CRUDE METHODS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 62, Issue 7, 20 October 1941, Page 8

CRUDE METHODS

IRRIGATION IN EGYPT. HINDS SOLDIER’S OBSERVATIONS The primitive methods employed by the Egyptians in the use of irrigation in their agricultural pursuits are referred to in an interesting letter which has been received from Driver G. Farrell, of Hinds, who is with the forces in the Middle East. The prosperity of Egypt had, from time immemorial, depended on the annual flooding of the Nile, he writes. The first irrigation- was by a system of basins—i.e., the land was divided up by earthen walls, which made the basins, and the flood waters were drained into these by canals. By these means the soil was kept thoroughly soaked, and a good soil deposit was left in the wake of the water. The system also stopped any erosion that might be caused by a fast ebbing river. This system has now practically disappeared, and will be found only in Upper Egypt. With the completion of the dam at Nag Hammandi, the whole of Egypt’s fertile valley is now subject to permanent irrigation. Down to the Mediterranean the soil is irrigated through innumerable canals and water courses. The method is as follows: When the Nile floods in July and August, the sluices of the Aswan dam are opened and the reddish brown waters find their way,to the plains below. When the basins are full enough, the sluices are regulated so as to keep the water at the same level for about a month, when the soil is deposited, and the waste water is drained back into the river, or, in the event of a low flood, drained down to the lower lands. In some years the flood is not high enough, and it does not reach the

higher levels, so the landholders on

these areas do not pay any water rate I or taxes for that year. These perennially irrigated parts of the country take only enough water from the canals required for the standing crop. In such case they receive no flood silt, and in, the intensive cultivation practised these lands require a great deal of fertiliser. In November, when the water is receding, and when the whole of the country is amply] supplied, the sluice gates of the Aswan dam are gradually closed, so as to fill the reservoir, where the water is held for the lean periods from April to the end of June. The Asynt dam is controlled in the same way. ' 1 * Systems Out of Date. There are six systems of irrigation in the country, and some of them appear very crude, but they nevertheless are very .effective. One (the SagirjaT is worked by a contrivance to Which oxen are attached for the most part io provide power. The buckets lift the water up to the required level, Where' it is run into a race which delivers it tp the fields. Another is the Arqhimdean screw system, which is used extensively. This screw is worked by manpower. It consists of a long barrel or cylinder inside which there is a screw, which lifts the water. The whole thing is in one piece. Another form is the Shaduf, which consists of a long pole placed on a stand . • in s.ee-saw fashion. ” To one end of thef pole is attached * a counter weight, to the other a bucket and the fellaheen works this up and down all day long. A fourth method, When it is possible to store water in the reservoirs above the level of the ground allows the water to flow over the fields where required. There is also the system known as the Tabut. used where the level of the water in the canals is nearly always the same. This system is supplied by a light wooden wheel, which raises the water in numerous compartments. The last, but not least, are power-driven pumps, used mostly in the sugar-growing districts, where large quantities of water are required. The fields are laid out in squares by means of shallow races, which are damned up to allow the water to flow over and saturate the adjoining land.

Two Agricultural Seasons.

There are only two seasons for agriculture in Egypt—the nor’-wester season, lasting from- May to November, and the cooler season from November to March. But there are places on the delta where a short season is also 'fitted in. This season is comparable to our autumn. The sowings take place from October onwards. The harvest ! commences in middle Egypt in April, and in the delta in May. The principal crops grown then are wheat, barley, beans, and barsim (the Egyptian cl9Ver). The hot season begins with the sowing in May of the crops which . are mainly rice and cotton, and also sugar cane. 1 The agricultural implements of the natives are exceedingly primitive and remind one of the Biblical pictures. The chief implement is the old wooden plough, which, it is stated, has not changed a bit in 5000 or 6000 years. This fact can be proved . from the ’ many old monuments, and also in the system of hieroglyphics. The plough is drawn by oxen or camels. It does not turn a furrow over like the modern plough, but just breaks the soil up like a .cultivator. In recent years there have been quite a few tractors and American ploughs introduced, but they are few and far between. It has been found that when a plough similar to those we have is used the crops have deteriorated and now cultivators are being used instead — a stiff-tyned type. The reason of the non-success of the plough is that it does not leave , the ground open enough after its in- ' tensive irrigation.

The grain is all reaped by hand and in many cases it is just pulled out roots -and all. Threshing is done by a machine very similar to our own disc harrow. This contrivance is drawn over the corn to be threshed until- it- crushes the ears and straw up .into a fine chaff, after which the grain is separated by winnowing fans large-sieve: The chaff is bagged

up and used for fodder. There are quite a few up-to-date threshing machines to be seen in the delta, but the primitive method is mostly in vogue. Driver Farrell mentions in his letter that nearly a third of the arable land (1,500,000 acres) yields 750,000,0001 b of cotton a year, wih a value of about £40,000,000. Another main export crop is rice, with an annual crop of 35,000,0001 b. Onions also have an export value of £700,000 yearly.