Omaha daily bee., 1889-07-21
green water thraugh which we are moving.

THE WONDERFUL MTrAGE
Of the Libyan desert, which so often de-
ceives thirsty travellers when passing
it on camels. II fades as you approach II,
and become a very castle OF the air.
The opening of the Suez cannls took place
in 1869, and the ceremonies cost 1smali
Pasha, the father Of the present khekive,
more than S20,G00,0O0. Among tho other
notables who were present was the Empress
Eugenia. and a grand palace was htted out
for her entertainment in Cairo. My drago-
man told me that he had seen Eug6nia dur
ing her trip TO Egypt aud that she had
climbed the pyramids, had taken the fatigu-
ing trip to the interior OF the greatest OF
them, and had ridden on a camel TO the
sphinx.
During my visit TO the pyramids, one OF
the first questions that my Arab guides put
to me was whether l knew Mark Twain, and
/ find that Mark Twain is better known
abroad than any other American. | see his
stand. He is quoted by tho English. the
French and the Germans, and such bazaar
merchants as he mentioned in THE limo
cents abroad nave made fortunes out of the
advertisement. TIL Beduins at the pyra-
mid offered to run up one and down the
other for me IN ten minutes for "Markee
Twain book
Consul General Cardwell tells me that
much of the English tobacco sold in Egypt
is made in the United States. II is sent TO
England and from thence shipped here. A
year or so ago Egypt made over six million
pounds of tobacco a year. She now makes
none and the reason for this is that the khe.
dive mas imposed a tax Of sl57 an acre on all
lands raising tobacco. This is done that the
tobacco used will ave 10 be imported and 1T
will pay u big import duty. The Egyp-
tians arc great smokers. You see the
Turks in the bazaars with long hookahs or
water pipes before them and you seldom
meet n man or a boy without u cigarette in
his mouth. The women smoke as well as
the men and putting ut cigarettes makes up q
large part of the occupation of
THE RICH LADIES or THE HAREas
I am told there are some women in Cairo
who smoke regularly 100 cigarettes a day
and L bave seen women walking on the
streets putting at cigarettes. Neither tho
khedive nor his wife smoke, but 1t is the Gus
tom in Egypt to offer a cigarette or a pipe to
all visitors. The tobacco used here is very
light, and tirst-class cigarettes cost about 20
cents u thousand. The tobacco trade is in
the hands of the Greeks, who nave cigar
stores all over Cairo. There is no reason
why America should not send tobacco di-
rectly TO Egypt. MIR, Cardwcll says that the
freight rates would not be over S. q ton and
he thinks that a tobacco something like the
best of our Durham would suit the trade.
Speaking of American exports. Egypt is
not u very good customer of the United
States. The bulk of the people are very
poor ana the cottons in which they dress
come chiefly from England. All over the
east the Russian coal oil has been crowding
out our American products, and this is so in
China and Japan as well as in Egypt. Our
oil, however, Is better than the Russian oil,
and / am told that there is q considerable in
crease in the export within tho past two or
three years. In 1887 America sent 1000, 600
Of gallons TO Egypt, and there was an Amcri-
can here some time ago who claimed that
there was q large oil field on the shores of
the Red sea. He bored u number of wells,
and gave out reports that the indications
were good, and that there were undoubtedly
vast fields of good petroleum in Egypt.
These reports have since turned out to be
false. The output of oil will not pay for the
working Of the wells, and the matter is, l am
told. practically dropped. There is no doubt
but that America could have some trade with
Egypt If we had a greater amount OF
SHIPPING OF OUR owS.
As it is, such things as come here go first
to England, and are thence rcshipped as Eng
fish products. This is tho case with lard,
bacon, meats and canned goods. We buy
something from Egypt ourselves and we take
from the valley of the Nile.
Egyptian cotton, which Is now one of the
great products of the country. got its start
during our late civil war. The. price rose
dollars worth Of Egyptian cotton was raised
and shipped to England. At present the
product of cotton s about five hundred
thousand bales per annum, which is little IN
comparison with the great crop of America.
In coming from India to Suck, l met an
English gentleman who said he supposed l
would find nothing good to cat in Cairo. He
looked upon the Egyptians as heathcns and
had no idea that there were good hotels,
good markets, and all of the modern con-
veniences Mt Cairo. L have made inquiries
as to the cost of food in this capital of
Egypt and l find that good turkeys, which
will rank in size and weight with the best Of
our Thanksgiving birds, are worth from one
good, fat geese bring from two to four dol
lars per pair and chickens sell from forty
cents to one dollar. Choice cuts of beef and
mutton bring forty cents a pound and the
palate of the foreign resident at Cairo Is
tickled with splendid oranges at a cent
apiece. All kinds Of vegetables are cheap
and good, and eggs bring from eight to
twenty cents q dozen.
The Egyptian chickens ore smaller than
the American variety and the eggs are only
about half as large as those laid by the
speckled hens on Uncle Sans farm. The
Egyptians are, however, far in advance Of
US in the
SCIENCE OF RAISING CHICKENS,
and the incubating establishments of the
country hatch out eggs by tho million every
year. At a Matching establishment near the
pyramids the farmers trade fresh eggs for
young chicks and the rate is two eggs per
chick. Another artificial egg hatchery turns
out 500, 600 little chickens every season, and
inc oven crop OF Chickens amounts, dCCOTu-
ing to figures furnished me by the consul
general, to more than twenty millions of
chickens a year. We have about two hun
dred million dollars worth of money invested
in the fowl industry in the United States, an
amount so largo that all the money Of
Jay Gould could not equal 1t, and
still we have to import more
than sixteen million dozens of eggs
every year. II America would adopt The
Egyptian Matching system we could sell eggs
instead of buying them, and our farmers
might buy little chickens to raise at a price
of 20 cents q dozen. More than twenty mil
lions of little chickens are sold each year in
this way in Egypt, ana there Is q regular
business in chickens just about old enough
to walk.
The incubatories are rude, onc-story build
ings, made of undried bricks, SO arranged
that the eggs are land upon cut straw In
racks in rooms, around the ovens, which are
kept fired on during the Matching season.
Tho outside walls are very thick, and are
built so that they retain the heat, and
THE ONLY THERMOMETERS USED IS
the blood of the boy or man who attends to
the fires. BY long practice these men learn
just how hot the ovens ought TO be kept, and
they replenish the fires as the weather
demands. A small amount of fuel
is needed, and the temperature Of
the ovens is about that of
ninety-eight degrees above zero. The fire is
built up for eight or ten days before the eggs
are put in, to thoroughly warm the hut and
after this time IL does not go out during the
season, which is from March until May. The