La Junta tribune., 1899-02-25
no HARNESS THE NILE
BRITISH GOVERNMENTS PRO-
JECT.
FlasasA te Ce.ssraes Great Reservoir g.
Irrigsss ESypt's Des.ss Lsads-

A tremendous task il TO be undertak-
en- by the English in Egypt-nothing
less than the creation, for purposes OF
irrigation. OF reservoir having two OF
three times the superficial area Of Lake
Geneva. Ex-Consul General +. c. Pen
fleld describes the proposed undertak
Ing In the February Century. in an H.
lustrated article appropriately entitled
"9arnessing the Nile" He says:
Engineering skill is to rearrange ma
lures surface on. the Egyptian from
tier. and pond back into Nubia body
OF water 40 miles long. crossing the
tropic Of Cancer. and extending south
ward nearly to korosko-a 2oodly step
on the journey to Abu-Simbel and
Wady -Halfa-by means Of great dam
across the Nile at Assuan- The I'yra-
mlds and the Sphinx have borne testi-
mony through the centuries to the
grandeur and power Of execution
which dwelt within the Nile valley:
asc what more fitting now than that the
same valley be the theater OF gigan-
tic engineering exploit, audacious per-
hape. but certain Of success, and minis
tering to mans necessities, rather than
to his VANITY.
As building achievement the scheme
is on scale worthy Of n Rameses or Il
Pharaoh. To create in the heart Of the
African desert Il lake having from two
TO three times the superficial area of
Lake Geneva. in Switzerland. anu con
troll 1t with scientific precision. 50 tina,
the impounded flood may be turned into
distant channels at VIII. Is II stipend
GUS undertaking. But the engineers
claim that their plans can be carried
out to the letter; they have estimated
th3 exact cost OF the dam. conputatei
almost to the galian the volume OF wat
er that will be imprisoned, and figured
the necessary resistance to be provided
a. every point of the masonry. In Cal
70, the experts of the ministries of pub
IN works and finance likewise. have
calculated TO IL nicely the sum from
taxation that will come into the public
treasury through the country's aug
mented productiveness.
Subordinate to the great dam. a
smaller one. not unlike the barrage Mt
the apex OF the delta. ten miles to the
north of Cairo, Is to be made at Asslut
Its function will be to give sufficient
head to the river to force the water into
the system of irrigation canals that
vein hundreds Of thousands OF acres be-
tween Assiut and Cairo. The compile
tion Of the Cairo barrage Ut was begun
by Mehemet Ali Pasha. from the plans
OF French engineer. but not made ef-
IcclSe uuui EHRhnO look tne country
In hand) 60 developed cotton culture as
to add to the public revenue OF the
country at least SIC. .OOO, 900 annually 1t
pay safely be concluded that the As
suan reservoir IL but one OF series
which will in time be constructed
southwark to the Victoria Nyanza. The
re-establishment of the Khe,iival au-
thodty at Khartoum will determine
ziis.
The Egypt OF the map shows more
than 100000 square miles, an expanse
Aeariy seven times as great as New
England; but the practical Egypt-that
which produces crops and sustains lie
is barely as large us the states OF Yer
mont and Rhode Island taken together
This is the ribbon-like strip OF alluvial
land bordering the Nile, few miles
wide on each side. and measuring not
more than 1O.5OO square miles. The ex-
tension planned, and to be completed
In the next six or eight years. wholly
Iy irrigation, Ii no less magnificent in
conception than the rescuing from the
Libyan and Arabian deserts Of $500
square miles, or twice the area of
Rhode Island. This will be exploata-
ton in Its trucst sense, and Its accom-
plishment will be verification Of the
ancient saying that Egypt is the Nile,
and the Nile ia Egypt"