Rocky Ford enterprise., 1899-02-23
TO HARNESS, THE NILE
seiysaH GovERnh;EXT's> 81 >,
IECT.
Planned to Construct Great Reservoirs t
Irrigate Egypt. Dssir: Lands.


A tremendous task is to be undertake
en- by the English IN Egypt-nothinG
less than the creation, for purposes Of
irrigation, of reservoir having two or
three times the superficial area of Lake
Geneva. EX-Consul General Il. @. Pen
field describes the proposed undertake
ing in the February Century, In an H.
lustrated article appropriately entitled
"Harnesslng 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 goodly step
on the journey to Abu-Smbel and
Wady-Halfa-by means Of great dam
across the Nile nt Assuan. The Pyra-
mlds and the Sphinx have borne testi
mony through the centuries to the
grandeur and power of execution
which dwelt within the Nile valley;
and what more fitting now than that the
same valley be the theater of a gigan
tic engineering exploit, audncious per-
haps, but certain of success, and minis
tering to mans necessities, rather than
10 his vanity.
AS building achievement the scheme
is on a scale worthy of n Ramescs or a
Pharaoh. To create In the heart of the
African desert n lake having from two
to three times the superficial area of
Lake Geneva, In Switzerland. and con-
troll 1t with scientific precision, so tha,
the impounded flood may be turned into
distant channels ut will. Is n stipend
GUS undertaking. But the engineers
claim that their plans can be carried
out to the letter; they have estimated
the exact cost OF the dam. coniputatcd
almost to the gallan the volume Of wat
er that will be imprisoned. and figured
the necessary resistance to be provided
at every point of the mnsonry. In Cal
ro, the experts of the ministries OF pub
lie works and finance. likewise. have
calculated to n nicely the sum from
taxation that will come Into the public
treasury through the country's aug
mented productiveness.
Subordinate to the great dam. n
smaller one, not unlike the barrnge AT
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.
ton Of the Cairo barrage Ut was begun
by Mehemet All Pasla, from the plans
OF French engineer, but not made cf-
fectlve until England took the country
In hand 30 developed cotton culture ms
to add to the public revenue OF the
country at least S1O.OOO,OOO annually. II
may safely be concluded that the As
suan reservoir Is but one of series
which will in time be constructed
southwark to the Victoria Nyanzn. The
re-cstablshment Of the Khcdival nu.
thority at Khartoum will determine
this.
The Egypt of the map shows more
than 100000 square miles, m expanse
nearly seven times rs great as New
England; but the practical Egypt-thnt
which produces crops and sustaIns life
is barely us large as the states OF vcr.
mont and Rhode Island taken together.
This IL the ribbon-likc strip Of alluvlal
land bordering the Nile. a few miles
wide on each side. and measuring not
more than II, 500 square miles. The ex.
tension planned. and TO be completed
in the next six or eight years, wholly
by irrigation, is no less magnificent In
conception than the rcscuing from the
Libynn md Arabian deserts Of $500
square miles, or twice the area Of
Rhode Island. This will be exploitn.
tion In Its truest sense, and Its accom-.
plIshment will be verinca.ion OF the
ancient saying that Egypt Is the Nile,
and the Nile In Egypt"