Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-08-10

: only ever third year. the ground being
used for other crops or allowed to lie
iaHow during the remaining two years
Az present some Of the cotton fields ara
worked every year and others two wears
OUT OF three. On most farms cotton ~
now planted every other year, where
as the authorities say that In order TO
have a good yield nor more mar Az
per cent of ones land should be in this
crop from year to year.
FIGHTING THE BOIL wEEvIL
Egypt has had lot OF trouble with
tho boil weevil. This pcstiferous cot
ton worm is to be found all along the
valley of the Nile. and j am told that
1t IS doing great damage on the plan
laliohs of thc Sudan. 1000 miles above
AleNandria II is said that more than
Sl0OO0,OO0 worth Of cotton was de-
stroyed by II in 1904, and that hum
drrds of the smaller farmers were
ruined. In the meantime the gov
crnment has been doing an it can to
VINE out this plague, but 1t Is working
under great disadvantage. The llgyp-
tan Moh2mmedaus are fatalists aud
they look upon such things as the boil
weevil as Judgment of Cod and think
they can do nothing to avert them
The government has had to lnaugurato
system of forced labor in consc-
quence. It has made tho boys and
men OF the cotton region turn out by
the thousands to Kill the worms I'M
der the superintendencc of the offici-
ais The results have been excellent
and rs those who have been forced
TO work have been we'll paid the farm
ers are beginning TO appreciate what
has been done for them.
The government has been helping
the farmers in other ways II has an
aSrlcultuTel department which Is
working much al ours, Last year it
sent out selected seed for planting
10000 acres in cotton. constructing
with each farmer who took il that il
would buy his seed at "a price above
That of the market The seed. which
has come in from that venture IS
enough 10 plant $4,000 acres this
year and this is to be distributed at
cost price TO such farmers as want it.
FERT1LIzING EGYPT.
The government is trying to induce
the farmers to use artificial fertilizers.
1t began this six years ago when it
was able to distribute $780, 900 worth of
chemical manure. The demand had
so Increased fop such fertilizers that
more than 10 times as much was
distributed last season.
With our knowledge OF the Nile
lands it seems queer thing to talk
there is no soil on earth where manur-
ing pays better. on the grain lands.
where this stun has been used TO The
extent of about So per acre, the crops
have increased from s15 to $50 per
acre. and the probability ia that the
demand here for fertilizers will stead
lily grow. During the past year tho
government has lent to the agricultur-
al department 100000 at per cent
per annum, with the understanding
that the money is to be used in buy
Ing and distributing manures
In another letter will describe the
wonderful fertility of the Nile valley
and tell you something of the Abyss
slnian mud of which II is made. Ii
has been farmed for ages with almost
no manure whatever and the condi-
lions are such that If manure al all
u to be employed ii must be brought
in from abroad. AS II is now, the
droppings of cattle are gathered UP by
the women in their bare hands and
patted into cakes to be dried for fuel.
and about the only manure that is
saved, is that of pigeons. which are
raised by the millions throughout the
valley of the Nile.
Another fertilizer is that afforded
by the ruins of the ancient towns,
which were built of unbaked clay.
and which now are mere mounds of
earth. ont of these mounds, made of
the rubbish of 1000 years, comes
kind of earth containing a large per-
centage OF soda. ammonia and other
salts. This stuff is carried by the
peasants out to the cotton fields and
sprinkled over the ground, and the
result is an extraordinary increase in
the yield
FRANK G. CARPENTER.