Seem RT A P ~ EP PORTO NIE Ta? PES LSS PEER iyi 447 Hate Aa (ASL an Bae ene He ee ene ene Oty pela’ aay rps kS tye A canes %. 5 Soe") Nicholas M. Williams {€ Memorial Boston College Lisa E-GYPTIAN | ReRies tte BY We WIELECOCKS= MUL By. INDIAN PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT; INSPECTOR OF IRRIGATION, EGYPT. WITH INTRODUCTION By LIEUT-CON J) C]ROSs “Rapes INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF IRRIGATION. ANCIENT SYSTEM OF IRRIGATION. ‘*Thus they do, sir: They take the flow o’ the Nile By certain scales i’ the Pyramid; they know, By the height, the lowness, or the mean, if dearth Or foizon follow: The higher Nilus swells, The more it promises: as: it ebbs, the seedsman Upon the slime and ooze scatters his grain, And shortly comes to harvest.”—Azzt, and Cleo., ii. 7. MODERN SYSTEM OF IRRIGATION. ‘‘Naturam furca expellas, tamen usque recurrit. ” E. & F. N. SPON, 125, STRAND, LONDON. NEW YORK: 12, CORTLANDT STREET. 1889. (fst w * Dy i< & MKA Lor t i af. § 2 PREFACE. Tuts work embodies the information collected during four and a half years, of the irrigation systems of Egypt, and a résumé of the works carried out by Sir Colin Moncrieff. The author trusts it will be found useful by irrigation engineers generally, as some of the systems of irrigation are peculiar to the country, have been practised with eminent success these 5000 years, and might with advantage be copied in countries where the rainfall is insignificant. From the beginning to the end of the work the author has not hesitated to impress his firm conviction that the modern system of irrigation cannot last in a country where there is no rainfall, unless it is modified by the ancient basin system. Persons desirous of investing money in land reclamation schemes will find a great deal of information, and, the author believes, truthful information, about the lands themselves and the prospects of reclamation. Engineering questions, such as silt-deposits, drainage, irrigation, the Barrages, flood protection, methods of regulation, locks, specifications of works, and prices of work and labour, have been treated in detail. Agricultural ques- tions, such as :—Amount of water needed for irrigation, duty of pumps, cost of rearing and yield of different crops, the cotton-worm, manures, and rotation of crops, are freely dis- cussed. The legal and administrative sides of the irrigation Ae iv PREFACE. system have been described, while the whole corvée question has been thoroughly sifted. The Lake Mceris scheme for storing water is considered, as well as other projects for re- claiming land by basin and summer irrigation combined. The tables, statistics, and appendices have been carefully prepared, and the author takes this- opportunity of thanking the officers of the Irrigation and Finance Departments for the willingness with which they have supplied him with informa-- tion; and of acknowledging having received valuable in- formation from Mr. E. Floyer, Director-General of Telegraphs, Linant Pasha’s ‘Memoirs,’ and Mons. Barois’ book on irriga- tion. From Lieut.-Col. J.C? Ross, R:E:, C.M.G., Inspector: General of Irrigation, the author has received the greater part of the information about basin irrigation, and it gives him sincere pleasure to record here that it is principally owing to Colonel Ross’s constant aid and advice that he has been able to complete the work at all. The valuable discharge tables in Appendix K have been compiled by Colonel Ross. | We WALL COCK S.a3 Barrage, 30th March, 1888. INTRODUCTION. By Lizut.-Co.. Justin C. Ross, R.E., C.M.G., Lnspector-General of Irrigation, Egypt. Mr. W. Wittcocks, M.I.C.E., one of the Anglo-Indian engineers called from India after the events of 1882 by Sir Colin Scott-Moncrieff, to aid him to carry out the policy of Lord Dufferin, has written this work on Egyptian irrigation after an experience of four and a half years in Egypt. He has had a closer intimacy with the real prop of Egypt—the fellah—than fell to the lot of his predecessors, the French engineers who have directed, since Muhammed Ali’s time, the engineering science of Egypt. The real difference between the former system and the present one is, that formerly the European only directed from Cairo, and could not influence the Arab subordinates in the provinces, while under the Anglo-Indian arrangements the inspectors of provinces live and go on tours at will in the provinces, and are constantly among their Arab subordinates, and see the Shekhs daily and not merely in visits of ceremony, or at councils in the larger provincial towns. While making comparisons with the results obtained from the French guidance up to 1882, and the results already gained and still to be gained by the Anglo-Indian engineer, it must constantly be borne in mind that firstly, the French vi INTRODUCTION. engineers had their hands tied by the powers that be in Cairo, who only allowed them to use their science and skill in what suited the political notions of the day; and secondly, that the French engineers, fresh from the splendid machinery of the “Ponts et Chausées,” were hampered by the routine training they had as young men, and could not naturally bring them- selves in harmony with the Oriental conditions of Egypt. These conditions, which so hampered the French engineers, were a matter of life-long experience to the Anglo-Indian engineer, accustomed as he is to be teacher, engineer, and manufacturer at one and the same time. There can be no manner of doubt that, up to 1882, Egyptian irrigation was going down-hill. Every year some false step was taken in spite of the engineer. Every year the corvée lost ground in its out-turn of work, and drains were abandoned or became useless, and canals became less of artificial and more of natural channels wholly influenced by the natural rise and fall of the Nile. The Records of Public Works hardly existed. Gauges of canals were not taken, or, if taken, were not recorded, and the dates of the erection of the older canal works are in greater doubt than the dates of events in the eighteenth. dynasty Of course, the French engineers were not responsible for this. They could only advise, and their advice, if not grateful to the authorities, was promptly rejected. I, therefore, must deprecate any invidious comparison between the French and the Anglo-Indian engineers. The comparison must be made really between the Arab engineers, advised by French engineers, and the Anglo-Indian engineers directing the Arab engineers. It is certain that in the old days there must have been native engineering talent of the very highest order, and when INTRODUCTION. vil we read of such and such a king restoring public works in a long and glorious reign, there must have existed a continuous supply of good engineering talent which had carte blanche from the ruler of the day. But owing to many causes the native talent has sunk so low that without modern scientific aid the Egyptians could not work their own canals. They have sunk into a dead conservatism, caused, no doubt, by the chronic state of anarchy under which Egypt languished till the great Napoleon broke the spell. Since that time, though the Ecole Polytechnique has educated him well, the Egyptian engineer has always had to sub- ordinate his professional knowledge to the whim of his rulers, and carry on blindly a rule-of-thumb system against his professional instincts. The absence of repairs, so common to all Mahomedan countries, and the existence of the corvée, or forced labour, have also largely contributed to the lowering of the standard of Egyptian engineers’ design and method. After these general remarks, I will now add a few remarks on each chapter of Mr. Willcocks’ work, stating where I disagree with him, or where he appears to have taken up one side of a question too keenly. The first chapter treats of the Nile valley, as a whole, with all the physical information obtainable. Considering how short a time it is since the head waters of the Nile were discovered, it is surprising to find how much is known. At the same time there is much more to find out which will only be done when Europe makes her way into savage Central Africa. The statistics of the civilised part of Egypt are not very Vill INTRODUCTION. perfect. The account of the Roda gauge shows how very untrustworthy the Shekhs’ readings are at the Rodah Nilo- meter; and Ali Pasha Mubarak, formerly Minister of Public Works, has assured me in the old days the published gauge and the recorded gauge were quite different. There is still no metre gauge at Asw4n. The information collected about analysis of Nile soil varies very considerably, and there is much confusion between the actual matter held in suspension in a high flood and a low flood, and the matter deposited on the Nile berm, and on the ordinary fields. The low flood Niles contain more clay than the high floods. ‘The soils of Egypt vary as they are deposited by the flood on the river banks, or deposited by canals and basins far from the Nile. The first is light, even like a loam, the latter is heavy volcanic clay, almost exactly like the de- composition of ordinary volcanic mountains. The evaporation statistics still leave much to be desired. It is extremely difficult to get any reliable data to work on. In Chapter II]. Mr. Willcocks enters fully into the two great systems of irrigation, Basin and Summer. His descrip- tion of basin irrigation is clearer than any that I know of, and future guide books can have no excuse for perpetrating their remarkable errors. There can be no doubt that local circum- stances have produced remarkable variations in the time of filling, and the quality of the water, and much remains to be done to get the basins into the theoretically perfect state required by the experience of the fellaheen, viz. that the basins shall be full for at least 30 days, and enjoy as much early red water as possible. In touring through Upper Egypt one is much struck with INTRODUCTION. iX ee the extraordinary difference in the appearance of the crops, the difference being wholly due to some local defect in the system of long or short standing. The Summer irrigation of the basin is remarkable for its extent and the excessive amount of labour bestowed on it. It takes a man 8 hours a day to irrigate one acre; and even supposing he can make as much otherwise in the other 16 hours, we have for 8 hours’ hard physical labour from March 15th to August 15th, or five months, the pay- ment of 1 ardeb of millet, or say 300 lb.—and thus the man practically works for 2 lb. of grain per day of 8 hours; his wages, therefore, are valued at 50 to 60 piastres in 150 days, or 4 of 23a. a day! This does not tally with Mr. Willcocks’ estimate of 4 piastres, or tod. a day, in Chapter VIII.* The crop estimate in this chapter must be liable to great reductions, to bring it to the low price of cereals caused by the American and Indian influx into the European markets of wheats and Rangoon rice. Thus in the last 15 years there has been a drop of 40 per cent. on the cereal’ crops; and: thus it 1s that the people are pressing Government for more Summer irrigation. Hence although Egyptian wheat costs almost nothing to rear, it is so hampered by high land rents, and costly trans- ports and excessive taxes, that it is undersold in the English market by American and Indian wheats, and the owners of basin lands hardly keep soul and body together unless the * NoTe BY THE AUTHOR.