The Washington herald., 1909-06-09
By FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

By FREDER.
Cairo, Egypt, May ls.-An axiom Of
agricultural America is that a look at the
and Is key 10 the welfare OF the tillers
Of the soil If the dirt is rich. its pro
auetivity Is always reflected in the pros
perity OF the farming community. This
Is not true Of Egypt The soil OF the
Nile Valley has responded literally to
every tickling OF the hoe for seventy
centuries, yet the vast majority OF those
VINO farm It's fertile acres to-day live IN
mud huts- The explanation lies partly
IN the fact that the population Of Nile
land has always been dense, but in a
greater measure the condition Of the
Egyptian farmer is due to his having
been oppressed by despotic rulers and un-
equal taxation since prehistoric times
singularly enough. the reign OF Ismail
Pasha, who reduced the fellaheen 70 the
greatest extreme OF poverty, opened the
way FOR the ultimate deliverance OF the
Egyptian farmer from everlasting bond
age.
in a purely agricultural country q is
dlnaeult for bad government to bring
about ruin to the people as long as the
tyrant is unable to raise funds save by
extorting money from his subjects. When
oppression becomes intolerable there is
q change Of government and quick recov-
cry. II was when Ismail Pasha learned
hcw 70 borrow money in Europe, upon
his country's Il o. T." that collapse
resulted, and the people found them
selves under a debt which their descend
ants must pay. But for 1000 years before
1emails reign. bad government had
always made the farmers the bearers OF
the financial burdens Of Egypt and slaves
% system Of graft. beginning with the
headmen OF villages and extending TO the
throne To-day the English point with
pride TO the fact that the rellah ap-
proaches the dawning OF a better day.
Formerly the Egyptian farmer was
hogged with the "courbash" when he pro-
tested against paying ruinous taxes. part
Of which the tax collector stole and the
rest Of which went to the Khedive. Even
so recent a ruler as IsmaH used the
cour5ash whenever he needed money. The
farmer was also driven by the whip TO
labor upon public works or till crown
lands. or the lands of court favorites
without pay. Nowadays taxes are levied
as they are in European countries. and
the system Of graft is obsolete. All that
IS left OF the corvee, the system Of en-
Forced labor, is that the fellaheen must
guard their dykes during the season OF
inundation. The introduction OF peren-
nal irrigation has greatly reduced the
need for labor on the dykes II IS be-
heVed that within a few years IL will not
be necessary 10 call out the corvee. ex-
cept In seasons Of exceptionally high Nile
In 1901, for the first time IN the history OF
the country, no cOrvee was called out
north Of Cairo.
But up 70 the present time the benefits
that have accrued 10 the Egyptians have
not vislbly affected the nature Of farming
operations While there are exceptions
20 the rule. the Egyptian farmers
methods are the same to-day that they
were during the first dynasty. Looking
upon the remarkably preserved features
OF Rameses or Seti IN the National
Museum at Cairo. it Is difficult 10 realize
that thousands OF years have passed
since the mummies OF these kings were
wrapped. Looking from a car window al
the Nile Valley farmer growing his crops
It IS more difficult 70 realize that this is
the twentieth century. and that he is
cultivating land that grows from two to
four crops year.
Along the canals that convey water
from the Nile 10 the farms there are
seen the same devices for lifting water
that were in use when the earliest mon
uments of Egypts were buiIded. The
shadoof is q contrfvance consisting Of a
pole which rests upon pivot with a
bucket at one end and a weight at the
other The man at the shadoof dips
water from the canal. bucketful by
bucKetful, tipping the bucket above
smaller canal fifteen feet above the level
OF the larger one. He works for 10
cents a day. piasters in Egyptian
money. and never goes on strike for
higher wages He seldom misses a days |
work, and rarely proves unreliable in
any way From countless generations /
OF oppressed ancestors he Inherits pa
thence, humbleness. and habits of hard /
labor. He lifts some 1900 tons Of water 1
during the dry season. When the weather ]
is warm he wears nothing more than a 1
lOin cloth, and his wardrobe is not ex-
pensive at any season. He and his fam
tly live upon what the average American I
workingman would spend for tobacco.
Another apparatus for lifting water TO /
the fields is the screw OF Archimedes.
The name suggests its ancient origin. II /
IS a wooden tube, with a spiral hanee /
inside. Turned with a crank. II brings a /
stream of water TO a level about two feet /
higher than its lower end. The more
prosperous farmers employ water wheels |
The patient water buffalo turning the /
water wheel without being driven. Is as /
dependable and almost as poorly fed az |
the feilah who works at the shadoof. /
He. too. inherits the instinct Of unceasing
toll Sometimes two buffaloes. OF a buff /
falo and camel, are used to turn a /
water wheel. There are a few wealthy i
land owners. for the most part Turco- 4
Egyptians, who are using steam pumps. /
but the farmers who employ modern 1
methods Of getting water from the jrri- 4
cation bitches are still a small minority. !
One advantage possessed by the Nile
Valley farmer is that he does not have
TO wait upon rain. Like the man VINO
cultivates the reclaimed soil Of the irri-
gated Southwest he can count upon a
certain quantity OF products representing
the net result Of soil and sun, and water
applied in the right quantity and at the
right time. But during the period of the
greatest inundation the Egyptian farmer
must be upon his guard against storms.
Egypt at that time is vast lake thinly
veined with dykes Myriads Of water
fowl make their home in this lake, while
the farming people live upon mounds
and make the dykes their roads yio-
lent changes IN temperature in the desert
cause sudden windstorms IN the valley
An unprotected dyke may be washed