The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-03-26

ton opens they pick il. sack it and sell
i'm the seed. The cotton buyers ship II
10 the gins in the same sacks. Gins are
scarce. The cotton stalks afe cut and
sold for fuel. The stalks are carried
70 market OF camels. and one camel
can carry the stalks from nearly an
acre Of land.
cotton Was unknown in Egypt be-
fore 1S2t. Is cultivation vas not Sc
riously undertaken until about 1863.
Now tho value Of the cotton exported
is about $50. 100000 per year. The
bulk Of it goes tc England. Very little
cotton is manufactured III Egypt. They
could grow many times more cotton
than thcy do. but il is not likely to be
done for years yet to come.
High Priced Land and Conlcntcd
Farmers.
If an Egyptian owns Il few acres nc
is well to do. Land rents from $50 to
&5n per acre. or for onc-half. The
land Wner pays the government s.
/ per acre as taxes. Land near Cairo
soils from $1,000 to s.. 600 per acre.
The price varies according to location
and level Joy the river. Of course.
il is cheaper far from thc cities AND
on the edge Of the desert. There is
, considerable dealing in real estate go
| ing on just now.
II Egyptian farmer is the most
coltented man in the world. He does
not wish to accumulate property ANA
VIII not change his methods on habits.
lie still ploWs a donkey and Il COW, or
i G&mcl9nd q donkey, Noied together.
| lie haul& everything on the back Or
the camel or the nike He rides the
same animals. There are very few
horses and no c~OnVeydnccS in the
country sections. The products Of
their farms and all other heavy bur
dons arc carried on camels. which lie
down to be loaded and unloadcd. Tlcy
can carry a onc-horse load on Il camel.
The poor donkey is also compelled to
carry burdens larger and heavic thau
it IS, ana is too often cruelty beaten
with q heavy stick. But it never cOnl-
plains like the camel does. The farm
er still dresses is they did when Jo-
>cph was down here. when he dresses
at al. You can't tell a man from Il
/ woman. except by the face. He lives
in tho open air in the day and sleeps
IN his mud house III the night. The
| peasants huddlc up together in villages
: made on oundS above the overflow.
These villages are very small in area
and made of mud and sundriPd brick.
-Four or five hundred peOpl Will Oc-
cupY about three or four acres of land.
surrounded by Il mud wall. Inside the
wall are the mua houses in which the
people live. The houses have no win
doWS. no fireI.accs. no floors. and the
rooms about ten by ten feet. The roof
is cane. straw or palm stems. upon
which the chickens roost. The flocks.
herds. camels. Gonkeys. dogs, etc. are
stored away within the walls for the
night. The chickens. goats. dogs.
ducks. women and children occupy the
rooms during the DAY. Both day and
night The flies. ileaS. lice and bedbugS
are boardcrs and manage somehow to
put up With the poor fare afforded.
The little narrow streets or alleys are
Very offensive To the eye and the nose.
The very air in the village is contami-
mated. Why they do not all die by
peStilence is due to the SaiubriouS eli
mate of Egypt. The winds from the
sandy deserts are pure and dry and the
climate IS not subject to sudden
changes. 1t is fine for people who
have lung trouble. catarrh CT bronchial
disease. The best evidence that Egypt
j. a healthy country is the fact that
the villagers are in good health under
such u~nfavorable conditions. TheiS
dict is scant and simple, mainly vege-
table. They eat mutton. goat and
beef, but no swine. The mOhamme-
dams. like the Jews. have outlaWed the
hog. They consume much fruit. The
most Common fruits are dates. figs.
oranges, olives and plums. Dates and
oranges are very plentiful. Most Of
their vegetables they eat raw. They
are especially fond of raw cucumbers
! and eat them freely without ~inconyen-
ionce or pain. Dyspepsia is unknown
among them. Like our colOred friends
in the south they dote on melons
They grow melons in abundance. They
milk their goats and buffaloeS as well
as their COWS. The cows are made t.
do double duty: furnish milk and
pump the water for irrigation.
The Women Are Slaves.
In the mud house is an oven eX-
tending across the house and made OF
brick and mud. II oven serves Il
double purpose: to cook in and also To
sleep on at night. There are no tables.
chairs or bCdSteadS in the roons. They
sit eat and sleep on the floor or on
the oven. NO knives or forks arc used
IN eating. sometimes 4 half dozen per.
sons sop out the Same dish at the same
time. But Notwithstanding this simpli-
city and poverty. the women are Just
like other Women-theN love To dress
and arc fond Of visitc
IN" village ana my drd%aman let hi,
wife kEoW hat was coW-n~ had
cleaned OFT the kitchen. ia, = alln on
TIL" ground and on it some rug al
: carpet. Two chairs We're the only
other objects in the room. She had on
/. her best looks and WAS dressed up nor
ribly. she had painted around The
. eyes. face tattoOcd aud her hair curl
= "uslv arranged. she wore brcastpins
: car rings four inches long ana compos
f ed Of many differently shaped piece,
of brass. Il large nHmber Of beads
: chains, bracelets, ankIcts. s'iprers bu
no stockings. IIer husband coul.
hardly keep his eyes off her, WcarinE
4 smile Of evident satisfaction. She
too was III Il happy mood and eNhib
tied her three children With motheri,
pride. According to oriental custom
coffee MAS brought in-and accordin;
10 GOOD etiquette had to drink it
Very much aGaiust my wishes. The Mo
hammedan women are required t
= wear wells ana let no man but thei
husbands see their faces. Til
regulation is not carried on
in the villages. h Koran (Which
their Bible) permits Il man to haN-
rs many as four wives. The villag
men. owing 10 their poverty. rarel
ever have more than one Wife at on
II time. but they may have many in
20 lifetime. \. man may divorce Il wifi
for any cXcusc. or without any eXcuS,
n The men make perfect slaves Of thci
n wives.
V Since the English occupation tn
= Egyptians have better schools in II
It titles. but in the villages the same ol
&c schools exist. There are no seats
Q. he school room and the teacher squa
y IN the floor or stands before his pt