—The Author's figures are correct for Lower Egypt, where there is an unlimited demand for labour at 4 piastres (10d.) per day. A man who works for 1 of a piastre per day must have scores of perquisites for himself and his family. xX INTRODUCTION. basin irrigation is conducted in the best possible manner. The aspect of the basin peasantry is markedly inferior to that of the Delta. Skin diseases and scorbutic appearances are very common, and Mr. Willcocks exaggerates much in thinking the Saide, or Upper Egyptian, is better off than his Northern brother. As regards the Fayum, in this chapter Mr. Willcocks errs in saying that, “considering the quality of the land and the quantity of water available at all times of the year, the Fayum is a poor province, owing to the great depth of water below the ground.” The Fayum is not poor, save where the soil has been denuded. Its wheat and millet are magnificent, and I myself measured a stalk of Holcus Sorghum 4°1 metres high with a magnificent head containing not less than 3000 seeds. The water is almost everywhere brought to the surface by free flow, owing to the great slope of the country. At the same time the praises of the Fayum have been sung in too lofty a strain by travellers who are delighted to see these 240,000 acres lying in the desert. I may here remark that the two most important millets in Egypt are—' Holcus Sorghum” (Indian Juar); “ Zea Mais” (Indian Makai), or Maize. The first takes over 120 days to ripen, and the latter only 70 days. Hence the latter is sown on the Nile rising, and the former when summer water is plentiful and to spare from the cotton, as on the Ibrahimyah and the Fayum. The yield of the sorghum is quite 4o per cent. more valuable, and the stalk, though not used as fodder in Egypt much, is counted a valuable fodder in India, and some varieties give sugar in America and China. It will give an idea of the richness of Egypt when we compare the yield of the same plant in the Cawnpore district (vide Memorandum on Agriculture INTRODUCTION. XI in the District of Cawnpore: F. N. Wright, Allahabad, IS77)3 In Egypt to ardebs to the acre at 233 lb. = 2330 lb. 577 lb. In India 7 maunds to the acre at 82°5 lb. = about one-fourth. In Chapter III. Mr. Willcocks protests most energetically against the deterioration of soil caused by the ceaseless irriga- tion at all seasons and the abandonment of the Basin system. It may be asked why every proprietor urges the Government to give him a summer supply, and why in the best basins the people are always wanting to enclose portions of the basins for double crops, when, according to Mr. Willcocks’ pessimist views, nothing but deterioration of their land stares them in the face. The answer is readily given by the following figures taken from Mr. Willcocks’ own figures. Suppose we equate 300 acres in the basins and 300 ordi- nary good lands in the southern Delta enjoying summer irrigation. The yield and profits are taken from the extended Table in Chapter VIII., which gives a more closely worked- out result than the average figures quoted in this Chapter. In the basins, owing to the scarcity of labour, a proprietor cannot put more than +, of his holding in the summer into sorghum. The accounts of a three-year shift would stand thus :— Upper Ecypt BASIN. Yield. | Rate. oe & £ & 3 years 75, sorghum, go acres at6*5 .. . 5°85 DoS 481 I year wheat on whole area, 300 acres at 6° 75 2025 57 1710 1 year clover % * . 5°00 | 1500 4°8 1440 5880 — 5131 Xi INTRODUCTION. In the Delta the account, not allowing for sugar-cane, vegetables, &c., is— Yield. Rate. | oe aes) i te ee 2 Shitt eOtton-—= 300 acres,-at 13°54. 3. 4,050 | 7°35 | 2205 Clover on same at half value, at 3°75 “E 125/270 || s0c0 2 shift wheat on 600 acres, at 7*o =O ww—i‘(‘iéa“ Ae2o0 | -4°6 "|= 27/60 57 winaize ; % GHG NE aS Rae 27000 | 1374 — i) ade 12,075 a | 7005 | The profits are 1874/. more on the estate of 300 acres in three years. If we deduct rent from the profits, at 1°5/. a feddan,* in either case, we have— Net profits, Upper Egypt, 5131 - 1350=3781, a Lower Egypt, 7005 - 1350=5655, or 4°2/. per annum per acre in Upper Egypt, and 6° 28/. per annum per acre in Lower Egypt, or about 50 per cent. more. It is not wonderful therefore that the proprietors of the Delta cry out for Sefi water, and in Upper Egypt they are constantly banking-in land from the basin on which to sow the double crop. The cultivation of sugar is not by any means new in Upper Egypt, for Magrizi says, in Khitab I.—203, of Samhud, in the Kena district :— “ Samhud.—This town is on the west bank of the Nile, at Edfuwi. There were in Samhtid seventeen presses for * Egyptian acre. INTRODUCTION. Xiil pressing sugar-cane, and it is said that mice do not get into their sugar-cane.” Also of Malawi, in Asyut, the same historian says, I.-204, “This city (Malawi) is on the western bank of the Nile, and its lands are well known for the cultivation of sugar cane. It had a great number of presses for pressing the cane, and its last inhabitants were the Auldd Fadil. In the days of En Naser Muhammad ibu Qalatn their sugar-cane cultiva- tion was 1500 feddans every year. This was in the year 739-A.H. = 1237-8 ALD.” This shows that the practice of growing sugar by enclosing portions of the basins has been carried on for the last 550 years.* , Mr. Willcocks’ crop estimates of the Delta are lowered by the Great Swamp tracts of the seaboard called the Birriyah. Here, indeed, he is quite right in saying that we must work a system of four-year basin shift, or adopt the method shown in Chapter IV. for storing water for rice culture. Mr. Willcocks in Chapter III. shows very clearly the seven sub-heads under which the works introduced or largely improved by the Anglo-Indian engineers may be classed. Of these measures the most effective are those tending to prevent silt falling in the canals. It is, of course, impossible to prevent deposit when water flowing at a rate of 4 kilo- metres per hour, or 90 centimetres per second, enters a canal flowing at 2 kilometres per hour. But with the latter velocity —45 centimetres per second—mud will be carried on, and only the coarse sand will fall; and with 60 centimetres a second even the sand will move. By preventing the silt * By well irrigation ; the land being periodically flooded. The author does not object to summer irrigation; he objects to summer irrigation from summer canals without any periodical floodings. X1V INTRODUCTION. falling in the canals, the corvée work will be much lessened, and the abolition of the corvée will be easy. The methods for reducing deposit of silt have all been practically tested by Mr. Willcocks, and brought to a successful issue. Curiously enough, the problem of the Rayyah Beherah mentioned in this chapter shows the opposite side of this silt question, where the canal runs, and must continue to run, in fine round desert sand of a most mobile description. A silt-carrying velocity disturbs the sand slopes, and converts the canal into a wide shallow trench. The problem has not yet been suc- cessfully solved, and I personally agree with Mr. Willcocks that the only method of working the Rayyah Beherah is to use it only as a winter and summer canal with reduced supplies. Even these supplies will necessitate a very large outlay in spurs to maintain the section. “The money spent on the Beherah Province on pumping is now close upon 60,0004, and this expenditure will increase. This is nearly equal to the cost of clearance of all the canals in the Central Delta. On the completion of the Barrage, the three circles which take off from above the Barrage will have their supplies increased as follows :—Eastern circle, from 10 to 15 millions ; central circle, from 104 to 16 millions; western circle, from 5 to 8 millions; total, from 25% to 39 millions. As these 39 millions are more than the average supply of the Nile in summer, one readily perceives the necessity of the project outlined in Chapter X. Chapter IV. treats of the most important question of drainage. By the extension and maintenance of a well con- ceived drainage system, we hope to avert the excessive salt- ing of the soil. Very great efforts have been made to better drainage by very small sums of money available, but the INTRODUCTION. ‘XV conditions of Finance as laid down by the “Caisse de la delte Publique” hamper us terribly. There is every hope that in the near future a regular drainage loan may be annually given to, say, the extent of 100,000/. for five years, This money, scientifically spent, will work marvels. Mr. Willcocks points out how profitable the reclamations of the low-lying northern lands would be if treated on a proper system of colmatage.* Probably the best way to work these measures would be to have companies with foreign capital, as it is found that local capitalists are always in too great a hurry to realise the value of their reclamation. The drainage of the Upper Egypt tract alongside the Ibrahimiyah canal is unfortunately not so easy as the drainage of those tracts which have an outfall to the sea. There the Nile flood absolutely bars drainage into the Nile, and the basins are at too high a level to receive drainage. The only way out of the difficulty is to wash vigorously in winter after the flood has subsided, and if necessary pump by steam power into the basins from the drains. This problem is not yet solved. In future years, after the Wadi Rayyan basin is com- pleted, and the summer supply of the Delta assured, the money now spent in raising water to irrigate can be spent in draining the extensive northern swamps; the irrigation water being delivered free flow. Chapter V. treats of the Barrage at the apex of the Delta, and the measures taken by Colonel Western to repair the Barrage by the money granted under the million loan. The new section of the Barrage approximates to the Indian Barrages which have stood the test of many years. The * Known as “ warping” in England. Xvi INTRODUCTION. history of the Barrage again shows the folly of absolute rulers trying to interfere with engineers. Chapter VI. Fortunately for the Anglo-Indian engineers we have had experience of a good high Nile, and by the very success of the measures adopted, have created a greater flood in the lower reaches than that of 1878. For in former years there was always a breach or two to lower the Nile before the high flood reached the northern reaches, and thus the 1887 flood was a maximum at Mansdrah. Much valuable experience has been gained, and observations made on the damage done by filtration, and the progressive injury caused to the banks by the high level being maintained for over 4o days. The storage of water in basins for summer use, will have a good effect in either lowering the flood throughout, or in reducing the number of days of maximum flood. For Nile protection, I fear it will be many a long day before the flood corvée will be abolished. A wholly different system will have to be adopted. The measures taken to control the canals have also a tendency to leave more flood water in the river, but a very trifling strengthening of the banks in the northern reaches of the Delta, will guard against this. In Chapter VII. Mr. Willcocks gives a large amount of useful information about the various engineering details. As regards regulation, Mr. Willcocks gives the preference to vertical needles, as they distribute the stock of the falling water more equally over the floor, and thus render the repairs of the floor less frequent. This has a great advantage when the canals are so deep and difficult to dry for repairs. The great disadvantage of the verticals is the excessive cost of labour to manipulate them, and the great difficulty, as compared INTRODUCTION. XVII with horizontal planks, of getting a reasonably tight closure, Now that the corvée is being abolished, the difficulty of economically working vertical needles of large size will lead to their abolition. Probably Mr. Stoney’s patent will solve the difficulty. | Mr. Willcocks dwells rightly on the false policy of Egyptian Financiers in checking navigation. It is marvellous to think that navigation has not a free course in the Nile Delta. The people, however, are wonderfully clever in getting their boats over obstacles, and in the basin flood season one sees boats sailing all over the land-locked basins. As regards dredging, matters are still rather in confusion. The conditions, times, velocity of current, quality of deposit, vary so much that there is still great difference of opinion as to the proper dredgers. I think myself that the best form for large. canals is a bucket dredger delivering into a hopper, and a sand pump throwing the material over the bank from the hopper. For small canals the sand pump is preferable. The chapter closes with a number of useful specifications, tenders, &c. Chapter VIII.