Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-25

of ancient model There is the "shaduf." or
well sweep apparatus, q long pole pivoted upon
an upright, one end bearing q bucket, the
other counter weighted with a great ball of
mud. There is the "sakiyeh," or large wheel
turned by cattle water buffaloeS, sometimes
by camels. Or perhaps the smaller, lighter
wheel called the "tabut" is used, worked by
man animal power Even the NATAL" or
basket or bucket slung on a rope and worked
by two men. appears.
Water distribution is the chief problem Of
life in the Delta But the governments agri-
cultural authorities have care beyond that Of
water alone. The Nile is no longer fertilizing
the soil of Lower Egypt as it once did, when it
annually overfowed its banks and spread its
coating of mud over the land. The damming
of the river at Assuan has permitted a better
distribution of the food, but has robbed thu
lower part of the country of this enriching de-
po6it, with the consequence that the farmers
are using fertilizers and the salts are now
saturating the soil. and causing the depletion
of the ciopS-
A LONG the canal banks pass the feIlaheen.
afcot, on donkeys, on camels, in small
carts. Men, women and children pass to and
fro, going pre- badly, at this hour, to their homes
after their days work in the fields They do
not live far from their farm plats as rule,
for the little villages thickly strewn about
The Egyptian is gregarious and likes to live
in huddle. Even the nom2dic tribes MAIN
tain their groups and towns" of tents in the
desert
After seeing some of this traffic alongside
the tracks the newcomer is prone to wonder
whether there IS an established ratio Of dom
keys weight to donkey's burden. These little
creatures carry towering loads and massive
perSonageS. Yet they trot along unconcernedly
never varying their gait, never hurrying. how
ever the fellah may shout, and only perhaps
taking couple CT quick steps after thwack
Of rcd or hand or kick of the riders bare foot.
1t is said that every tourist who reaches Egypt
has an early desire to buy donkey and take
it home as souvenir of his visit A fair
donkey can be had for SIS, while for $40 one
may get the pick of the breed.
DonkeyS, camels, water buffaloeS constitute
the major part of Egypt'S power plant There
are a few tractors in the larger sized planta-
tons, but rule the Egyptian fellah prefers
animals to motors. He makes strange combina-
tons with them. with no regard for proporA
tons. Thus the tallest camel may be har-
messed to pillow alongside the tiniest donkey.
It Is net uncommon to see a man or even q
woman hitehed as plow-mate to q donkey or
q camel.
The camel, of course, attracts and holds thu
interest OF the first conner, though he may have
seen this queer creature often elsewhere Egyp-
tian camelS are of two sorts, in the main those
that work the land and those that work the
tourists. The land workers are not groOmed
or dolled beyond the bare needs of subsistence
and efficiency The tourist workers are gaily
caparisoned. sleekly curried and brushed and
are quite the aristocrats of cameldom
Going up the Nile by rail and watching the
traffic alongside, the thought occurs that all
the old gunnysacks in the world are sent to
Egypt to serve as harness cloths for the cam
els. There Is a certain fitness about this mate
rial Tor camel wear. The color blends wen
with the coat of the animal, and the ragged
edges and tag ends blend with the irregular
shagginess OF the lOng-legged beast. On ton
OF this mass Of rag-tag hair and cloth sits the
nightgowned owner, as proud OF his mount as
the sheik Of the desert is vain of his sleek.
swift-racing camel. 4 is all one to the camel.
however, SO long as he gets his need of fodder
and his occasional long draught
Through villages and towns and cities goes
the train, across one branch OF the Nile here
and another there. The fields get smaller as
the delta narrows. The light is failing as the
sun drops to its setting. The sky is taking ON
glow The slanting lines of the fehIccas across
the plain show darker In silhouette Then the
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