The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-08-13

n q. IL
warehouses are of vast extent n the
road between them, and this water
Wav is covered with bales of lint n
great bags of cotton seed. Skull-cap-
ped blue-gowned Egyptians sit hlgh
;lpon the bales on long-bedded wagons
hauled by mules. Other Egyptians are
unloading the cars and boats and 9TH
ers are carrying the cotton to the
warehouses. They tote the bales
bags upon their backs, and now
and then a man may be seen carrying
a bag of loose cotton weighing a cou-
pie Of hundred pounds upon his head.
Nh cotton SEED is taken from the
boats in the same way, seed to the
amount of three hundred pounds often
forming a load for one man.
Late in the afternoon 1 went down
to the harbor to see the cotton steam
ers. They were taking on cargoes for
Great Britain, Russia, France, Germa-
ny and the United States. Cotton
forms three-fourths of the exports Of
this country, and something like $780,
600 worth of it Is annually shipped to
h United States. This is So. notwith-
standing we raise more than two
thirds Of ali the cotton of the world.
The total product in 1905 was almost
100000 bales, of which we raised
over $4,000, 900, Egypt then produced
a little less than HOO, 900, and its
pI oduCl DIOuSILt more per Ddle DY 1dE
than ours. There is always a big de-
mand for Egyptian cotton. 1t is worth
more on the average than the cotton
of any other country, and it is, in fact,
the chief zone maker of the Nile
valley.
Cotton is King.
Cotton is the great white Pharaoh
which the Egyptians worship. He has
the majority of the Nile m in
his pmn1Oy and no ma tx than rnya11y
He has rolled UP a wave Of prosperity
which is now ~engulfing the Nile val
ley from the Mediterranean to the
c~ataracts n the prospects are that he
will make his country grow richer
from year to year.
Cotton is now pouring about $780,
100000 of new, clean money into the
laps of the Egyptians every twelve
months, and his means an average of
about $40 per family. In addition,
about $l0.0o0,000 are annually real
lied from the sale of cotton seed and
cotton cake, so that every man, wo-
man and child in the valley of the
Nile has, on the average, 50 worth Of
new money from this crop alone.
Not only this, but the cotton yield
is steadily increasing, and, with the
new irrigation works now under way,
1t Will soon be greater than ever.
From 1895 to 1900 its average an
nual valu was only $1,000, 900.
After the Assouan dam was COM
pleted it jumped to $4,000, 900, and
1t is now, as 1 have said, over $780,
600, 600.
A Great Future
I'm the past few months the British
government has decided to raise that
dam, This will almost double the
amount of water which can be used
for the cotton crop, and that means
more cotton ard more money. Lord
Crcmer. the British governor gem
eral, says that the greater part of
upper and lower Egypt can be made
TO grow cotton, and that the cotton
plantations will eventually cover more
than 5,500,000 acres: If so per cent
OF this area is annually put into cot
ton, at the present average yield OF
$50 pounds per acre. 1t Will produce
something like 100000 bales per
annum, or one-ninth as much as the
present cotton crop OF the world. Sir
William Garstin, one of the creates
irrigation engineers in modern times,
and the man who had much to do in
building the Assouan dam, says that
100000 bales is one of the possibili-
ties of Egypt's future, but that it will
be ten or fifteen years before the crop
reaches that amount. In addition tc
this, there may be q further increase
by putting water into some Of the
oascs which lie in the valley of the
ME outside the river bottom, and also
by draining the great lakes abou
Alexandra and in other parts OF h
lower delta.
Egypt's Cotton Crop.
AS it is now, Egypt is fast taking 6
higher place among the cotton coun.
tries of the world. The United States
stands first. She PRODUCES about u.
100000 bales annually. East India ha,
had the second place. her annua
product ranging from 5000 bales t.
900 bales. with E0Tnf far in thf
rear. Since the building of the Assouar
dam the crop of Egypt has been stea.
Oily increasing, until last veal it wa:
six and three fourths million kantars
which at 100 pounds to the kantar, foI
easy figuring. makes six hundred an
seventy-five million pounds, or owe,
100000 500-pound bales. Egyp
produces more cotton for its size an
the area planted than any other coun