—The experience we have had in Egypt shows that the French figures for duty, based more on isolated experiments than on statistics of canals on a large scale, are about 25 to 30 per cent. too high. Mr. Willcocks gives a series of figures, founded on extensive areas under the general system of canals. He has also collected statistics of the actual duty of water-raising machines. The amount raised by engines is low compared with that given in the makers’ catalogues, but it must be borne in mind that the. Arab engine driver, with his careless manipulation and want b XVIli INTRODUCTION. of attention to repair, reduces the up-take of an engine greatly. Apropos of the way the Arabs treat their machines, I may quote a story told me by Mr. M——, of Mansurah, a well known proprietor of a workshop :— “Some years ago, while passing a 10 H.P. portable engine near Mit-Ghama, I saw the pumps throwing the water out with great force, and on entering the hut I observed the cylinder rocking and the joint between it and the boiler leak- ing badly, and apparently everything strained to the utmost. The safety valve spring was removed, and a bolt holding down the lever, and the lock-up safety valve inoperative. “On looking at the pressure gauge (which was graduated to 100 lb.), I noticed it showed a pressure of 20 lb. per square inch, and on asking the fireman why the gauge only regis- tered 20 Ib. when he was apparently carrying a much higher pressure, he replied that he had taken out the small pin in the face of the dial at zero, and the finger was going the second time round ! “JT saw another portable working at Mit el Goura without pressure gauge or gauge glass, and the fireman only knew the height of the water by two small pit-cocks, and the pressure he regulated by the speed of the engine.” The tables giving the cost of raising and the price of the crop raised are of course more or less approximate, depending on the density of the population or demand for labour, and on the market rate and distance from the sea, &c. The variations are very great in the matter of cereals. Not many years ago wheat was 90 P.T. the ardeb. It has touched lately 55, and other cereals have varied in like ratio. Assuming the ardeb to be 233 !b., and the Indian maund at 8o°« Ib., and the cantar to be 9809 Ib., the following table shows the marvellous fertility of Egypt compared with India. (The Ps x INTRODUCTION. ‘soryseid £16 = Surioys 17 ‘sedvy gli Sz &z1v oSer 6€S winsseqioy wmiddssoxy) | ** ** ** MONOD WO. 09S 0g d oobz é WINIVULOYJO wINIeYIIVS auvo esns nef Sor G1 066 oof Vogt ** gied[na UINspIOPT Agyiegq unye gg vz 066 S2S 1f9QI UWINAT}LS WMT], yeouM ‘uvud Sor So 066 00% d “-umaryes eZzAIO "ONY IVIL vg ZI 066 009 offz SIV 29Z (ozrew) UID ULIpPUT Tele 36 v1 S.£LS 00S offz WINYSIOS SNITOF] VITA voadny ‘sq, $28 ; ‘sq] £€2 SUL N UsIpuy 5 aa ul a0 d a ene ae ea ee ‘oUIeNT [eotuejog ‘doig jo owen *VIGNT ‘LUANDA “VIGNJT GNV LdAOYH NI NUNLI-LNO DNIMOHS ATEV I, XO INTRODUCTION. Indian statistics are those of Cawnpore District, North- West Provinces, a paleo-deltaic formation from the River Ganges.) Mr. Willcocks towards the end of the chapter gives much information about the cotton-worm, the great pest of Egypt. The cause of it is still obscure. The chapter is closed by a very useful agricultural calendar. Chapter IX. treats of “personnel” and budget and its insufficient allotments. The sums allotted over and above the Public Works Budget are 250,000/. for the relief of corvée; and corvée ransom both on fellaheen and hamlet pro- prietors. These sums will very shortly be sufficient to pay for all the work of clearance and earthwork repairs. ‘They are under the control of the Public Debt Commissioners, who insist on the money being spent on corvée work. ‘Thus many measures that would relieve corvée, such as building bridges instead of cutting banks; pitching slopes to prevent them being eaten by the waves in the basins, &c. &c., are forbidden by the commissioners. This policy is so foolish that it cannot last long. ‘The abolition of the corvée is undoubtedly a measure of public necessity, as the system, though perfectly fair in its design, led to such abuse of power and malversation of the public labour, that it could not last. The predecessors of the English régime were seriously considering it before 1882, but their estimate of quantities was founded on the ‘“ cooked” esti- mates of the agricultural councils, and they dreaded the advent of a host of hungry contractors who would bribe their underpaid engineers. Egypt is much in need of a Canal Act. Both in the management of canals and the settlement of private quarrels INTRODUCTION. ' ex about right of way of watercourses, or water, Government is practically powerless. A canal law is under consideration, and a complete Act has been drawn up by a commission of Mudirs, landowners, and engineers, but the great difficulty lies in the administration of it. It cannot be made binding on subjects of foreign powers without their consent, Chapter X. treats of the recently developed project of the Wadi Rayydn. The storage of water in this sister depression to the Fayoum will remove many difficulties about summer supply. The principal difficulty is to get the capital, either by borrowing or forming a company, to furnish the water in exchange for some concessions. Considering that it now costs 60,000/. to pump 5 millions of water into the Behera province, it does not seem a bad bargain to borrow a million and three quarters, to furnish 20 millions and even MOke nine? to pay 87,500/. a year at 5 per cent. interest. The section given in Mr. Willcocks’s book is a very long one, consisting of 22 kilometres of hill and 11 kilometres of contoured canal in the desert overlooking the land-locked basin of the Gharag in the Fayim. A recently surveyed second line gives over 15 kilometres of cultivation and 8 kilo- metres of hill, and keeps away from the Fayam. This second section will cost 50 per cent. more, but deliver the water at 50 centimetres higher level. The other project, that of damming the river at Gebel Silsilah, and retaining it in a large ancient high-level lake, has been partially studied in France, and is advocated by M. de la Motte. Its great weakness lies in the dam 60 feet high, founded on a not very homogeneous sandstone. In conclusion, I hope that Mr. Willcocks’s book may not XXil INTRODUCTION. only be useful to the engineer and the capitalist, but to those who come after us in Egypt. The engineering problem is much complicated by the various conflicting interests of a political nature which so constantly check our progress. The outer world can have a very faint conception of the difficulties of a non-engineering nature so skilfully overcome by Sir Colin Scott Moncrieff in the past four years. Even after all the political difficulties are overcome, it will take many years of hard and patient work to bring the canal system of Egypt into complete working order and to make the natives work to a high European standard of efficiency. This book is a distinct step in this work, and takes away the reproach from Egypt that the outer world can never find any facts concerning the supply and distribution of the waters of the Nile. CONSE NES: CHAE EE Re lh THe NILE. Physical Description of Egypt—Meteorological Data—Fiscal—The Nile from lake Victoria to the Sea— Discharges of Main Stream and Tributaries—Cataracts—Slope of Water Surface—The Nile in Flood— Discharges—Khartoum, Assudn, Cairo and Barrage Gauges—Nilometer at Roda—Width and Depth of River—Navigation—Scarcity and Plenty Gauged—Analysis of Soil and Water—Spring Levels—Evaporation— Percolation—Discharge Compared to Rainfall in Catchment Basin— Maximum Nile Gauges 1887— Distance from Barrage of Important Places on the Nile—Discharge of Nile corresponding to Assuan, Roda, and Barrage Gauges 5.) > 25 eae ee enue ee re Cas CEDAR Bin ige Upper- Eecyvrt. Basin Irrigation—Description of this System of Irrigation—Basin Canals— Syphon Canals—Extent and Yield of Crops—Engines and Water Wheels—Water Consumption—Details of the Basins—Depth of Water needed for the Different Basins—Fillng and Emptying Discharges— Effects on the Roda Gauge—Principles on which Regulators in the Transverse Banks should be Designed—Lists of all the Basins of Upper Egypt—Dates of Filling and Emptying Basins—Areas of the Provinces— Details of Canals—Irrigation Capacity of the Different Systems of Basins —Esna and Kena Provinces—Girga, Assiout, Minia, and Beni-Suéf Provinces—Ibrahimia Canal Details—Deterioration of Country on the Ibrahimia Canal—Want of Water in the Bahr Yusuf Basin System— Improvements— Gizah Province—The Fayoum— Its Statistics and Improvements pin, Bae ONG te Se dae, Oe ee ee eeceeeae ee ene = : ———— Se ne mao ames: CONTENTS. CHAaP ER: TL: Lower EGypt. Summer Irrigation — Description of this System of Irrigation — Summer Canals — Extent and Yield of Crops— Engines and’ Water Wheels — Water Consumption—Heavy Clearances of the Summer Canals—Evils from Excessive Supply during Flood—Problems before the Engineers— Behéra Province —Canals and Regulators— Rayah Behéra in the Desert — Khatatbeh and Atfeh Pumping Stations — Disadvantages of Lifting Water in Summer as compared to Water by Gravitation— Improvements—Abukir Reclamation—JZenoufieh and Garbieh—Canals and Regulators—Navigation—Diminution of Silt Clearances—Improve- ments — Kalyubia, Sharkia, and Dakalia—Canals and Regulators— Navigation — Improvements of the Drainage — Diminution of Silt Siem ae coe ar eer oe Ee eee et ae e. «© SQ-T ITS Chae IV. DRAINAGE AND Lanp RECLAMATION. Natural and Artificial Drainage Lines—Interceptions of Drainage at the Surface and in the Subsoil—Different Classes of Water Logging—Nature of the Soil as affecting Drainage — Effects of Summer Irrigation — Excessive