The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1950-06-29

THROUGH
HAZEL
EYES
By Hoxel Brannon Smith
Memphis to Cairo
Oelayed)

Returning from Memphis to
Cairo we passed through the Ia
nous Delta area of the Nile. In
der the glare Of the brilliant de-
sert sun the cultivated fields and
palm trees appear greener than
anywhere else in the world. The
Nile valley is really a garden
spot and the farmers of the low
er Nile harvest their crops three
time a year. The fertile soil
which the Nile has deposited a.
long its lower banks for centuries
and the mild climate produces
vegetables of amazing size. l
didn't believe cabbage could grow
50 large.As we passed by q field
Of cabbage l asked Smitty to take
the accompanying picture so this
won't sound like a fisherman's
tale. You can judge the size for
yourself by comparing the cab
bage with the nearby date palms.
Far in the background you see
the pyramids Of Memphis
This productive farm area is
made possible by extensive irri-
CATION because Egypt is a very
arid country. We were told that
in Upper Egypt there are peo-
pie who have never seen rain,
and in the section around Cairo
they only get four or five showers
q year. Great dams regulate the
flow of the Nile and one of them,
the Gabel Awlia, is the longest
in the world. These works of
modern masonry rival the an
cient pyramids themselves.
More than go per cent of the
Egyptian people are agricultural
workers. The Egyptian govern
ment practically controls the
land, getting large proportion
of its revenue from the enormous
land tax. Nearly 60 per cent of
the land under cultivation is in
holdings of SO acres or less and
more than 60 per cent of the
landowners get their entire iv-
ing from an acre or less Of land
This 10 made possible by the fact
that perennial irrigation is prac-
ticed on two-thirds of the cul-
tivated land making possible two
and three crops year.
Many farmers live in close
packed villages made up of mi
SCRABBLE dark mud brick huts
surrounded by walls wpich ORR
ginally protected them from
marauding bandits. They do not
waste their precious land for
house-building. Little by little,
under a government program of
scientific irrigation farming. their
conditions are being made less
miserable.
Irrigation of the Nile goes
back about 1000 years before
Christ to King Mena who Is re-
garded as the founder of the
first scientific system of water
use along the Nile. His plan, the
basin system, is still being used
i'm some sections Of Upper Egypt.
BY this system land is divided
into large rectangular areas sur
rounded by banks. Water is ad-
mitted to these basins during the
flood period to an average depth
of three feet and is left on the
land for about 40 days. 1t is then
run off and the seed is sown on
the uncovered land.
In 1920, under Mohammed Ali
Pasha, a system of perennial ir-
rigation was established by dig
ging deep canals. During British
occupation this system was great
ly improved and extended.
The chief crop is cotton, which
is known over the world for its
fine quality. In Egypt the cotton
plant yields five and sometimes
six crops before replanting is ne
cessary. The value of this crop
many years is more than $780,
100000. Other important crop are
wheat, cereals, beans, onions,
garlic, sugar cane, vegetables,
dates and fruits.
An interesting type of farming
in Egypt is raising roses on a
large scale. They are used to
make essential oils which form
the base for the manufacture of
perfumes in Egypt and in France.