COTTON IN THE NILE DELTA

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2238, 26 August 1914, Page 8

COTTON IN THE NILE DELTA

LORD KITCHENER'S SURVEY

RESOURCES OF THE SUDAN

A striking illustration of a very successful experiment' in tho reclamation of waste iand in Egypt was given by Lord Kitchener recently before the International Congress on Tropical Agriculture at the imperial Institute. The subject before the Congress was cotton cultivation, and the experiment undertaken by tlio Egyptian Government was on 800 acres ot absolutely waste land at Biala. Lord Kitchener produced a coloured map oV the area, covered with blue- patches indicating over 10 per. tent, impregnation with salt, which for., ages rendered the land useless. -A scientific system or irrigation and drainage was laid out, the result of which was shown on a second map. Nearly all the blue patches had disappeared, and cotton is now' being satisfactorily grown ■which,it is hoped will bring in from £15 to £20 an acre. The value of the ex- . perimc'nt is indicated by the fact that tiicre are J.i million acres of such waste | land in the Nile Delta waiting for development. : Lord Kitchener also described some of the work being done by tho new Department of Agriculturein Egypt, and spoke of the gieat futuro in store for the Sudan as a cottongrowing area as soon as the irrigation works on the Blue Nile are completed. Egyptian Cotton. Lord Kitchener said that all matters connected with the improvement of cotton production, and especially Egyptian cotton, had a very great•. interest for hiiir. Ho thought they might claim that both as regarded yield and quality Egypt had maintained the premier position "for. many-years among ■cotton-pro-ducing, countries. Since 1821, when this cultivation was commenced by the- first Khedive m Egypt., it was a very intorr esting study "to follow the evolution of this'different characteristic types of .cotton which had proved to be specially adapted to tho climatic and soil conditions of the valley and delta of the Nlfc. Unfortunately deterioration invariably set in after a certain period of years, and scientific research had to be continuously employed with a view of re-creating those types of cotton 'which had given the name and. fame to Egyptian cotton which it so rightly bore, flic successful development of an agricultural product such as Egyptian cotton on a large scale demanded constant'care, and the new Ministry of Agriculture fully realised the import-1 ance arid responsibility of the task it had in' hand. ~ Successful Cultivation. The successful development of this industry in Egypt depended on.most, serious attention being paid to the following points:— . (1) Tho lcnewal by purer strains of the ; cotton seed in tho country, which was; liable to deterioration every seven years. • (2) The regulation and improvement of irrigation and drainage. (3) .Tho proper cultivation and manuring of the land and'the rotation of crops. (4) Tho incessant war that has to bo waged against insect pests'. In a country Hko: Egypt scientific agricultural 'methods: must, in- order to bo acceptable to tho fellaheen, be suggested in simple .form .for assimilation by them. It was/gratifying to note that the moans, at present ■ being adopted were having the desired effect. Prejudice and apathy in these matters woregradually being replaced by a more intelligent interest in tho benefits attached to the observance of scientific'principles. • As an example of what can bo done by treating Egyptian soils in a scientific .manner Lord Kitchener then described tho experiment at' liiala. The system-of irrigation and drainage laid out onj.tho laud cost, he said, £10 an acre, and .tho land was then handed over to the fellaheen in five-acre plots for cultivation. They had to clean and lovel their plots, which were'made oyer to them on a special tenure. Last year the land was washed and a- crop of rice was grown, with the resulting purification of the land above described. In this case, said J/ord Kitchener, to the great astonishment of the fellaheen cultivators, a 'permanent result had been achieved in one year which under tho ordinary system prevailing in the country would have taken at least three or four, years to ' accomplish, and oven then, without adequate drainage, tho land would have been liable'to go back to its original state. Cotton was now being' satisfactorily ■ grown in a large part of this area, and it was' hoped would.bring in from £15 to £20 per acre. . The opening of a new field for the production of cotton in the Sudan was of the 'highest importance. Tho results of experiments in growing cotton on tho Gezira Plain had proved that a fair yield of good'quality Egyptian cotton could be produced, there at a time of year when there was no special demand for. water in Egypt; for the harvest of cotton in the Sudan synchronised with the sowing of cotton in Egypt. Thus a great future was in store for the Sudan as soon as the irrigation works on tho Blue Nile, now being undertaken, were- completed, enabling a vast area available for cotton cultivation to be fully 'devoloDed. /