The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-06-07
Twentieth Century Egypt
VllI-The Waters Of the Mile.
By FREDERIC J. HAsKIN.

formed into a garden by water diverted
/ from the stream For thousands OF years
Egypt has blossOmed as the rose because
volcanic upheavals sent the torrents OF
Central Africa toward the Medlterfanean
sea The practically Of irrigation IN the
arid areas Of the American west was
singulariy enough. doubted by many
Americans some years ago, although the
pyramids were builded by a race whose
antecedents lived by converting dry sand
into farming land.
Advocates Of reforesting denuded areas
about the sources of American rivers
now more or less reduced during the
summer as a result Of a depletion OF stor-
age reservoirs. say 1t is possible to regu-
late the variation of the volume or a
river by regulating its source OF supply.
They believe that the area of forests so
directly affects the volume OF a stream
that II might be possible to create a
river I'm an arid hill country by clothing
the hills with timber II is interesting to
reflect that the sources Of the Nile are
IN a region where there has been no civil
zatiOn and no defOrestation. Its rising
and falling remain as regular TO-DAY as
they were many centuries ago.
From the bridge that connects cairo
proper with the island of Ghizereh. or
from the deck of d dahbedh, the Nile
looks yellow. causing the American OF
been d familiar phrase since his child
hood to express surprise. The water IS
green at one time in the year Just be
fore the annual inundatiOn green water
arrives. Ii is offensive to the taste and
has q bad odor. IL is welcomed only be-
cause of its significance. High Nile Is
preceded by heavy rains along the trib-
utaries- II was formerly believed that the
appearance Of ''ETeen water IN Egypt
meant that decaying vegetable matter
from the swamps of Uganda was swept
down the river ahead Of the flood Now
it has been decided By investigators that
green water" is due to the presence OF a
microscopic vegetable growth, similar to
seaweed, which forms in the tropical riv-
ers. AS long as this growth drifts north
ward in clear water il increases in vol
ume and it som stimes covers the river
for go miles. When the flood brings
muddy water the growth is killed and
swept down stream.
Nature has. fortunately, distributed the
rainfall in Central Africa so that Egypt 8
water supply Is fed into the Nile as it is
needed. The SObat flood rises In April
and is felt at KhartOum late i'm May. The
rains continue till November and the
crest" reaches KhartOum in September
The Blue Nile begins to rise early In
July and z little later the Atabara rises
Ii has been estimated that if the floods
from these three sources poured into the
Nile simultaneously about 1890 tons of
water would pass AssOuan each second
at nigh Nile This would render storage
and perennial irrigation more difficult
than IT is.
The problem of irrigating Egypt upon
modern scientific plans is somewhat sim
plified by the fact that the Nile Is more
regular in its fluctuations than any other
river. Along its course the unexpected
rarely occurs vet there are occasional
periods of low Nile during which agri-
culture suffers. The years 1870 to 1903
were years of poor floods. The 1891 mum
dalton was ore of this poorest eTer re-
corded II is compared by Egyptian farm
ars 10 that of 1877. but because Of superior
methods of irrigation the famine OF lSf
was not repeated. Sir Eden Liorst sue
cesso~ Of the Earl Of Cromer as British
consul general says that there could be
no better illustration of the progress made
in the direction of minimizing the effects
Of a poor flood than the fact that about
ten times as much tiliable soil was ar
fected by a lack Of water in 1871 as in
1907
Modern irrigation, by charging the
scope of the influence of the river has
enlarged Egypt. Seven successive low
Niles in the eleventh century. like the
seven lean kline Of Phsraoh's dream,
meant famine Even the caliph's family
fled to Syria for refuge and human flesh
was eaten by the people. The seven low
Niles preceding the satisfactory flood or
1908 did not cause catastrophe. Improve
ments i'm irriga ton will doubtless make
fat kline of the years to come. even when
Father Eiis fails to bestow liberal floods
upon the soil.
Copyright. 1853. by Frederic J. Hsskin.J
Tomorrow.-Twentieth Century Egypt.
X. Arrssting the Tears of isis.