Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1891-04-03
COTTON IN THE ORIENT.
IRRIGATION THE SECRET OF IT'S
SUCCESSFUL CULTURE.

IRRIGATION THE SECRET OF IT'S
SUCCESSFUL CULTURE.
How the Crop Is Raised in the Val
ley of the NfIe-The Story Of the
Industry.
Surprises have been coming out of
Egypt ever since outside barbarians
picked up intelligence enough to recog-
nize that which was odd when they saw
it. Even down to this day the Nile
country has continued to send forth
strange things, and everyday things put
to unusual uses, and curious things to be
used for most prosaic purposes. It was
not very long ago that shiploads of all
that was left of sacred cats and job lot
of run-to-seed mummies arrived in New
York en- route to the fertilizer factory.
That was certainly putting what had once
been objects of veneration and affection
ate care to strictly utilitarian uses. And
now Egypt stands as the source of sup
ply of shipments to this country of what
has always been considered peculiarly
American product, at least in its best
forms.
A few days ago the Times told of the
arrival in this port of large cargo of
Egyptian cotton shipped from Alexan-
dria. to be worked into fabrics in
New England mills. It consisted of
2150 bales, was valued at about $780,
900, and was by far the largest impor-
tation of the kind ever made into this
country. Persons who are interested in
the trade say, however, that good
deal of Egyptian cotton has been coming
here from Europe In the shape of goods
manufactured in English and Continen-
tai mills.
One American manufacturer began to
experiment with the Egyptian product
three years ago. He began buying a
lot of fifty bales; now he gets $500
bales in lot. About twenty owners, of
cotton mills in this country are said to
be using the imported article. To handle
it they have to use combing machines
and that fact probably keeps 1t out of
other mills.
In Egypt itself there is no manufac-
turing of the cotton. The product is
exported to be made into cloth and that
is the last the producer generally sees of
1t. Two kinds of cotton are produced
one white, the other brown. The white
is the less valuable of the two, as the
staple is shorter.
Cultivation on large scale began IN
1891, in the reign of Mahomet ALI. Ex-
periments were made with the seed from
plants growing wild, and cotton was
produced of character good enough to
warrant rapid spread of its cultivation
throughout Lower Egypt. Very high
prices we're realized for this early pro-
duct.
A Frenchman named Jumel, mer-
chant, brought about the next step in
the development. He imported the seed
of Sea Island cotton from Florida and
devoted much care to its culture. His
trouble was we'll rewarded, for his
experiments were highly successful, and
the new grade of cotton he secured was
q great Improvement on that formerly
raised. One result of his enterprise was
the giving of hisname to Egyptian cotton
which is called either Jumel or Mako.
The latter name is that Of planter who,
previous to the Jumel experiments, had
raised cotton on an extensive scale.
In the beginning the cultivation was
monopoly farmed out by the Govern
ment, but later on the fellahs secured the
right to become planters. There was a
boom in the industry when that privilege
was granted. Methods employed were
rudimentary then, and they are sill far
behind the time. Primitive tools are
used, such as an American planter would
regard as beneath contempt. There has
all along been one factor in the case,
however, which the peasant understood
thoroughly. He knew how necessary ir-
rigation was to cotton-growing in his
country.
They have two met DDS of cultivatlng
cotton in Egypt, on known as "Mes-
gani," the other as Bali" In the for
mer the fields are regularly irrigated with
water pumped from the Nile and carried
over the country in canals. In the lat
ter the fields are thoroughly saturated
before the planting takes place. After
that the plants have to get along with
out water until the Nile rises. Then
pumps art Stt dt WOTk duu Iuc uelQS get
their needed supply of moisture. In Up
per Egypt the Mesgani system is gener-
ally followed.
Directly the Nile inundations are of
no benefit to cotton, although for long
time notion prevailed that the overflow
would serve to fertilize and irrigate the
fields. Experience showed however,
that too great floods often meant that
cotton could not be raised. So weirs or
dams were provided TO carry off the sur
plus water into canals. Planters have
more or less difficulty from the fogs
which prevail in September and October
to the detriment of the crop. When the
British took hold of Egypt they went to
work on vast improvements designed to
extend irrigation. A great deal of money
has been expended on these works,
which are expected to prove of lasting
benefit to the planters.
There is some doubt whether the area
under cotton cultivation can be extended