, 1913-11-19
TO DOUBLE EGYPTs FERTILITY.

that the Government of Egypt is now con
sidering proposals fer utillslng the water
flowing through the AsSouan Dam to pro-
duce artificial fertiiisers and for other pur-
poses, such as working pumps in Upper
Egypt, and according to the Chimes" cores
pondent IN Cairo it is highly probable that
the project will be embarked upon at the
end of the year. The new scheme lends
additional interest to the following article
by an eminent engineer, who has had unri-
vailed opportunities for studying the great
work.
"Tho origina! Assouan Dam, begun in
1898, and opened in December 1902, by the
Duchess Of Connaught, was designed to i'm
pound $4,000, 900 cubic metres of water in
the reservoir. The dam was built across q
hard granite gorge, aud Is pierced by $50
sInicts, the lower sluices, of which there are
40, being 7 metres high by 2 metres broad.
Those. however, are not all at the same level
owing to the uneven contour Of the river bed
III crOss-soctiOn where the dam was built.
,Ehe original report covering the design and
construction of the dam was carried out by
the late Sir Benjamin Baker. 1t was rea.
Used, even at that time, that it might be
found necessary to protect IN some way the
downstream rock surface from the action
of the water owing to the velocity Of dis
charge through the sluices. Mr.. Murdoch
Macdonald (the present Under-Secretary for
Public Works., who was Resident EngIneer
from 1902 to 1906, carried out certain expe-
rlments with two sets Of slUices, building
experimental aprons in each case, and at the
end of 1904 the construction Of the perma-
nent apron was begun by building mp ma
sorry from the solid rock. All these apron
works were carried out departlnentally un l6r
the supervision of Mr.. Macdonald during
the years 1905 and 1906.
liz 1905 it became evident to the Govern
ment that additional storage of water was
necessary to meet demands for existing areas,
and also for future extensions. 1t was origin
ally Intended to build the dam high
enough to store 9, 500, 000, 900 cubic metres
of water, but an agitation was started that
this would inundate Philae. The agitation
was successful, hence the dam was built to
store $50, O00, 900 cubic metres, which only
submerged the outer works of Philae, leav-
ing the marin temples dry. A thorough in
yestigation was undertaken so far up the
Nile as Khartoum to find a new storage
area. Mr.. Al. Webb (now Sir Arthur
Webb), who became Under-Secretarv of
State after Sir w. E. Garstin in 1904, again
called in Sir Benjamin Baker to report as
consulting engineer. He, however, after
personally examining all the likely sites, ad-
vised the Government that q satisfactory
dam could not be built at any Of them.
There was, therefore, no alternative but TO
increase the existing storage capacity at
Assouan, Sir Benjamin Baker, therefore,
submitted Il design for thickening and
heightoning the existing dam, which would
increase the storage capacity to what was
ultimately found to be 2,420, 100000 cubic
metres. This extension of storage capacity
would enable about another 1000, 900 acres
OF land to be brought into cultivation.
This thickening and frightening was COM
menced in May 1907, and was officially
opened last year. There has been u consi-
derable amount of criticism in the technical
press lately as to the methods adopted by
the present Administration in Egypt in so
far as this heightening and thickening is
concerned, while statements that the masonry
has settled in places and that there are bad
leakages have also appeared. These state
ments, however, have been fully disposed
OF by engineers with personal experience of
the construction, and by independent engi-
neers who have carefully examined the dam.
It is established that no settlement has tax
en- place, and that it is as dry q dam as it is
possible for human ingenuity to make. AS
rorordc tho c1nUacfod cofkIopoopt OE tho