The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-09-01

much the same opinion. He has been married thirteen years. and that to single wife who is the mother of his six children.
 Business Ruler.
 My conversation with his highness, Abbas Hilmi, covered a wide range. It dealt with the present prosperity of Egypt, and l can see that his highness understands both his country and peo- pie. He thinks that the Nile valley has by no means reached the maximum of its possibilities, and says that by in creasing the dams and drainage facilities Egypt might yield much greater crops than she does now. l spoke to him about having met his father, and referred to the great interest with Tewflk Pasha showed in Egypt and It's future The khedive expressed a similar desire to do all he could for the Egyptians, and had he greater power ] am sure 1t would be used for their benefit As it Is now this country is practically in the hands of the British. and almost every act of the khedive, as far as official doings are concerned is directed by them.
 The only matters as to which his high ness has full sway are those regarding his own estates, and his management of them is such as to show his great busi- ness capacity. He has an allowance of $50O,000 a year out of the public treasury, but in addition he owns thousands of acres of valuable lands, and the value of his private property must run high into the millions of dollars. He handles this in such a way that it pays well, and his experiments and improvements are the talk of farmers and business men throughout the Nile valley.
 Abbas HlImI, the Farmer.
 have heard great deal of these farms of the khedlve since l have been in Egypt. He inherited much land from his father. but he has other large tracts, which he himself has redeemed from tho desert and others which he has made good by draining. Not far from Cairo he owns 2,5o0 acres which few years ago wore covered with swamps quag- mires and hillocks He bought this cheap and then began to improve 1t. He cut down the hills, drained the swamps and put water on the land. At present this estate is paying over $6O,- coo year, and 1t is bringing his high ness 90 per cent and upward on his in- vestment.
 He has another great farm not far from Alexandria, which was all desert not long ago. The khediVe laid down a small railway and put dumps on 1t. With this he hauled off the sand which came from his drainage works. and now has 1t well watered. He has taken 4,O00 acres and turned them Into CulllNdltu lleluo. T Ffhi III villages have grown up about them and his highness has so laid out the estate with trees and flowers that 1t is said to be a paradise In one place he has plantton of 15,000 mulberry bushes, the leaves of which furnish food for his silk worms, and in other places there are fire forests.
 This estate is at Montzah. few miles out of Alexandria, on a beautiful bay of the Mediterranean sea. The khedive has built a palace there, or rather two pala- oes He has little one for himself and a larger one for his family. In other parts of the estate he is carrying on all sorts of breeding experiments. He has chicken houses and rabbit hutches, as well as a tower containing thousands of pigeons He has dynamos, which furnish his place with electric lights and car penter shops and blaming mills. the ma chlnery for which the same dynamos op- crate during the day time. In them all the wood work required for his various estates and houses Is turned out.
 Stock Breeder.
 The khedive Is fond of fine stock, and he is doing much to improve that of Egypt. On his various farms he has high-bred horses, cattle and sheep. He has large number of Arabian thorough breds, some Jersey, Swiss and other fine breeds of cows, and his water buffaloes, known here as gamoushes are far better than any others of the Nile valley. He is also breeding cattle for oxen and mules