Supply of Water in some Canals during Flood—Alternate Weekly Supply of Water in Flood—Lands needing Reclamation—The Birrya or Low Lands near the Sea—Causes of Deterioration—The Salt Lakes—Basin Irrigation of 40 Years ago—The Different Classes of Land in the Birrya: 1. The Land destroyed by False Systems of Irrigation ; 2. The High-lying Salted Plains; 3. The extensive Swamps easy of Reclamation; 4. The Low-lying Plains swept by Sea-water and the smaller Lakes—Methods of Reclamation, Cost and Probable Return— The Cultivation of the Date Palm in the Sandy Plains to the North of the Lakes ee hk ree ee ef gs) es os DEEQSTAS SEALER V. THE BARRAGES. Temporary Barrages or Dams—7e Barrages—Napoleon on their necessity— Early History Attempt to utilise Stone from the Pyramids—Linant Pasha—Mougel Bey—Cost—Description of them—Method of Regulation CONTENTS: KONG previous to and after 1884—The Gratings— Method of Strengthening in 1884 and 1885—Repairs begun 1887—Original Method of Construction —Errors—Method of Repairing in 1887—-Earthen Dams in the Nile of Dry and Wet Earth compared—Downstream Sheet Piling found pro- jecting above Floor Level—Methods of closing Springs—Broad Shallow Foundations versus Deep Narrow Foundations—New Regulating Appa- ratus—Anticipated Time and Cost of Repairs .. .. Pages 146-169 CHAPTER Wr Tue NILE IN FLoop. The Country protected by Longitudinal Dykes from Flood, their Section— Danger from Culverts—Description of Culverts—Protective Works—Spurs —Methods of Employing and Description of Spurs—7Zvaining Works— Mr. Eads’ ideas on River Training—Details of the Nile Flood—Descrip- tion of the Nile Flood of 1878—Damage done to the Country— Comparison between Rosetta and Damietta Branches — High Level of Water in the Damietta Branch—Effects of Previous High Floods—Table of Flood Levels of 1887 as compared with a good ordinary Year—The Floods of 1887 in Upper Egypt—The Floods of 1887 in Lower Egypt— The Corvée Telegraph—Memoranda on Flood Treatment—Sand Bags— ‘‘ Banquettes ”—The Wash of the Waves—Safety Banks—Culverts—Sharp Bends of the River—State of the Nile Water during the Flood of 1887— Early and Late Floods—Cost of Protection to the Country—On whom the Burden of Protecting the Country chiefly Fallsa— .. .. .. 170-195 CHAPTER VL ENGINEERING DETAILS. Regulators—Regulating Apparatus—Vertical Needles—Horizontal Sleepers —Rolled Beams—Wrought Iron Gates—Stoney’s Patent Sluice Gates— Grating Gates—Bridges—Navigation—Locks—Sizes of Cargo Boats— Inspection Houses—Mills—Aqueducts — Syphons—Metal Pipes — Dis- charges of Rivers and Canals—Discharge Diagrams—Water Regulation Type Canals — Dredging — Bucket Dredgers —Grab Dredgers — Sand Pumps—Details of Dredging—Rates of Dredging—Specifications for Lock Gates, Wrought and Cast Iron—Gearing—Well Sinking—Masonry, Brickwork, Stonework, Concrete, Earthwork, Pitching—Iron Pipes— Dredging—Earthwork by hand—Rates of Materials, Labour, and Works— Account: Systemi=s. s. Siue ss oeae | so Secu see © ome men eae C GHAPTER VITIFE. | xxvi CONTENTS. Duty oF WATER, AND AGRICULTURAL. ‘a Duty of Water in Summer, Winter, and Flood—Drains—Duty of Centrifugal Pumps, Persian Wheels, and other Methods of raising Water—Cost of raising Water—Cost of Engines and Pumps—Cost of raising Crops and | Yield of Crops per Acre—Rotation of Crops, Rental ‘and Value of Land ri —Cotton—Manure—Size of Beds—Rotation of Crops—Systems of | Letting Land—State Domains and Daira Sania in Lower Egypt—Land i | Tenure, Khar4ji and Ushtiri—The Cotton Worm and Methods of Fighting t | against it—-Agricultural Almanac of Lower Egypt—Upper Egypt one . eee eee ee. t,w. 4s Pages. 234-268 CHAPTER TX: ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAL. The Establishment — Budget of Annual Expenditure — The Corvée — Its i History—The Work of the Corvée—The Abuses—Decree of the 25th January, 1881—Subsequent Decrees and Ministerial Orders—Further Abuses—The Corvée Relief—Great part of the Work done by the Corvée to be Performed by Contract—Sir Colin Moncrieff’s idea of the Corvée Redemption Bill—Agricultural Councils—Corvée on Maintenance and on Nile Protection—Penalties and Decrees—The Practical Working of the | . Corvée—Matters Legal—Practically no Canal Law—Abuses—Remissions } of Land Revenue, Compensations for Damages—Places where Irrigation . Matters are referred to in the Existing Laws—New Canal Law urgently needed—Appropriation of Private Property for Works of Public Utility— Laws about Water-lifting Machinery—The Decree of the 8th March, 1881, about Engines and Pumps—The Ministerial Order after the above Decree—The Establishment employed on the Works of Construction debited to the {1,000,000 Loan «wwe we es te 269-299 aoe SS Se CHAPTER X. PROJECTS. Reclamation of Waste Lands by Reservoirs in the Waste Lands themselves— The Wady Rayan Scheme—Kom Umbos Scheme .. .- ++ — 3007322 a CREAR hi CONTENTS. XXVIi CHAP TBR Sr Low Nite Fioops 1n Upper Eeayrr. Previous Low Floods—Loss of Revenue—Cost of Works needed to Prevent a similar Loss in Future Low Years—Low Floods referred to the Assuan Gauge—Necessary Improvements to the Canals in the Desert Headlands —The Levels to which Canals should be Cleared—The required Minimum Discharge per Acre per Day—Agricultural Almanac—The Sohagia Canal and its Treatment—Economising Water—Improved System of Feeding and Discharging Basins—The Millet Crop—Land incapable of Paying Revenue—The Rayan Reservoir and the anticipated Low Summer 323-336 APPENDICES os” SEL Sige acetone eter oan Ce ieee Oe 337 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. CRAP TE Ry & THe INTER, Physical Description of Egypt—Meteorological Data—Fiscal-—_The Nile from Lake Victoria to the Sea—Discharges of Main Stream and Tributaries. — Cataracts—Slope of Water Surface—The Nile in Flood—Discharges— Khartoum, Assudn, Cairo and Barrage Gauges—Nilometer at Roda— Width and Depth of River—Navigation—Scarcity and Plenty Gauged— Analysis of Soil and Water—Spring Levels—Evaporation—Pereolation— Discharge compared to Rainfall in Catchment Basin—Maximum Nile Gauges 1887—Distance from Barrage of Important Places on the Nile— Discharge of Nile corresponding to Assuan, Roda, and Barrage Gauges. Ecypt Proper extends from 24° N. Lat. to 31° 30'N. Lat. along the valley of the Nile, and comprises the country annually flooded by the rise of the river. All land out of reach of the flood is desert. Assudn is the southern limit, and the Mediterranean Sea the northern. The 3oth parallel of latitude, which passes through Cairo, divides the country into Upper and Lower Egypt, the former lying to the south, and the latter to the north. Of the. 2,400,000 acres of cultivable land in Upper Egypt 2,215,000 acres are cultivated and pay taxes; while Lower Egypt, with a cultivable area of 4,000,000 acres, has only 2,740,000 acres which pay taxes. The cultivated and cultivable land lies lower than the level of the floods, and has been deposited by the Nile in past ages, This deposit has an average depth of 10 metres, though B 2 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. there are places where soundings have disclosed depths of over 30 metres. The analysis of the soil differs considerably, according as the specimen experimented on is old or recent, has been deposited during a high or low flood, and as the locality from which it has been taken is near to or far from the river. Nile mud, however, always contains a moderate amount of carbonates of lime and magnesia, oxides of iron and carbon disclosing the existence of decomposed organic matter, and a considerable amount of volcanic detritus. It is to the volcanic plateaus of Abyssinia, where Lake Dembea itself, the reservoir of the Blue Nile, looks like an ancient crater, that Egypt owes the main part of its rich deposit ; while to the great swamp regions of the White Nile it is indebted for its organic matter, and to the basin of the Saubat river, probably, for its lime. Between them, these constituents form a soil difficult to surpass by any artificial mixture of valuable ingredients. Up to the very edge of the cultivated land, and overlying it in many places, sweeps the desert in undulating sand-hills. Near Assuan, the hills jutting out of the desert are composed of granite; north of Assuadn and down to the 25th parallel of latitude, they are of sandstone; and north of that again, to Cairo, of limestone. There is an outcrop of coarse limestone at Alexandria. Upper Egypt may be fitly described as a rainless country. In Lower Egypt it rains only in winter. The mean temperature of Alexandria is 20°6°C., and of Cairo 21°5°C., with minimum readings of — o’9° C. at Cairo, anicle4cg C. at Alexandria. The hottest month is August, with a mean temperature of 26°C. at Alexandria, and 29°3° C. at Cairo. The highest known has been 44°9° C. at Alexandria, and 47°3°C. at Cairo. The mean temperature in winter is 13°4° C. at Cairo, and 15°4° C. at Alexandria. The mean annual rainfall THE NILE. 3 is 35 millimetres at Cairo, and 206 millimetres at Alexandria.* There are no meteorological stations in Upper Egypt. If an isothermal line 20° C. is considered to pass through Alexandria, a line of 24°5°C. will pass through Assuan. Every kind of tree, except the date palm, is rare in Egypt; the trees generally met with are acacias, sycamores, mulberries, and willows; in the towns the acacia Sirisa, or “‘lebekh,” is the principal avenue tree. There are no carriage roads in Egypt out of the towns, if we except a few roads belonging to the Domains Administration in Lower Egypt. All transport is carried on by rail, river, canal, and pack animals. The principal pack animals are camels and donkeys. Oxen, cows, and female buffaloes are used for agricultural purposes ; while the two latter, of course, also supply milk. Sheep are numerous. Horses and mules are generally animals ‘de luxe.” Poultry, consisting of fowls, geese, and turkeys, is very plentiful, while tame pigeons are reared in millions. The popu- lation of Egypt is 6,807,000, of whom 6,052,000 are Muslim. The revenue of the country is 9,600,000/. per annum, of which 650,000/. is devoted to the payment of tribute to Turkey, and 4,450,000/. to interest on the debt. The debt amounts to near 103,000,000/. Summing up the above, the population is 1° 37 per acre of cultivated land, while the taxes amount to 1° 40d. per head of population, or 1*92/. per acre of cultivated land. Throughout this work, the Egyptian pound (equal to 1°0254, sterling) will be employed, and the Egyptian acre (equal to 1°05 English acres, or 4200 square metres). The Nile drains nearly the whole of north-eastern Africa, an area comprising 3,350,000 square kilometres. Its main tributary, the White Nile, has its sources far south of Lake Victoria and the Equator, and after a course of over 3500 * See Appendix F. 4 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. kilometres to Khartoum, joins the main stream, which is then 3000 kilometres to fie sea, Lake Victoria, covering an area of 66,500 square kilometres, is the first great reservoir of the Nile. The Equator passes through this lake, which lies in the region of perpetual rains, and receives an excessive supply of water from its many tributaries. Stanley considered the dis- charge of the Nile, as it left Lake Victoria, one-third greater than that of the Tangourie, the principal affluent of Lake Victoria; while the