The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-06-09
Twentieth Century Egypt
x-Farmins in Midland.
BY FREDERIC J. HAsKIN.

ter wheel There are few wealthy land
owners for the most part Iurco- Egypt
ians, who are using steam pumps, but the
farmers who employ modern methods OF
getting water from The Irrigation dltches
are still q small minority
one advantage possessed by the Nlts
valley farmer is that he does not have 10
wait upon rain. Like the man who cul-
uVates the reclaimed soil Of the irrigated
southwest, he can count upon a certain
quantity Of products representing the net
result Of soil and sun, and water ap-
Piled in the right quantity and al the
right time. But during the period OF the
greatest inundatiOn the Egyptian farmer
must be upon his guard against storms.
Egypt al mat time is A vast lake lnlnly
veined with dykes. My-jads Of water
| fowl make their home in TINS axe, while
the farming people live upon mounds anc
| make the dykes their roads. Violent
changes u temperature in the desert
cause sudden windstOrms in the valley.
An unprotected dyke may be washed
away or the water encrOachtng upon
! village may cause the mud nuts 10
Crumble Each village headman is un-
der the responsibility of calling out his
fellow villagers at the right time 10
guard the dykes. Bundles OF millet stalks
are used to strengthen them on the wind
ward side when the waves are pounding
/ them. The picture presented today to the
visitor in Egypt is a real life reproduction
| of the pictures Of dyke guarding carved
upon monuments dating back to hameses
the Great.
The well-to-do farmer ia Egypt is de
scribed as "a man who rides horse.
His poorer neighbOr is content 10 ride a
donkey the size of western DurrO, OF 10
walk. Produce is sent to market IN great
painters slung across the back OF
camel, or smaller ones on donkey. A
camel laden with dark green Egyptian
/ clover or a donkey bearing what seems
TO Be huse ornamental wreath of eaull-
! flower. is picturesque sight in the streets
Of an Egyptian city. Formerly, the FARMER
never expected TO save a competency
| There was no encouragement TO attempt
to do so, because as soon as IT became
/ known, or suspected that he had a Mite
money in his hut a tax collector would
appear. armed with a whip, ana flog MIN
until he should give it UP. This custom
was still in effect when farmers IN the
American west who had homesteaded
virgin prairie land. were beginning 20 send
their sons to colleges and their daughters
TO fashionable boarding schools. or 70
travel in Europe to finish their educau0ns
While reforms in government Will re
suit in a great Improvement in the vel
fare of the Egyptian farmer. the limited
area of arabic Egypt and density of pop
ulatiOn will prevent the average farm from
becoming the large eSta blishmeut common
in agricultural America. Upon the map,
Egypt is about twice as large as Texas.
But tillabe Egypt is about One-tourth
as large as Kentucky. If the entire pop
ulation of the United States were massed
in Nevada. that state would be as densely
peopled as the Nile valley. The best
farming land in Egypt sells for no more
in dollars and cents than good land IN
America. 1t is relatively higher because
dollars and cents are difficult TO acquire
where working man tolls ten days for a
dollar.
Because Of the misgovernment OF Ismal
Pasha. effects of which must be very
gradually removed. the public debt per
capita is about five times as large as that
OF the United states IN actual ilgureS-
The relatively small earning capacity per
capita Of course makes the real differ
enCe very much greater. The grand
children Of Egyptian farmers Of the pres
ent generation will staggeT under a part of
this burden But there is at least day
light ahead under a civilized form OF gov
eminent which aims at the gradual reduc-
ton of taxes.
Egypt is without farm houses. in the
American sense Of the term. Most of the
wealthy landowners live in the larger
cities The small farmers live i'm villages
composed CHIEFLY Of two classes Of dwell
ings, sdualid mud huts and more squaltd
mud huts. There are also a few tents
that resemble the tents Of Abraham. An
other style of residence is the round
"tepee" which modern enterprise has re-
Gently introduced While the "tepee' Is
fast disappearing from the plains of the
American west. il is an innovation in
Egypt. group Of these tents I'm the mid
die distance. with a group OF pyramids on
the horizon. looks like a picture Of North
American Indian life sUperlmpOsed upon
an Egyptian landscape.
The poorest negro farmer in one Of the
southern states lives in a log cabin or
box house that is a model of luxury
compared to the domicile of millions of
Egyptians The average farm house in
America would be called a palace by the
Egyptians And Nileland. which was IN
der cultivation six or seven thousand
years before the discovery of America, Is
so rich that sixty or seventy centuries OF
cultivation has not depleted it.
Copyright. 1880 by Frederick J. Haskin)
TomorrOw-Twentieth Century Egypt
XII Cairo as a Social Center.
pink and white. carried out in brides
roses and ribbons The guests, besides