The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-09-10
THE ANNUAL NILE FLOOD.

tion; where it has not touched i
desert. SO distinct Is the line OF
green With the buf-colored sand that
looking down from the pyramid il
seems as II you could put one foot or
cultivated and another 90 pnirri-
gated ground. Toe sharp. defined
edge OF a well-kept lawn and a gravel
path will picture the state OF the case
to anyone. Gazing on this from the
fpyramlt-and II can be seen as far
AS the eye cGu reach to the north
and south-the impOrta- CO of the
Nile water is realized. As high as
the inudation rises there is or with
and cultivation; food for man and
beast is produced; where the water
has not moved on the surface there il
.ne desert sterile AMI bare. with a
hot, mono.onous sun glazing every
where. TINS essential cause OF
Egypts greatness IN the past is real =
ICED. as we'll as the continued politi-
Cal Importance of toe country 10 cur
own times.
In other days the overflow of the
Nile was looked upon "a the union of
Isis and Osiris, and when the canals
were opened in ancient times TO let
the water flow over the land. sacri
ices are said to have been offered. A
ceremony is yet performed which is
supposed TO have descended from
thoee rites. l, is nov known under
the Arab title of "H4roost e. Neel,"
or THE Bride of To Nile"
The young, devoted bride
OF the fierce Nile, when decked 10 all
the pride
OF nupitaI pomp, she sinks into the
tide.
LGUG Rookh.
A pillar of mud now represents
the bride; it is made at the opening
of one of the canals at Old Cairo, and
it is swept away by the waters of the
dam. The Mohsmmedan tradition
is that Que of their rulers. substituted
the mud pillar for virgin which the
Christians sacrificed every year. Sir
GArdner Wilkinson d.ubts and be-
iieves that in A d. 638 the Arabs
continued toe custom from the
Christians, who received it from tue
Egyptians. He does not thiok il
likely that the Christians would sac
r!fce human being, sod that it ia
quite possible that the Bride of the
Nile WAS only n mud figure even in
the oldeD Egg ptian period.
This ceremony is now gone through
abO the 10Th o, August, when Ihe
iEuDdstOp Il supposed to be sp-
preaching its highest. The fret in
dications OF the rice appear in lower
Egypt about the middle OF June, and
continue till September, when the
ull overflow is reached. 10 Novem-
Der or December again the waters
have disappeared and the Nile ia
generally reduced to It's ordinary
level. The ancient Egyptians were
10 the habit OF closing up the dams
after the full rise. 60 as to retain the
water on the fields. and thus secure
q fuller deposit Of mud, as we'll as u
longer continuance Of the fertiIizing
element. The Wnite Nile sends
down the largest amount OF water for
the inundatien, but it is the Blue
Nile which supplies the most import
ant material for the alluvial deposit
and which lis OF such value to the
crops. 1t is this deposit which has
been slowly raising the level OF the
surface OF Egypt rise which has
been very exactly determined il late
years. 1t was fret observed 10 the
case,ofthe MemnoD.statues and ia the
obelisk which still stands at Hello
polic-the base of the monumen.s,
remaining es fixed points, we're clear
evidences OF the rise of the soil. Sir
Gardner Wilkinson puts it that at
Elephantine the rise has been nine
feet and at Thebes seven ieet in l 700
years, or about four inches 10
century. There have been many
learned Efforts TO show that this To-
creased elevation has led to de
crease 10 the height of the inuuda-
tons, but the authority above re-
ferred to gives it ss his opinion that
the rise OF the Nile is now the same
as In former times.
The height OF the inundatiOu was
OF the greatest importance to the
people of Egypt at all time. because
an extra bigh rise was equally dis
astrous with deficient one. Pliny
states that ga proper indunstion is
sixteen cubits, in twelve |
cub;ts the country suffers from fam
ms and feels = deficiency even IN
thirteen, fourteen causes Joy. fifteen |
security. sixteen delight. The rise
Is not the same 1t ali parts In the !
c0ofned space OF the Nile valley |
above Cairo the height must be
greater than 10 the delta, where the
surface widens out aud the channels
are numerous According to Hero
ootus a rise OF eight cubits was coz
sidered q sufficient height for the
irrigation of Egypt in the time of
Meris, and this forms one OF the
grounds on which il has been urged
that the elevation OF the land has
changed the conditions Of ths yearly
Inundslion. At tbs present day a
rlse OF eighteen feet at Cairo is looked
1pon as approaching a famine year.
Up to twenty-sevec feet Is good. and
20 bad effects result; bat above that
height II haconnaa q aood ODD doea