Tangourie itself could not have discharged less than 400,000,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours, if Speke’s recorded breadth, depth, and velocity observations, are near the actuals. This latter discharge is equal to that of the Damietta branch in full flood. Shortly after leaving Lake Victoria, the White Nile (called here Somerset) descends the Ripon Falls on a width of 400 metres, and a drop of 4 metres. The water here is both clear and cold. The longitudinal section of the Nile (Plate II.) gives much information about its course, while on the hydrographic map (Plate I.) are detailed observed heights and times of flood, and of low supply, of the different rivers, and the times and proportions of rainfall. Where so many differences exist between the statements of different observers, one has to choose either the means of all observations, or those which seem to carry most weight, owing to opportunities enjoyed. In the above plates, the Public Works Department figures have been adopted from the sea to Assuan ; Sir J. Fowler's from Wady Halfa to Berber, modified by the necessity of making the Nile at Khartoum 400 metres above the sea. Khartoum has been taken as 400 metres above sea- level, as this is the general opinion of the scientific world 5 Gordon’s figures from Khartoum to the Uganda plateau ; and a mean level for Lake Victoria. The Nile, which ranks among the first rivers of the world ems « = JSS ag ae eee git nome eo ma ae eee (Ps | re os —— SS a | D F mo s ae ———— ee . | he oe om t Wie | SS q SYA hse sce a | s WAN (Ng a P f \ 2 LN SRS Mr, ~ ~ ~ . \ ~ THE a fee Lu j ss Ww 3 | | wo uy aS | — 8 ~d aad | Ter ares Ss | ~ s S —= x S tS ‘iy, i at | ~ S Xo eS Hi S nits | = Ha | . Wy Wo RY 7 | Le dD | Wi Wa \ Zi ° Oo = { RY Ta | aa = | NS | » | 5 lu = > - s fs | \ a. wn } ei gon | << _— ONS | ei ise | : ia rag | = SS | ye © e | i be 3 = ‘ NS N \ | » < wi Z (Catchy. | < |< © Lite Cb commen < | Loe at i {ein oS SR = : —- = “2 ~ | d x | & i sy > om ~ oS = >. ait | | = ie a - f % ~ . QQ ~--4+ : ~ Saar = cere , f & ky : I iy 5S Ss | |e “~ as y = = S Bas x iat NN SS heats 40? S { ey a afiver S| PS S tm OS ~~ ~ v C ia Moe ‘ oof om a} te we “11h oo ¢ =— - oft y : x t Porats | Le | 6 y ™N ~~ Cat | Y N | > | nS SoS aN | | iS , : ° Sy 4k | sy 7° aioe | 2 sl ‘ ie | + | om 3 or NEI = ONY =| a ob & »~ ease som hea on Oth ee Oo) a ; ee = Sie n> eis 2 aes gos = aaa ha Bea oa me Ge e a! i oa See — Rm SY ps / — ee Cae Cm | t= h : =~ | te — | r. = | . i 1 er | y % | ease | LB | UR ae s | / > | a iti irre ACT At i | SQ Soe 2 eee | St ; EUR NR HE a4 8 vw a8 | 25 ZA 7 SSK Oo uf / a | 38 = ~ ee. 4 jo ; , Sail oa ¢ lars: | = <= get Sree ets | | an : \ | S = =\ wv? ml Ln Q, Sx | S 2k | P) a7 ‘NO qt 3 \ 7.(y / K ees | | 0 »~ - x) % : Qo 3 as ee RS | umes = pss | fe 3X Ki et Se utey hor ae | — aint ~ y 2 4“ = . | ct ~ | ef N XN 5s & S D8 y | oS 3 \ yu a Ne SM =< 3 5S Ss § sux Sey, ® eye iy oa &. Z > | = | | Sos SQV gS | &\ wi / | > 16h Re xs | np 9 : x & S oY r3\ aa é | | 2 SS { | | = MOO AO eK | AN 3 | | <3 as : Soe = S / | : \ Q > a \ * | pe | orl > | 8 Sry M5 | X | es ef | } | . ~“e | ~~ ™~ | = n | | | | RR Ti S | | yy ys AN ED | \ 1 rey ee = S « | Reeweties | 1 ee ed ee | Setar ee ee | Ne 3 {me ' | S | Ss | Al \ | aS wD + | fa =f i | we = rele | | t | a9 = | | Re BG a se eo le eee SUEEEEEEEEeeneee re = | | g | | heme | ; ¢ ‘ rae { cau x | call S | $ | reli | S| MINS TRS 5} 5 \ = S 3 | | | | | 9 2 | 2 | < ~ | S| | | g | A} ~ rey, 7S) a aa 7s S| S| | | S| \ .Si SS] = | | 3 S SN | S| S| > S ~ | SN >> | D 3) Ss SJ == ' > hy RQ] | Le S| S oo re sl ia a | BJ Sy my Aes coil We e | qe | TS: | 2s | fy5 | 5 a Bas Sh SERS ie ce t, - 8 | S SS %. > oa Uh; ae SS) eereke ? > | =| . Ea) a S| S| erp ae oy S| aS x2 | n=} | SS > a x : o> En yi] -< ‘ : +> | a | 3] S SH ~< rr “Gs S| \ as S| =| | 8 >| S| >| oz x | / ae S| & | 2 S 3S) ¢ A ye) / S i 3] | Ps 7 > 4 S| Q | : S | eater | 3 | KN y 9 Ss al Pe) 2 | w | | | & | ei 8 =| 8 nce > oy Si x S| | 3 5) a » | ss Ss %. 5 | 3 5] | a = oF a} 2] ee 3 | ms | & Re | | S ~ S| s | S| Kh | ss S| S} ww a 8} ~ | | Psa SS > | g d S| SS ~ | | - | = SS ! = S SS] | goes >| S S| Re | ; SS es | | oS S| w 5) = | ~ | + ; S| S alt ! a QQ] ~| = ll | —- — >| =) S| S| | ‘S > EE te Se = t | WI S| pa e mean | Soe i at NI SUE mre _ 8 — ys woe - “ THE. NILE. 5 in length and catchment basin, is the last of the great rivers in its discharge, owing to the exceptionally dry and sandy region through which its central and lower parts flow. Its maximum discharge at Cairo is 1,032,000,000 cubic metres per 24 hours. [One ‘of the tables at the end of the book gives equivalents in cubic metres per 24 hours, cubic metres per second, and cubic feet per second; but for all practical purposes, 1,000,000 cubic metres per 24 hours may be considered as equal to 400 cubic feet per second. | The following observations about the course of the Nile are interesting. Lake Victoria lies about 1120 metres above sea-level, and is 500 metres higher than Lake Albert, the White Nile having traversed in this interval, first the great Ibrahimia swamp, and then a succession of rapids culminating in the magnificent Murchison Rapid. While the temperature of the country near Lake Victoria is similar to that of Alex- andria, and all the tribes are well clad; at Lake Albert we reach the stifling heat of Central Africa, and the completely naked tribes. It is unfortunate that the survey of Lake Albert was made by Mason Bey in 1877, when there was a complete absence of rain, and the channel connecting this lake with the great lakes lying to the south of it was not navigable. The White Nile leaves Lake Albert at 5100 kilometres from the sea. At 4900 kilometres from the sea are the Fola Rapids, up to which, in Gordon’s opinion, it was possible to come from the sea in steamers, but absolutely impossible to pass it. Between Gondokoro, 4600 kilometres from the sea, and the mouths of the Gazelle river, 3900 kilometres from the sea, lies the region of “sadds,” or dams of living vegetation, which completely block the river, and, during flood, make this swamp act as a natural regulator of the Nile. It is a strange fact that between 1870 and 1880, i.e, during the time these “sadds’ EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. were cut and the river kept fairly open, have occurred the very highest and lowest foods of which there is any record in Egypt; though the openings themselves were not very con siderable. The Bahr el Gazelle has a feeble discharge, and acts rather as a reservoir than as an affluent. At 3800 kilo- metres from the sea, the Saubat river flows into the White Nile; this river has a discharge equal to that of the White Nile above the junction, and it is not surprising that the drying up of this stream in the summers of 1859 and 1860 resulted in very low supplies at Cairo during those two years. The catch- ment basin of the Saubat is about 150,000 square kilometres. Its waters are milk-white, and it is the addition of the white waters of the Saubat which causes the name of “White” to be given to this branch of the Nile at Khartoum. North of Fashoda, the right bank of the river is as carefully cultivated as the Delta, and supports a dense population ; the soil, how- ever, is light coloured, and lacks the rich dark-coloured deposit brought down from Abyssinia by the Blue Nile. The waters of the White Nile, which below the junction with the Saubat are milk-white, above the junction are generally green and unhealthy, from the terrible marshes just traversed. From Fashoda to Khartoum the river is a broad, deep, slug- gish stream, with a perpetual set on to the right bank; this set on to the right bank is continued as far as the sea. At 3000 kilometres from the sea, and at a height of 400 metres above it, is situated the town of Khartoum, where the Blue Nile from Abyssinia joins the White Nile, and the river is henceforth known as the Nile: The Blue Nile is comparatively clear during winter and summer ; but during flood, i.e. from the rst June to the 31st October, it is of a deep reddish-brown colour, heavily charged with alluvium. The Khartoum Nile gauge used to stand in the Blue Nile, about five kilometres above THE NILE. 7 its junction with the White Nile, and was, therefore, no exact record of the river. Linant Pasha calculated the mean flood discharges of the White and Blue Niles at Khartoum as 432,500,000 and 527,400,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours respectively ; the mean summer discharges he calculated at 25,700,000 and 13,700,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours respectively. There seem to be no other observations on the subject. South of Berber, at a distance of 2700 kilometres from the sea, the Atbdra river flows into the Nile; this river is another stream fed by the Abyssinian torrents, and though dry in summer, is a considerable river in flood, of the Blue Nile type. By calculating the discharge from width, depth, and velocity observations, which separately are very numerous, its dis- charge in full flood cannot be less than 400,000,000 cubic metres in twenty-four hours. Below the Atbdra junction the Nile has no tributary, and flows through its 2700 kilometres to the sea, a solitary stream. A flood-gauge at Berber would have been a valuable record. Between Khartoum and Berber is the first of the rapids, known as the Sixth Cataract of the Nile. Navigation here is easy in flood but difficult in summer. Between Berber, 2630 kilometres from the sea, and Abu Hamed, 2450 kilometres from the sea, are four rapids, viz. :— the Driki, known as the Fifth Cataract, the Bagerr, the Abu Hashim, and the MogrAt, all practicable in flood, but imprac- ticable in low Nile. Between Abu Hamed and Korti is the Fourth or Guerendid Cataract. It begins at 2396 kilometres from the sea and ends at 2281; on this length of 115 kilo- metres the Nile falls 58 metres. This series of rapids is easily navigable in high Nile, but impracticable at low Nile. Between these rapids and the next ones, past the town of Dongola, is a long reach of comparatively still water. North of Dongola 8 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. ere are the Hanek and Kaibar Rapids, carefully surveyed and levelled by Gottenberg. The former is known as the Third Cataract. Both are impracticable at low Nile. Between points 16389 and 1551 kilometres from the sea are situated the Wady Halfa rapids, known as the Second Cataract; on this distance of 138 kilometres the Nile falls 63 metres. At a distance of 1204 kilometres from the sea is the Assuan or First Cataract, the last of the series. The waterway here was considerably increased by Mehemet Ali in the vain hope of making navigation easy. The Second Cataract is imprac- ticable at low Nile, while the First is open to small craft. During flood both are passable. At Semne, to the south of Wady Halfa, are the rocks where Lepsius discovered the Nile gauges cut by one of the Pharaohs some 4000 years ago. These gauges prove that the granite barriers forming the cataracts have been considerably eroded since then. Between Wady Halfa and Assuan the Nile is trained by cyclopean spurs of stone placed opposite each other on either bank at regular intervals down the river. They were evidently put in to keep the river from eating away the banks, and to ‘nduce it to form deposits of soil in