Imperial Valley press., 1908-04-18
SOIL AND PRODUCTS SIMILAR TO THOSE OF BASIN OF THE
 COLORADO.
NO BETTER THAN IMPERIAL
H. J. Whitley's Studies of Egyptian Irrigation and Agriculture - Should Be Able to Get Better Results With Same Crops In This Country.

H. J. Whitlety has just returned from three months foreign tour, which included Egypt, the Holy Land and the Delta of the Nile, with in formation which he will apply to a colonization and agricultural project on the lands of the California-Mexico Co. in that part of the Imperial Valley lying south of the Mexican border.
 His comparison of the soil of the Nile delta with that of the Imperial Valley in the Rio Colorado country and with the Tulare lands, together with his comments on the possibilities of the irrigated lands, of the Great Southwest, says the Los Angeles Times, will be read with avidity by those who are interested in agricul- tural pursuits and who have knowledge of the projects successfully under taken by MT. Whitley in this and other sections of the country.
 The Delta of the Nile, stretching from Alexandria to Assouan, is about 900 miles in length, and the fertile ir- rigated portion of it varies from three to eight miles in width. It widens out at Alexandria and extends on down to Port Said The soil varies in color and quality, the prevailing cOlors run ming from dark to gray, with some occasionally found of a reddish cast. It is all sedimentary or alluvial in nature. Land is worth from S200 to S2OO0 an acre and pays a profit of from s1O to $50 year.
 Aided by Mr. Iddings, the United States Consul, and by the secretary of the Khedival Agricultural Depart ment, D. P. Foaden, we spent several weeks in looking over the lands of the valley, with an idea of collecting in- formation as to their quality, what they would produce, what they were best adapted for, and at what average net profit they could be worked, in order that comparisons could be made with the sedimentary lands of Cali fornia. I am shipping seeds that have proved most profitable there, in order that I may try them in the United States, under conditions which are somewhat similar. In making just comparison, and after giving the Nile due credit for all advantages, 1 feel that we have fully as good, if not better, land both on the Mexican bor- der and surrounding Tulare Lake.
 Some of the Nile ground is tule land, some of reddish cast and some black, while some is lighter or mixed. Conditions are similar n many places in this country, and I do not doubt that we can do all they have done, and perhaps more. We certainly should be able to get better results with the material at our disposal.
 There are over 100000 acres in Nile Valley lands planted to cotton and sugar cane. One-fourth of the arable land is in Egyptian clover, known as bersine, rich in nutritiye qualities, and I have no doubt that this product could be raised here. We saw several cane-sugar factories on our trip through the Nile. This is a very important industry, which, I believe, can be developed to great proportions on the desert lands sim liar in character near CaleXico and in other places in the Southwest. &4 also believe that Egyptian cotton, also a profitable product, can be success fully grown here, and as soon as my shipment of seeds arrives we shall try them on the Mexican side of the Colo rado Delta and on the sedimentary lands about Corcoran, in Kings county. The Egyptian farmer owns an average of from one to ten acres, and every time he makes a little money he takes unto himself another wife, and thus increases the number of his farm hands at a minimum of expense. The country is developing very slowly, and it will be many years before it reaches a really high state of cultivation"