The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-12-24

yond tha, point the stream Is known
as the Abai- II aow< oat ~ IASs
TsauA in . series 81 an3 tSAs
rn pifs which soon units "a form =
Ii flows on. narrowing and widening
until IL reaches Eosaires
About Ave years aEo one Of the en-
gtnee-~ OF the Egy pttsn Irrigation scr
vice. Mr. Dupuix. made an exploration
OF the Blue Nile and went around
Txana. He estimates that the
lake Mil store something like 5000
100000 tons OF water. and that WITH
ne construction of proper dams ano
regulators 100000 tons per day
ian be given out from Januky until
June. He SAYS that Lake T~aua can
be easily controlled. and that without
affecting the large grazing lands ~nlSh
are found near its shores Another
dam might; be made az the RosaiFes
rapids and the two would probably
furnish sufficient water 70 irrigate q
great part Of the rich lands lying be-
tween the White and Blue Niles.
The Control of the Athara.
This same engineer made an inses-
tigation of the Atbaru river This Is
the Black Nile. which flows into the
main stream about two hundred
miles north of the mouth Of the Blue
Nile. The Atbara Is fed by the Abys-
sinian torren.4. and while in food IL
- o& L. -
summer a large part OF is bed y
Perfectly dry. IT il called the Black
Nile on o Of its color when IN
flood. At that time its waters are
heavily charged with volcanic dust
and IL carries down a great quantity
of the rich fertilizing mud 10 which
the lower Nile valley owes It's won
derful fertility. The river begins 10
rise in July. Its floods last only
about eighty days n it dries up to-
ward the end of September.
Mr.. Dupuis proposes a great reser-
voir near the apex OF the TIARA Del
Ia. In this the water viii drop It's
silt, and when ii become clear il can
be carried through different regula-
tors into canals and used for irriga-
ton. If this is done considerable
land at the junction of the Atbara
and a thriving region Will result there
at the point where the Nile and Red
Sea road unite with the great route
from Cairo to the cape.
The Nile a New River.
The schemes that l have described
are so far only in embryo. Sir VIII
liam Garstin. who is at the head OF
the public works of Egypt and the
Sudan, has made a report upon them
and the government has sent out eX-
plorers along the different rivers to
investigate their possibilities. They
reDOrt many new things regarding the
Nile system. the upper part of which
is now for the first time becoming
known to the world. During a re-
cent interview with the sirdar, Sir
Reginald Wingate, l asked him
whether we have yet gotten an accu-
rate knowledge of the sources Of the
Nile and the actual flow of its waters.
I'VE are learning a great deal about
it, was his reply. I'VE have survey
ed the main stream from where II
flows out of Victoria Nyanza and have
followed it down to Khartum. There
are many of the tributaries. however.
of which we know but little. l have
men now exploring the vast system of
streams which feed the White Nile
in the Bar el GhaZal, our province
which borders the Congo watershed.
That country is difficult of access. 1t
is covered with a rank vegetation con-
sisting Of papyrus, reeds and grasses.
which are twelve or fifteen feet in
height, and our officers have to keep
track Of one another by sending up
rockets from time to time. Our first
attempts at the investigation Of those
streams were from the north. but we
are now going to their headwaters
and following the streams down TO
where they flow into the Nile. We
are building boats there, and we hope
to open such communication by