continuation of the spurs. The slope of water-surface at the rapids is about goo while it is about yso7 in the ordinary channel during flood. From Assuan to the Barrages, at the head of the bifurcation north of Cairo, the distance down the river is 968 kilometres and the slope of the water-surface pz45y;* from the Barrages to the sea the distance is 236 kilometres and the fall 19°10 metres in a maximum flood and 17°310 metres in a mean flood ; these give mean slopes of yah50 and tss20 respectively. * From Assuin to the Barrages the direct line along the cultivated land is 830 kilometres long, and the fall 77 metres; so that the mean fall of the country is yo¢oo: PAA E. ale LONGITUDINAL SECTION oF THE NILE. APPROXIMATE. a ” RAINS JANY TO DECEMBER ( dowstream 4:0 metres difference belween high & low supply << & SSE PS D> UGANDA NJ Q Ss A< 9 > W/E, > > = & RAINS NOVEMBER Bs : S © TO JULY * QC ew = . } 4 te eS LIGHT > « SS ee ss : a =| BS 9 iS aS nS> RY al _ : me sS 2 : ee 2 2 1 8 a SN = < = % BSS ee Bs Se ~NOVF Ae oe ee 3 = = > . : by 2S) , S f 8 & x nS S RAINS JULY TO SEPTEMBER 33 S RAINS APRIL SHEAVY = ae ee uae a em Git e q ~ ie) ( eS S 4 e} ND 7 is , i a Es iS Ss § a VERY LIGHT Ei me TO OCTOBER & 5 2 5 Bes ; ei ea = x c = x a HEAVY 2 5 t-3 SN el Green vegetation Rainta S % x s By > % Nos ‘ : d s e q 5 < Faas ; 5 Le V s 2 g 5 Red - rocky bed. of rwer Mean 8 > ee % Ss x S % ~ BS Nits ; eee sir ee O Se % < : 5 - : SS gg 3 & = at S > © es S Aw es.e XN 7 ~ on rn y ~ SS S a ets | iy z te BS 4 8. | Se Sp e.4 5 | ~ = < iy ; ron : Lew ; OOS E 7 | Approximate slope Uv high flood Kae === 5 ar Rt ea = Ptr <—_}+ _____-___——_+ SS SS SSS se eT ain) ae ae 3 | i u oi * je 13,000 t 4 13,000 1L9, 00 He == se = S - | > “4 O11. 7 7 . i ap ~ ‘ lan, . > n Cd gs + OD & =~ 19 MW 6 8 = = =| Heights of (lood) above mean sea Uv metres z 2 } S Prof, 10 th DS Ni D Ss) oS > + vt PO Ue : i ~ RR R RAN a> he = _ = a wa a ir “Cre J os = = 1 te B = : al | { | 4 Lae 3 ad wm a 2 © ee Dist Bera eae tre bid. eer S 5 8 é~ = & 6 XD mS S d QX wstarces from sea uv kilometres R Y 5 y ay 6S S iS © S e 8 83 qa 8 . 3 Bes { a Ee era ee eee eee ee | Pa aa (i 100 (ut 0 (0c 1) Distances from sea tr kilometres — hoa iy Longitudinal Seale I8,000, 000. fa Vertical Scale 20,000. THE NILE. 9 The rapids and deep reaches of the river between Berber and Assuan act as regulators, and minimise the great changes which would otherwise occur when the different rivers come down in heavy flood. Owing to these rapids the Nile is held up in flood at a high level, and enabled to saturate the sandy strata of Nubia, which during flood affords an escape for excess water, and after flood acts as a reservoir to feed the river during the winter and summer. Taking 2780 kilometres as the length of the Nile from Khartoum to Cairo, and the mean summer width as 300 metres, the evaporation off this sheet of water at 12 millimetres per day amounts to 10,050,000 cubic metres per day. Since the mean summer discharge at Cairo is somewhat similar to what Linant Pasha calculated it at Khartoum, in spite of the evaporation, the water needed for 950,000 acres between Khartoum and Assu4n, and the summer cultivation of Upper Egypt, the springs must feed the river very considerably indeed. This is further confirmed by the analyses of river water through the winter and summer more and more approximating to the analysis of well water. Many projects are on foot for storing water at high flood in reservoirs and discharging it during summer. These will be considered in detail when the reclamation of Lower Egypt is under treatment. By consulting the plan and longitudinal section of the river it will be seen that the grand reservoirs of the White Nile are chiefly depended on for water during the summer. The heavy rains in the valley of the White Nile begin in April and force down the green unhealthy stagnant water of the great swamp regions. This water reaches Cairo as early as the roth June or as late as the roth July, according as the rise is late or early. From ten to twenty days after the first appearance of the green water comes the red muddy water SIS TT ST ee RaUENINE 10 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. brought down by the Blue Nile from Abyssinia, where the rains begin about the middle of May. Once the red water begins to appear the rise is rapid, since the Atbdra is in full flood shortly after the Blue Nile, and the combined waters of all the different tributaries swell the flood. Since the rains begin in Abyssinia about the middle of May, the Atbara would come down much earlier than it does were it not that a whole month is expended in saturating the desert and its own | sandy bed; once that is done the Atbdra comes down in great | volume and with great velocity. At the beginning of the flood the velocity of the Nile is about 3 kilometres per hour, and it takes twenty-five days to traverse the distance between Khartoum and Assuan, and twelve days between Assuan and the Barrage. In full flood on a rise the velocity is fully 6 kilometres per hour, and it takes the flood thirteen days to come from Khartoum to Assuan, and six days from Assudn to Cairo. After the flood the Abyssinian rivers are the first to fall, since the rains cease in Abyssinia about the 1sth September, and the rivers being somewhat of the nature of torrents, immediately decrease. The Nile at Assuan reaches its maximum about the 5th September, and would under ordinary circumstances be at its highest in Lower Egypt about the 11th September, but as the basins of Upper Egypt are being filled in August and September, and emptied in October, the maximum in Lower Egypt is ordinarily about the roth October. The year in Egypt is divided into three seasons—summer, flood, and winter. Summer extends from the rst April to the end of July, flood from the 1st August to the end of November, and winter from the 1st December to the end of March. The mean summer discharge at Assudn is about 40,000,000 cubic metres per day, of which about 6,000,000 wpasoved (uo veununs ysaybry ayy AQ pamono) som sputo ‘ago apm (suche. nasDg gad ayy nuay) ‘eu0 O70] /0 SAM. POOL S19) ayy, -eununs mon Kany 10 .4q spamong, som qpun Khana pa yn .“pooyy yowyuas107 Kpsoa SD SOM POOPY, FG FYI, VPIVALBYIP YY (POUL BADY AITNUL (DLO GQIY YT VuONSST qo /Uupyy UNOZDYY, go ‘abrok p94 ay) roy wayhry yoru SOM ALIMOl 21,9) OYJ, SOLPUOTY IOYE FNOGP AS MOL, BXUIASUT “UMOLLO YY GO UOHIUNP AYn aA0Gn SenaUOTEY ¢ gnogn any ang ayy uo pos abnmb numopwwyy ey aLOO uldaS ‘“LSNONY ‘AINP —‘aNnar “AVW ors Ol —— sy'9 ae Saag eee ae Cl “SUVAA Ol Yes! IS SS (gens Baa a 40 NVAW oe or vi 91 81 SUVA Ol ie 40 NVAW | OZ sep wy : Zz NG mi 96°ZI a eat ve _ pala a 7 Ob Wea a 22 “‘SauLaW ‘"SOld NI ANWNS -EQoy 07 HLT Sxv0k KT Jo oFVAOAL PUL ZYCT LST SLST PLT Weagserp ores WOOLUVHM TH FLVId THE NILE. II cubic metres per day are expended in Upper Egypt, leaving 34,000,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours as the mean summer discharge at Cairo. The following table gives details of discharges at Cairo and the two branches just below the Barrages :— TaBLE I.— DISCHARGES. eee Discharges in Cubic Metres per 24 hours. Locality. Channel. Season, Maximum. Minimum. Mean. Cairoz: Main Nile Summer 62,000,000 | 25,000,000 | 34,000,000 9 ” Flood |1,032,000,000 |465,000,000 |680,000,000 9 s Winter 200,000,000 | 90,000,000 |130,000,000 Barrages | Rosetta Branch | Flood 562,000,000 |270,000,000 /380,000,000 ss Damietta Flood 405,000,300 [150,000,000 |240,000,000 Neen ee eee ee eee ee eee ee ee eee ee ee eee En During summer and winter the Barrages are regulated, and the supplies sent down the two branches are variable. Finding the mean winter discharge is a complicated operation, as there is the very greatest difference between one year and another, and between the beginning and end of the winter itself. If the recorded Barrage gauges of the summers of 1858, 1859, and 1860 are referred to the present section of the river, it would appear that the Nile was practically dry in those years ; but Linant Pasha, who was Minister of Public Works at the time, records nothing so extraordinary as having occurred then, and we may reasonably conclude that the bed of the Nile near the bifurcation has altered very considerably in the last twenty-five years; though the summer supply of those three years must have been very low indeed. Plates III., IV., V., and VI. give the Khartoum, Assuan, Cairo (Roda), and Barrage gauges for the high years 1874 and 1878, and the low years 1877 and 1882, and the mean of 12 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. the ten years from 1874 to 1883. The Atbara floods vitiate the comparison between Khartoum and Assuan. The Khartoum and Assuan gauges are in pics and kirats—one pic = ‘54 metre = 24 kirats. The Khartoum gauge, as before described, stood on the Blue Nile. The Assudn gauge is 945 kilometres above the Cairo gauge, and its zero is 84° 16 metres above mean Red Sea. It is cut in the living rock on an island at the base of the Assudn cataract. The Roda gauge is a graduated stone pillar in the middle of a masonry well about four metres square, situated at the southern end of Roda island, opposite old Cairo. The date of erection is reputed to be a.p. 861. During the French occupation the column was surmounted with a capital, on which were engraved the letters R.P.Fr—An IX. After the French occupation the capital was thrown into the well; in its place a heavily weighted wooden beam was erected resting on the column in the middle, and supported at the two ends on the sides of the well. Judging from the appearance of the beam, which has sagged in the middle, it would appear that the column has sunk ‘19 metre since the beginning of this century. The graduations on the column are very indistinct. The pics on the column are the same throughout, but the readings are taken on the column only up to the twelfth pic; after that on a flight of stone steps inside the well, and these latter are not constant. The pics below 16 are about ‘s4 metres each; between 16 and 22 they are about ‘27 metres each, or half pics. From 22 upwards they are again ‘54 metres each, or full pics. Major Ross, Inspector- General of Irrigation, thus accounts for this division. At the time the gauge was erected it was the custom to open all the canals as soon as the gauge read 16, with the result that a considerable volume of water was drawn from the river, and fom Liasa an agnimony~skop (yg toy sod gf asogn gsnl srvak yy aypjo pneu ayy agony Vn /umunDUL YPM 9191 90 Aquos ayy adi y addy an eumuny poo aaM0T (11,9 LG EIS LGE EN ET TESTS (Yous ONAsoy) AS MUOL, SUMPUOTIY POGL WAS LUDAUL aA0GD sa.eUl oF ¢9 o1ez aby Upnssy 40f/PDg 08 90U Lequiade? 2 AjA02 UTUNLPYY $1, 9f ANV? J6I "ESSI %F PLET Sxe0d QT Jo ofes0ae >Y FORT ‘LEST ‘SLST HLT wergerp SOld Ni 39NwS ogres NVOASSV ee 2 + eet SUV3A Ol a0 NVSW THE NILE. i a rise of 1 pic at Assuadn corresponded to a rise of 3 pic at Cairo. This went on till the Roda gauge rose to 22 pics, when the basins being full, the canals were closed ; after this the rise of 1 pic at Assudn corresponded again to arise of 1 pic at Roda, and the gauge showed full pics. Now, however, the basin canals do not run till the Roda gauge is about 19 pics, so that these divisions are not only meaningless but mis- leading. During winter and summer, regulation at the Barrages throws back-water on this gauge and makes it no true record of the river. During flood, however, it would be a valuable record were it not that the gauge reader, who holds an hereditary appointment, reads the gauge in an erratic way, and superstition has up to the present prevented his being interfered with. The result is that though the Roda and Barrage gauges are only 27 kilometres apart, their flood readings do not correspond. In full flood, with every gate open, the Barrage may rise 75 centimetres, while the Roda gauge will be found to record sometimes 75 centimetres and sometimes as much as 25 centimetres only.