The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1885-05-20
4 RaIeIghiIe in the Bullrush Re-
gIon--More About Moses

0ur wide-awake and witty townsman,
R.rt. T. Moore, Esq, while spending
summer on the Upper (Which is
.ra Lower Nile River, wrote to the
r.,,5, D5yerrer a series of letters ~
aiming real interest; because they left
.r. the ordinary Guide Book" infor-
nation. and gave Us an insight into
-garv day matters, such as farming
methods, dogs, fence-laws, pretty girls,
and # cstsra. and SO forth. Mr.. Moore
las added certain stray chapters for the
r 4 NJ. as follows -
The Freu:h after the battle Of the
pyramids in 1898 came up to Assouan
20 miles from Alexandria, but as the
country looked very small THE river
lotromsl they returned. What a pity the
English in 1884 did not profit by the
wise y mpie set them.
ON our return we saw large sand banks
n the river which we had not noticed be-
.0-e. the river having fallen two feet on
which the Industrious fell IA in had COM
mapced to plant melons. cucumbers, etc
rtf.zlng every foot of the soil they will
crow these crops ere the Nile rises in
ADJUST; this was in March. There are
" trees in Egypt than III any coun-
trv in the world where there are any
trees at all q: The date palm, DOUm palm,
.yinger bread tree) which bears Il nut
lasting very much like that cake, con-
aiming vegetable ivory the tamarisk,
sycamore wild fig tree), Christ thorn
rec. and gumarablc tree and the willow
are all the varieties; these are all natives.
of course in the khedive's gardens
are all varieties, foreign and native.
We saw not so much as IA stick of wood
one foot long by an inch in diameter
boating III the water during our whole trip
Half dozen sand islands, not a snail Il
snake. or frog, or lizard; but they are, |
have no doubt, quite numerous in spring
and summer months not even a mus
quito very few ducks, but many herons
and cranes, hawks, crows, eagles and
En.Iish sparrOws, which latter seem to
have taken entire possession OF the
temples. there being no other nesting
place near by, and the bees have III many
places Obliterated. daubing with mud,
the face Of the obelisks and figures u
on the temples, sometimes by only fill
ing N with mud the hieroglyphics, thus
bringing them out in bold relief; they
ONLY have one small cell made of mud
sufficient to contain a few drops of honey,
enough to last them in a cline where
perpetual summer almost reigns. Twice
0niy we saw the large sociable vulture,
l-. a. al,1,, 90, 49,,
compare them in the Geological gardens
ia London, also the white Ibis the cres-
ted lark Of the same genus as our yell
lOw-breast, grey crows larger than ours.
but similar in flight. | saw not a black
crow in Egypt. The Egyptian quail is
not quite as large as our bob white, but
very similar indeed in color and shape.
Crossing the Mediterranean in the autumn
and returning in the spring near Port
sad. the natives have a peculiar way of
trapping them there are wide eXpan-
ded tracts of land, all sand, where not a
-prig of grass or a shrub grow the
traupers plant small clumps of weeds in
regular rows across this waste, the
lunches are hollow within, the quail
after It's long migratory flight settling on
the sand sees these hiding places and
enters them, and at night are captured
by thousands.
We pass on our downward trip, large
sugar mills run by steam furnished with
.uel exclusively of the crushed cane, dried
bagasse, and owned by the khedlve.
We see our first cotton growing, two
years old the second year it's heavily
pruned and bears thick clusters of bolls,
making agoOd crop only two crops are
made from one planting they SOW the
seed only every other year there being
no IF0st, the stalk does not die.
in upper Egypt they grow very little
majse, we look almost in vain for the
Old stalks perhaps as these, cotton
and doura stalks are almost the only
.uel that they have, they have packed
them off for fuel we see great camels
loaded with these stalks, carrying them
10 the numerous lime kilns. Whilst the
ARABIC sit by, never ceasing to feed these
klius with this combustible material
They dry all their manure and use it
tor tuel also, reservlng none for their
lands.
An Arab presented me with a cake of
bread made of doura, it was extremely
unpalatable and tasted worse than Scot
tsh oatmeal cakes; these poor people
I've on doura. lettuce, cucumbers, mel
ons, garlic and radishes, and although
they make fine wheat and barley, get
very little of it to eat.
They grow immense quantities OF clo-
Yer, nearly similar to ours, and every
thing is fed OH it green, they make no
hay Of 1t, tie their cattle, horses, camels,
goats, etc. OF moving and transpOrta-
ton. it Is always fed green, and we see
heavy loaded camels and asses carrying
this provender to market. They have
no fence, no need of any.
Our boat draws five feet of water, and
We are constantly stuck on sandbars.
Everywhere the shaduf is seen worked
by hand, one above the other, lifting the
water up from the river for purposes of
irrigation; also is often seen the sekkieh,
worked by buffalo, a large wooden wheel
run by lever, on which are tied with grass
ropes two rO vs. of Jars that fill them
selves as the wheel turned upwards,
and that emplIes them as it turns down
ward. atfording q constant and Surpris-
ingiy large stream OF water, the animal
beng blindtolded to keep it i'll constant
motion. They are the Cape buffalo.
the same as we see in the Zoo in Lon
don. The long horned Egyptian OK, which
had letters cut IN their temples were ex-
tnct in 1868. The papyrus and lotus is
only to be found in the gardens. No
Egyptians with almond eyes and Roman
hoses sometimes we can see a trace OF
that ancient type, amongst the numer-
GUS Arabs that surround us. The scar
abel are gone too, or were in their winter
quarters we saw an entirely new speci-
men unlike the manufactured mes they
LETT behind them a small black fellow,
very much like a spider, that could not
ny, but that ran like lightning on the
parched rocky desert. We bottled up
three Of these for our friend, Font. TaY-