Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-02-09

those which occurred seven years ir
succession during the time Of Joseph.
We do not think how many thou.
sands or hundreds of thousands Of
years the Nile has fed the soil OF
Egypt but without 1t the country
would! be an uninhabitable desert and
Its benefits and blessings have excited
the wonder, the admiration, the graft
tude and reverence of countless gen.
erations of men. It is no wonder that
the ancient Egyptians worshipped the
river, for they have not only been de-
pendent upon it for existence for thou
sands of years, but 1t has been the
highway for the transportation Of their
products and for communication with
the world.
To extend the blessings Of this river
to a larger number Of inhabitants, to
increase the cultivated area Of the Nile
valley, the great dam at Assouan, OF
which you have doubtless read, and
of which shall give you a fuller de-
scription In another letter, has been
constructed. There are limits to all
things, but the Egyptian desert Is laden
with the chemical properties which
produce cotton, sugar and other sta
pies in quantity that Is unknown else
where. The sandy soil needs only
moisture, and wherever 1t can be sup
piled with water the most bountiful
crops can be produced. 1t Is surpris-
ing to see rich fields that yield two and
three crops a year side by side with
sandy wastes upon which q grasshop-
per would starve. The desert may be
only an inch or two above high water,
but that is enough. Until water can
reach 1t, 1t Is condemned to everlasting
sterility. The same conditions exist In
Arizona. The same phenomenon can
be seen upon the Santa Fe and the
Southern Pacific railways. Passengers
upon the trains pass instantly from a
repulsive desert into glowing garden.
ProfitabIeness Of Irrigation.
The irrigation system Of Egypt, with
its certain crops repeated twice and
sometimes three times a year, makes
the land 1t fertilizes very valuable.
Lord Cromers latest report shows that
in 1895 the total area Of farming land
appearing on the government books for
taxation was 4,060,465 acres. OF this
2,692,S27, or Sc per cent Of the total,
was held by 727,O47 proprietors in
farms of less than fifty acres each. In
1901 the cultivated area had increased
TO 5,O97,431 acres, a gain Of 136,396
acres in six years, of which S8,722 acres
went to the small proprietors, which
gives them 1888 per cent Of the total,
a slight -sain. ID ownership by the peas
antry class.
In 1895 573,S19 acres, or 11.4S per cent
of the whole, were held by Europeans
In 1901 the assessments showed fall
ing off to 554,4O9, or 1913 per cent OF
the total The actual number Of Euro
pean proprietors decreased from 6,529
to SIPS, Of whom only 1,4S4 cultivated
more than fifty acres.
It will surprise American farmers to
hear that this five million acres Of land
Is valued at an average Of $105 an acre
and pays an average Of 81 an acre in
taxes. This is due to the marvellous
productive capacity Of the soil. Cot
ton grows at the rate Of 500 pounds to
the acre year after year, and sugar
cane produces equally we'll. There is
seldom a failure Of the crops and the
product Of the 100000 acres under
cultivation in Egypt will probably ag-
gregate more than is derived from any
other 100000 acres of land in the
world. 1t Is estimated that the reve-
nues to the government from the addi-
tional land which will be brought un-
der cultivation by the construction OF
the new dam on the Nile will not be
less than 100000 year from the sale
of water and taxation. without consid-
ering the proceeds from the sale OF
the vast tract of desert that will be
reclaimed.
The irrigation laws and regulations
Of Egypt are such that the smallest
farmer can enjoy the same privileges
that belong to the richest. The water
is controlled by the government and
every acre that pays its taxes has Its
share Of. water and Is flooded as reg
ularly as the inundation comes. If the
farmers could be induced to use modern
agricultural implements and machinery
they might perhaps increase their
profits, but there is plenty of labor and
most Of the farms are so small that
machinery would not pay.
The regulations and methods OF
handling the water go back before his
tory begin to be written. perhaps be-
fore the alphabet was invented. We
have this information from the hiero-
glyphics carved on the walls Of the
temples and the tombs.
The Corvee System.
Until the British came In the dykes
and causeways were kept up and the
canals were kept clear by forced labor
1.-The corvee". system, as 1t was called
and in olden times every man had to
serve so many days at work under
cruel taskmasters. an average Of for
ty-five days a year for all citizens be-
tween the ages Of 1S and As wno did
not pay for exemption. There was a
great deal of blackmail and bribery
People could buy exemption from cor
rupt officials cheaper than by paying
the regular fees. and their share Of the
work had to be done by less fortunate
fellow creatures. whose time was ex-
tended unlawfully for that reason