* Mr. Garstin, Inspector of Irrigation, has fixed a metre gauge inside the well, which is also to be read daily. He contem- plates removing the beam, which is a disfigurement, and restoring the capital, which is not only of historical value, but also a work of art. Another source of confusion at the Roda gauge was the closing of one-third the channel of the Nile near Roda by Ismael Pasha in 1862, and its subsequent opening by Sir Colin Moncrieff in 1885. For all stages of the river, therefore, the Barrage gauges should be referred to, and not the Roda gauge. Major Ross has referred the Roda * Possibly the gauge reader confused half pics with full pics above 24 pics on the gauge. 14 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. gauge to the Barrage gauges, and assigned the following reduced levels to the Roda gauge :— Roda gauge—pic 26—21°13 metres above the Barrage gauge zero. 25—20°59 ” ” 24—20°05 . - 23—I19'52 5 As ) 22—18'99 i 2I—18°70 ee - | 20—18°4 * = | oe Half = 5 ) pics. 18—17°89 - as ) 17—17°62 = a ) E6--17> 35 5 , 15—16° 86 a ; 14—16° 38 Pe 13—I5°90 I2—1I5°40 a 11—14° 86 as 1o—I4' 31 5 ” Or T3173 ” ” 8—13°15 os x 7—12°57 z a = To refer these reduced levels to mean Mediterranean Sea it is necessary to add ‘60 metre to each. The Barrage gauges are on the up and down stream sides of the right flank of the Rosetta Branch Barrage. The gauges are in metres, while the numbers 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, are to be read as 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, with the zero at mean Red Sea level, or ‘60 metre above mean Mediterranean Sea. With a strange persistency to do the wrong thing, this zero, which is the base of all levels in Egypt, has been referred to the Red and not the Mediterranean Sea. The following table gives the maximum flood and minti- mum summer gauges at Roda for a large series of years :— BLBL 02 1yp7R FD payoneg uw2q yung Komp oy ou poy YLgp jo qo rump wybry rym (u0eg anny PNM BL gp Jo ebrnb ayy somunduosrp yooh asopsip ebaoll abnumg ayy yp suosiinduoy KOM O7fBL— nn nn spne. sanseq sapnes abrDb ayy “painoos Kqanpnbas hung 1 p/p ‘egg, 1. 9 pautado Aqyontod pUguopy 727 BISL FAOGD asad Ip JO DuatogOM OYp pO Jus dad OG Pasops DYSMT Je MY] Prod ayy OF ANT GYD JO TFUUDYI AYy JO GuaUgVa.t) ayn kg papowps asp shunppar ayy poopy yp cemyn aboumg ayy 07 Finwo wapom 7 ums 1n pio. agqoyps ous alah mpoy AUT, QPDIMDGY AA0go SEARUOTIY Le ~umouyun asx abrnwh poy soada “AON 4 Loo aldaS ‘“LSNONV ‘Amne “ANAP AV Tiddv = =‘HOUVN 4ag4 ANWP 5 BLE Lim ] "\9 Lg-Z1 a Se eee ee Zt. Fe ean L SS hee SI-€l Pe” fer = ie Ce ale 8 © af ay waft ee a hy ae OD PS Sree oot nro SngessessS a He, mine ens tf = 1e-¢1 t i Fie Base TO ba are | Sed 5g uv3, 01 oe O70? =e Suvaa o1_OF-SL Ss tit Tt + Z| dO NVAW pa 40 NVA eS Ta SSE seuwaes HWE 2s e . N ‘ees Tiare | SNC ea A v1 se-o1s. ; J a SS Pes fees * a Se — i i ——— — e SeLl = I +_——- st 68:-LI ha gI + + . 2 &r-sil = al oz al al 00-61 fete a 5 oe al g0-02z+- bz + a SSYLAW C11Z 4 —- 9z $Old NI aONVS (In Poy) az abiosing 09 padiyae abferob poy “EBRT 01 FEST SxBOk OT JO OFva0Ae -Y ZYST‘LLST ‘GIST PLAST Weagerp ognes Csre9) WIOU A ALY Td ay - weer : 3 ee et te ee er ee a ren er te THE NILE. 15 TaBLE IJ].—RopA GaAuGE READINGS. Ease Minimum | Maximum von Minimum | Maximum Ven Minimum | Maximum Gauge. Gauge. Gauge. Gauge. Gauge. Gauge. pics |kirats| pics |kirats pics |kirats| pics |kirats pics |kirats} pics |kirats L737 20 | 18 || 1768 22 5 || 1799 20020 38 Ae ie 69 22-1 12. tooo 23 2 39 22) eben 10 DE ee I 1740 ZA \aO TE 23: |, <6 2 41 23 8 72 LO |) £6 3 42 220i 2 ae 2 6 4 43 220) (12 74 220476 5 44 23] 0 a 23 | 12 6 45 2A 20 76 21 6 7 46 2210 77 Dimple 2 8 47 2A ens 78 23| 6 9 48 22 6 79 24 oO || 1810 49 Pi) B2e Too 225i it 1750 ee 5 81 AP 6 i 51 L250 82 13 |- 6 13 52 22 2 83 18 2 14 53 24 3 84 FO eu 15 | 54 21 6 85 20] .© 16 55 23 6 86 22 2 17 56 24 ° 87 22 a 18 57 2A eh? 88 22) a2 19 58 B2 NST 2 89 22 2-|| L820 59 at |, Lon) 1790 21-| 18 ore 1760 22907 gI 21 ° 22 61 2a eee 92 POM.) 23 62 ZOn | 93 20 ° 24 63 23 6 94 TG, 4, 12 25 19 | 4 64 24 | 15S 95 20 | 21 26 22 | 18 65 23 5 96 2Ousle oy 22 | 18 66 222 97 20). 16 28 at | 14 67 20 | 12 98 Boo 2a 29 24 2 a 16 eal ee pics |kirats 1830 25 Be 33 34 | 30 36 1837 38 39 5 | 43 1840 re a0 4I 5.14 42 5) 20 43 7 5 Bae Oct A5y 5 46 6 | 21 Ay | a5 | 16 Boot ee 1A 49 | 5 |.%4 aS TE a RG ST the ordinary maximum and inundated Lower Egypt. is no record of the gauge reading of that year. pics |kirats 21 8 || 1850 22 Wey 51 21m 23 a2 3 423 53. 23 | 10 54: | 19 | 15 55 ZO a Ty 56 Oa 4 57 2s ate 58 19 | 23 59 23 | 18.|| 1860 24 ° 61 2a AA 62 22 6 63 ae 3 64 200/215 41 65 Oe ees | 66 22° \$22 67 24 6 68 24) 5 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. TasLe [].—continued. pics Minimum Gauge. \kirats Bae if 20 3 14 II 21 19 6 6 6 6 7 6 7 6 6 6 7 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 |= 18 | Maximum Gauge. | pics kirats|| 2151-20 24| 9 21,| 18 | se] 9 | 23 | 23>| 20 | 18 | 24 | 8 | ZT) 22 222-54. | 21 7 248) 5: | 24 16 28 ° \ mei) a" LOr| 21 22 a 25 14") ie 19 LOF Upstream Maximum. 16° 18° 15° 16°90 18°03 16°63 15°78 18°15 17°95 1752 85 o9 95 Year. 1872 Gauge in Metres. Upstream Minimum. II*44 55 "33 er 89 94 If 60 20 84 “42 *80 89 88 96 go II° Il If ELS II° II°* ie r2 > II’ If Il Tai 12° 12° I2° Upstream Maximum, Lae 16°27 18°60 17°46 Lies 15°39 18°55 17’°Jo 16°65 17°65 16°50 LP hs 17°00 17°14 16°95 15°28 70 ne Plate VII. gives cross sections of the Nile near Kena, and a little to the south of Cairo, from which it will be G 18 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. seen that a maximum flood section is 8000 square metres. Plate VIII. gives cross sections of the Rosetta and Damietta branches at various points down their course. It will be noticed that the flood section of the former is about 4000 square metres, while the Damietta branch begins with a flood section of 3600 square metres, which changes to 2400 and further on to 2000 square metres. This latter branch is silting-up. Plate IX. gives longitudinal sections of the two branches, which show how much the bed of the Damietta branch has silted-up as compared to the Rosetta, while the flood level in the middle reaches of the former is about 1 metre above that in the latter. Plate X. gives a discharge and mean velocity diagram of the Rosetta and Damietta branches of the Nile below the Barrages. Mr. B. Baker gives the following formula for the discharge of the Nile :— Q = 200 (k+ 1)** + 150.* Q = discharge in cubic metres per second. h = height in metres above zero of the gauge. Lombardini had previously given a similar formula :— Q = 383 (2+ 1°10)". In all questions of discharge the constants adopted for con- verting surface to mean velocity, or slope to mean velocity, are such important factors, that differences cannot be avoided. For the discharge diagram on Plate X., Bazin's coefficients have been used. It will be seen from Plates VII. and VIII. that the flood surface varies considerably. The mean flood surface of the Nile is about 1000 metres wide, with 450 and 2000 as mini- mum and maximum widths. Of the Rosetta branch the mean * This formula gives very high discharges for the Assuan gauge. The author does not know what constants were used. ‘sana {DS QOFS “NOILOSS GOOTS as § ‘aDIG qomntoy oe (0007, QDLIOT) TY SALOULYO Of ee ong.0s ayong fupa buoy ae as ee ieee alee a eo on PS ae ee ane ' i f i ue { | i \ { | 1 \ 1 { 1 | ! a) | Nae ISAS aA Pe ati |r! it en [tae oe er ‘kane [eae eine or? Bl saa Ue Sree ghee meer ect CCN Nok te pe ee ee er eae aS . s s 3 SS] pono] BS g ‘ & RS 3 S _ ; punoag Poi LET ENA Vee ec ewe eee ee env ae eyo Pees et NIRS Ai repeal ateccre Gs iad Ae pe Ae AT AN Bie Re NY Re eSNG; Qo | olsasssl SS V ‘ NK ieee ras hSHIWWGNGGCE Lf cgaSSISSH g Ne S NS A ‘ 1 NS es bs b * iN ‘SS © ‘ ; | SP fe 8A NIUL YY |p —— gee aera 8 Pe SOLYIUL QQG -G ---------------yy------------------4 a S ulseg te (L99L)2 69 16 SM ese iS ie > 8 ozs ‘TY POT OTN a “s OM OL iG. USE VTeSReS el 5 o ry) a i S . re 8 (a) FOV JAOGV SAYLAWOTIM OG LV NOILOAS SSOYD ais aT Sea a) ‘sa.lauUDs ynQ9 (a07 obosing Ty v24qouUigg Ee Eady ere ess ee aes ‘aps rrunpenbuoy NOlL9aS 40074 Meira me a tie Te wen ene eae oe he er ee oie ar arte iar aaa cgi! Spee aha) Soa vied aman lear ee lny Crcessinie ci ai Seaagly et ge ne i ' ! \ \ \ I \ 1 } i ' i \ 1 \ | tr t 1 I" l \ \ 1 eet ' ' \ IS a ‘ me rams ar a nae Ue e aege ae aie tar i 7 o = & & o> PPA] ea a ait, Bi eee CNet =, s as a ae } Ss 8 g . 3 = punoag AS SS WO Nr we abs 2 i. L881 a oa: ¢ seg Peyy 7 SS SMOF-29 Ved SEN Te S ey S Mis 997 Ueda ‘ SOLU OE 6Z-99 POOL] apy a \ a (om) govuUuVa JAOAV SAYLIWOTIY ods LV NOILOIS SSOUD &— sauomgg7'7—>q m3 © tS =) iis Sos SS} bf Ss x3 SP ANTIVA WIN IHL AO SNOLLIDAS SSOUD —2 rs VA DLV Td Litt INGLE. 19 flood surface is 600 metres wide, with a minimum of 450 and maximum of 900 metres, while the Damietta branch has a mean width of 300 metres, with 200 and 500 as minimum and maximum flood widths respectively. At Cairo, the girder bridge at Kasr el Nil is 403 metres between the abutments, while the smaller bridge is 178 metres, making a total width of 581 metres. At the Kafr Zayat bridge, on the Rosetta branch, the flood line is about 530 metres, while the Benha bridge on the Damietta branch is 285 metres wide. The average depth of the river in full flood may be taken as 7mcires. The only hindrance to the navigation of the Nile below the First Cataract is the want of water at low Nile. Between Assudn and the Barrages boats drawing under 1 metre of water can ply during the summer, except in very low years, when boats drawing .:70 metres ply with difficulty. During the winter, boats drawing 2 metres of water can ply easily. The Damietta branch is navigable by all classes of boats from August 1st to March ist, and for boats drawing 14 metres from March ist to April 30th, after which date navigation is stopped by temporary dams at Benha and Zifta. Navigation between Mansourah and Damietta is open throughout the year to boats drawing less than 1} metres of water, and to boats drawing over 14 metres for eight months. The bar at the mouth of the Damietta branch varies, but boats drawing 2 metres can pass ordinarily, except in the early stages of the flood, when the sandbar blocks the channel for some fifteen days. The Rosetta branch is closed to navigation from March 1st to July 15th between the Barrage and a point 20 kilometres south of Kafr Zayat; between this latter point and Rosetta there is always enough of water for boats drawing 1} metres, though the temporary dam south of oy 20 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. Rosetta stops navigation from May to July. Boats drawing > metres can ordinarily pass the bar at the mouth of this branch; during flood, however, the bar behaves very badly and makes the passage very uncertain. During summer the velocity of the Nile is about 13 kilometres per hour, and in flood s kilometres per hour. Since the breeze is generally from the north-west, while the current flows northwards, navigation on the Nile is very easy and pleasant. From August to January the locks at the Barrages are open, and boats of any length can pass, provided their beam is not too TABLE I1V.