Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-10

produces about 100000 bales annually.
East India has had the second place. her
annual product ranging from 10000 to
100000 bales. with Egypt far in the rear
Since the building Of the Assouan dam the
crop of Egypt has been steadily increasn
until last year it was six and three-fourths
million kantars. which. at 100 pounds to the
kantar for easy figuring. make 675 million
pounds. or over 100000 Compounds
bales. Egypt produces more cotton for its
size and the area planted than any other
| country Of the world. Its average crop Is
4oo pounds per acre. which is far in excess
| OF ours. DR.. Weber of our Department OF
| Agriculture. says that our average is only
| 1870 pounds per acre, although We have, OF
| pounds and more.
! Egyptian cotton brings big prices There
are some kinds which sell for double the
! amount OF our cotton 1t is in fact the
! best cotton Of the world with the exception
| OF the Sea Island cotton. which grows on
| the Islands off the coasts OF Georgia and
| South Carolina. The Sea Island cotton has
little longer fiber than the Egyptian The
| latter Is for the most part brown In color
| and Is noted for Its sickness, which makes
| 1t valuable for manufacturing mercerized
cetioh. we import an enormous quantity
or Egyptian cotton to mix with our cotton
near or cotton here selling for 20 and 25
cents a pound. and am told that there is a
great difference in the varieties raised and
also as to the parts of the Nile valley in
which each kind Is raised
me very best cotton grows in the delta,
and that region Is now producing moro
than four-ffths Of the crop. Less than a
quarter of million acres are now in cot
ton in the valley of the Nile above Cairo.
and the yield Is neither so large nor so
good as that of the delta
Egypt's Cotton Plantations.
I wish l could take you with me on a
trip through the cotton fields of the Nile |
valley. The scenes there are nothing like |
those OF our southern states. Much Of the |
cotton is raised on small farms, and every |
field is marked out with little canals into I
which the water Is introduced from time |
to time. There are great farmhouses |
scattered over the landscape. and no barns. |
The people all live in mud villages and go |
out 10 work In the field. They use an
imals for blowing and narrowing, and the |
crop is handled in different way. Let me |
give you few pictures as | have made I
them while travelling through the country.
Take a look over the Delta. 1t is wide
expanse Of green spotted here and there
Win white patches. The green consists of
aiaita' Indian corn, or beans. The white
h s Cre cotton. i can see it stretching out
peiore me as far as my eye can reach
Here Is field where the lint has been |
sdsneteu. The land is black, and It has |
WlhqtoWs OF cotton stalks running across
IL. Every stalk has been pulled out NV the
roots and piled up. Further on We see |
another Held in which the stalks have bean !
fled INTO bundles. They will be sold as
''t-% !
to the acre. There are no forests in E,yynt |
ana all sorts of fuel are scarce The stalks I
from one acre Will sell for 50 or more The |
cotton stalks are used for cooking for The |
farm engines on the larger plantations and
even for running the ginning establish |
flenIs. In that village over there YOU may |
see great bundles of stalks stored away on |
the tops OF the fiat rooted houses Corn
fodder Is piled up beside them, the leaves |
OF the fodder having been torn off for stock |
feed. Is not this a queer country where the |
people keep their wood piles on their roofs |
Here is field where they are picking |
cotton. There are scores of little Egyptian .,