egyptians. The production of seed per acre is about
twenty-five bushels, valued at 13 pounds.
In some parts of Upper Egypt a great deal of land is sown with the
Dourra (_Holcus douta_), which is largely consumed by the peasantry,
forming, as it does, one of their staple foods. It is a very useful and
suitable plant. It is sometimes eaten like maize or Indian corn in a
green state, being previously roasted on the fire, or green like
sugar-cane. Its pith, when dried, is used as starch; while the leaves
make excellent provender for cattle.
We now have to consider the last crop in the rotation, namely clover
preceding cotton. As part of the land after wheat and barley has
remained fallow, and advantage has been taken to level, clean, and flood
with Nile water rich in deposits, "Miscowy" clover is sown broadcast,
when the surface of the land is covered with three inches of water. As
the water sinks into the soil the seed germinates upon the surface,
which is now composed of fine silt. Sown in the middle of September,
the first crop should be ready for cutting or pasturing about November
5th. During the period of growth the crop has received three waterings.
Immediately after the clearing a watering is given, and the second
cutting should be ready in seventy days. After eating off, the land is
ploughed for the cotton crop.
"Fachl" clover is stronger in the stem than that known as "Miscowy," and
grows as a tall, luxuriant crop. It is sown amongst the stalks of the
maize in the end of October, the land having previously been watered,
and by the time the maize is ready for cutting, the clover has attained
a height of five inches. The crop should be ready for cutting about the
middle of January. Generally it is disposed of by the acre--to be cut
and removed from the land, and sold in bunches to be fed to carriage
horses, precisely as the green tares and clover are brought into London
in bunches during the spring time of the year. The value of one cutting
is 5 pounds per acre. Unlike the "Miscowy" variety, the "Fachl" only
yields one crop, as the roots fail. The land is then broken up for the
crop of cotton. This finishes the three years' rotation.