—BARRAGES. LS ——e—eeee Dates Ce |. ininat. August 3m° .. .- 2 May 5 Bor I September 5 .. 3 7 ato - Sh PUEO. Na 4 Sas ‘ ” I5 .- 2 ie 20 I RS ZO Wer Ss 2 | Sas as " nore ” 25 «- 4 est I » 30+: 3 June 5 : 6 October 5"). + 2 LO 5 mie eat 7 aie : Mog to 4 S20 6 2O 5 umes 6 » 25 2 9° 32 a3 2 eof ass tr %) July “5 1G 7 42 : 42 great. During flood the 12 metre wide locks are open at both Barrages ; while in summer and winter at the Rosetta Barrage the 62 metres by 15 metres lock is used, and on the Damietta tte OO-PL ~~~ ase 1 1 1 ! 1 ! | ! 1 ' ! ! ! ! i 1 1 4 T SOMIUL ALDTUDS QOOf DOLE e. A ay Dae Ye we ia ro pre 28S TROT : 5 SS = a ae SIN avy abnumg 2S UPOWe i 9 wINWOS —— = WP TWH hi [ZAIN SO SLO {= == ‘— — ae ae pea 3 aR es eee eens a Se ce SO.IULD ES SALOU QE: £ Te ‘SOMDUL Ob-b 7° : (agpunxos1.ddpy) QOOLIOY MIOAY SILJZUIOVIM CEC “WY LIFIWVG QODLIOT WOOL, SPAFIUOPIY CZF “YLLAISON SOMIUL OLONDS QOQY “DOLE S a Og Wee “Did 7 OOD. LL Ayn ae a ee Ng NW tt Ge ie ; Pe © Reais iistinslals es Wir BNA WY OC LTH ObDLID GT WY setup Cot “ANONVWYS SOLJIUL OLOVTDS O02 WOLF y SS SOL}IUL 0 j= ~ = =~ ===-= : SIMOU CL OE TY O9-G4 Ta AVOLIO J AUOLY SOLDUOVIT 69 *MAAIZ SADUL OLOYYDS 09% DIA O40 7, ADDALD MOTAG SOLVIUL QO PU = Tae 2h OL eae ee re Ys Re SOLPULD G: aes WE ae UPL Th el “WVHSUYIG OP LL Tu IOOLIOY UIA, SA.NNUODY oy satu. a1ombs QogEg Delp O49'T AQOILO YF MOTQ S7ZU2 Q9 BOS TWeapT SEAS eli w LV ae TR pe rrsr * 0107, IDDLIO 99: Mb -----> g-- 09. Of 09-6 Tak 0@-3L 14 QODLIOG MOJAQ seTPUL IQ)’ ‘HONVUE VLILIIWVG OF ¢ 7Y ¥ Ope milac, /arypunxrosidds H) QDDILOT WoL, saouopy 291 “MOOSAQ i SS GS-8 Ta OVE THY QODLIOY WOM. SOMDULTIY Tl) “IIRIZ WAVY ‘SOLIUL 08 QOTh DOL Bag Ue OAIT, @DDLIOT SOUL O $ th oT 00-6 Tu Cr OL TY GESL Ta LL Ot To OODLING ULL). SOLU, OF * KAGLWLVY sotjout {bs oops DaLy BOS UeOW Y T T ! f val t 0107, ODL Ti * cian au 8 neice Ss S eae opus See } ! 1 © I 1 1 oe i ee as vk “i | fil a RY Lo FOUL {E-96 1-4 WDD MOOG Saou 000 t HONVY@G VLLISON Ue 2 PLA di 0g bur IPDIF SHAONVUE WIIN AHL AO SNOTLOAS SSOUD "Td ABE NILE: 21 ee ee ee ee ee ee Barrage the 50 metres by 12 metres lock. The opening for boats at the Kasr el Nil bridge at Cairo is 22°8 metres wide, while the Kafr Zayat and Benha bridge openings are respec- tively 27 and 21 metres wide at high Nile, and 24 and 18 metres at low Nile. All these bridges are opened once or twice per day. Table IV. gives the approximate dates on which the Nile attained its maximum and minimum levels at the Barrage between 1846 and 1887. Table IV. is supplemented by Table V., which gives similar information for Assudn between 1871 and 1887 :— TABLE V.—ASSUAN. Date shh Dele | Nae AUSUSE 20.05 sae a 2 May 5 gidteauts I eG I LO re ee I ” 31 3 ne ES epg ters I September 5 6 ion 2) Stay gH — 5 inne I i= 4g Die Sage se 6 is 5 ua I |} 9» 31 Gina I =; 20 fs 2 loners oes 2 - on ee — le eR Ole eo opr Be 2 , 30 re — nay i argent ae I October 2) “Fi gee I Se) 2Oe eet vgs 3, ae 2 —— | Ly 17 The following tables give the average heights in metres at five day intervals at the Barrage. Table VI. gives the average downstream Rosetta Barrage gauges from 1846 to 1871, while Table VII. gives the average upstream Rosetta Barrage gauges from 1872 to 1887. The 5th of June is the EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. TABLE VI.—DOWNSTREAM ROSETTA BaRRAGE GAUGES, 1846-1871. Se —— ee Month. January February .. March April May .. June.. Vilyes:. August *September *October .. November December sth. 12°98 12°34 11°80 Li°20 10°85 10°62 PL O31 14°27 TO" 27 16°65 15°46 13°80 roth. r2- I2 Lt II° 10° LOR Il 89 °26 72 13 82 63 “23 | 14° EO" £6" Gc ree 94 28 62 I2 69 Il Io a E25 Tae Ly Te. cr 15° Toe 16° 14° "49 15th. 79 16 ao ‘07 “17 65 50 32 51 74 20th. I2 12 Il Tat IO Io If 137 “69 ‘o4 "49 “Ol "68 Sa Er" +33 Lo Eos 16: 8I 43 4o *43 36 ipa oars i 10° 12° oo 16° zO* 10° nee 25th. 63 95 ao 94 68 12 If 10° EO: Io TOES 30th. “49 | gt | °28 | 89 65 | 38 38 | "08 | 64. “C4! 16" +96 “er 12 It ce Lz - DL = Io° Om 14° 1 Mean. 74 Uk: 54 O4 74 qe - 86 EES 16° ee * Add +20 metre to September and October gauges to obtain upstream gauges. TapLeE VII—AVERAGE UPSTREAM RosETTA BARRAGE GAUGES, 1872-1887. eT ee Month. 5th. roth. 15th. SS oe January .. 14 S4 03,4209. 35 February 13°11 | 13°02] 13°00 March 12°87| 12°85 | 12°85 April 12°58] 12°51 | 12°48 May Tea 12°30| 12°26 June La 4) 213 2°14 July 12°34| 12°47 | 12°60 August lr4ts2| 15°19 15°84 | September : | 16°52) 16°62 16°72 | October 16°98 | 16°91 | 16°91 November . |r5°77 | 15°36) 15°02 | December | | : ES I2 aoe 20th. °26 eas 94 “hd Al "22 "18 °78 “84 *82 ON, 25th. -18| “8x | aS “40 | 22 "29 | "08 26 | 13s Mean. 30 THE NILE. 23 minimum in one table and the roth of June in the other, while the 5th of October is the maximum in both tables :— Table VIII. gives the same information for Assuan from 1871 to 1887. Once a discharge diagram is made for this gauge, this table will give the mean volumes entering Egypt exactly, as there is no regulation here to interfere with the readings :-— TaBLE VIII.—AveERAGE AssuAN GAUGES, 1871-1887. Month. 5th. roth. 15th. 2oth. 25th. 30th. Mean. pics |kirats| pics |kirats] pics |kirats| pics |kirats| pics |kirats| pics |kirats| pics |kirats January .. GO, lnrE Gale 20" 6 I Bal 2Oe ee Sis Ou) Se i. 22 February 5 i § |---| 238le Ano ek fale alee Ace OR eas On etm mee March 4 I 2a ZO 3.1 £6 Sale Ei 3 5 3 Oo Sk April 2B ESO eo Te Os ea wero eee Bh ee oe ere May Z I fae E22 i |, 20 Eero 1 ezo ED 2s une F.. L222 2 I 2517 2155 8s Beh Sy ee Si le L On ee cen ees July ee 45} TO | 8" 1 Or 60l 35) 7a Sal Ga 2 ome 2a eee ames August) 5. | Ti | 2S: | Eos toe EAS E2One Es Stit5: | Tas O) | ete ees September |.16 | 37) £6 | 4/164) - 3 a5) (220) ese ry cess 7, ele on October..s: | $4.) 15.) 149 |2 Orne? Fi el 2a eee leet? Caer Aajel2e\.28 November | ro | 13 | 10 | to @) | 52 9 I Sp 5 8 | 6 9 9 December Tee ce 7.) 55 7 8 a 2 6 | 20 6 | 13 7 5 The irrigation of Upper Egypt is gauged by the height of the river at Assudn, and is independent of the Roda gauge. When the rise at Assudn is below 14 pics, there will be famine in Upper Egypt. Between 14 and 15, scarcity. 15 and 16, difficulty in irrigation. 16 and 17, abundance. 17 and 18 strong floods. Above 18, inundations and harm. 24 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. For Lower Egypt we have to refer to the Barrage and Roda gauges :— Between 14 and 15 metres at the Barrage, or between 15 and 17 pics at Roda, distress in Lower Egypt. Between 15 and 16 at the Barrage, or 17 and 21 at Roda, scarcity. Between 16's and 17°5 at the Barrage, or 22 and 24 at Roda, abundance. Between 17°5 and 18°5 at the Barrage, or 24 and 26 at Roda, strong flood, and possibly inundations. At the beginning of the chapter it was stated that the analysis of the soil differs considerably. According to the French savants of the beginning of this century, the analysis is :— NV Ste fe tein toms) ge Carbon 9 Oxide ~... 6 Siler mine meet tess > 14) p11 OO parts. Carbonate of Magnesia 4 ‘ dame ee TLS Alumina .. .. =. 48 } Note the excess of alumina and lime. After the analysis made by Messrs. Payer, Champion and Gastinel at Paris, in 1872, the result is :— CiliGaa tees settle chs 4s LGU ee eee eh ix 1 5S Magnesia 210d ‘ I Ioo parts, Lime 1°32 -t004 INZOLCL Nee tea tena tres O38 fOr t Phosphoric acid =...) .216, 103 tO 232 The very careful analysis made by Dr. Letheby and Professor Wanklyn in 1874-75, of Nile water, given in Banke Level LONGITUDINAL SECTIONS or ROSETTA AND DAMIETTA BRANCHES or tHe NILE. Moodilod: — 22a Barrage Zero 60 centro | Above MeATU SCH. Barly hevel -. Flood Level... Ground Level... ae SummerLeva: Mean Bed Level... Barrage Lero an | 0 Q00Ve MEQ SC. PLATE IX. fen aoe / ere Longitudinal Scale 1000. 000. Vertical Scale 400. flood level down Damieta Branch ts in middle reaches one Metre above that in Rosedta Brandy wy : eS ROSETTA BRANCH. —< 2 i ve _ peck _ Se ____, 20 METRES ws i x S = TR ig 7 ‘ | = | TF a of evel (See S ee = area z a z a aa = ape = + NG | x iS a xX w my Pah T i Se SO ee a Bee ee: eee i —<— | Bs oa = me YE 4 a oi = a i = ae Soon eas 16 Ee ~ " Za | a — a aries = ee eee ale = = = eee eeal > ze 2 \ lee = | a s : el ee eee z a3 bes tire ee es A? a Sen ene =, Q — Nore es 1 aed = See ee ao : Ts Baars = =< _ AN — Xe mieS — — | —— _= = — a me fe ) Ry - eal iers —| aN pee = a j_ > — | Ie = ip = = = a 10 alae es Sel S ss Fe a i fate | a YX ~ = Tare (nat ae i | 3 IR, | A, yom = = i - = | 2 lg Wig = = = Re S aT —> aa } —__f e | | se =e hs as | SF ees = eee ine: Sass x € scot mi ft aie 3 : fe ——a aL a See —§ ee aaah Z| ns ee = | ee a Blea oes See eae Seagal (De co ae : 5 Se —— aa = Lea = iB fee Wiel To eeore as. | a ——— ~ = ee ae a phe ae ' = 1 See ae ae : es ! cg omens : st ro [evs Besse orl e te \\\ : Sela} ee a 3 [= =a +10 = Se is - : eee as 8 = Tr ae = — : iP sp = & | but = = = iE: i es ——t 8 i ae a | "Sta } — ~~ N Eee aie ~ as Se FAY | & — A gr ly S r= ey 6 jez = ~ x aaa rae eens ett = ee. 7 a | = ot + Pee ey, NEN TSI es Sines? ord al = 8 hese - K 0 eee thes pipes eee as S — x ee aA | me nN { ash aa = ee ee - eile eer a | B = 5 | [eae [ iS IL RQ [ a) Sea es a + : 0 = ~S> Son 5 SSN > 10 2Q 30 40 S00 CeO 70 80 ‘30% \00 1L0 120 i380 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 280 KILOMETRES trom Barrage ng deep THE NILE. 25 Mr. B. Baker's paper,* gives the sedimentary deposit of Nile water in the flood of 1874 as :— Oreallic, Matters’. 5 2 Phospltone acidh a5 oe oh eee aS DAAC W yissa tt Soeeta cae pe eee 2°06 Mapinesia<-\ 7... 5 Sup ete \ ee eaee ene Potash ct it eee cee 1°82 Sin foo parts. Soda “ae 151,000,000 4,681,000,000 Bebrudiye "s: Wa ¢se eee 110,000,000 3 080,000,000 March Situ eee 70,000,000 2,170,000,000 Pit lee tr eae ae ee 45,000,000 I,170,000,000 IM AVE cain! coe ase er ee 34,000,000 I, 350,000,000 JUNE ira wee ee See 34,000,000 I ,054,000,000 JUV se ay wiee ar acetate 72,000,000 I ,020,000,000 August it ee See ace 525,000,000 2,170,000,000 Deplemper ic. fie- eee ee 675,000,000 16,275 000,000 October: 4. come 142 7°66 “3 26 Sherbin 2 1s ueae mer 221 1235 f 26 Sea oda ies) 2s oa 236 — ‘60 * Mean sea is 60 centimetres below zero. EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. TaBLE X1.—continued. ROSETTA BRANCH. Place. Distance R. 1, from Barrage. Barrage upstream » downstream Khatatbey Danasur Kafr Zyat Shirbrakhit .. Desook.. Atgeh Rosetta Sea in kilometres. ° 3 45 88 119 154 168 138° 18 31 °06 °06 °38 *86 “30 Paes ae f& Ot GO OO Date. September 25 25-26 25-26 25-26 26 25-27 24-25 TapLE XII.—TABLE SHOWING THE DISTANCES FROM BARRAGE TO AswAn, Catro to ASWAN AND BACK, IN KILOMETRES, MEASURED ON THE STEAMER TRACK OR DEEP CHANNEL. UPPER EGYPT. De eee Name of Place. Barrage Qasr en Nil Bri. Rédah gauge .. Hawamdiyah F. Badrishén Kafr er Rifai... Aiyat Kafr Ammar Riggah WaAstah Ashmant .. Beni Siiéf oe Distance’ from Barrage. 143 Distance|Distance Distance| Distance} from | from || Name of Place. from | from Cairo. | Aswan. | Barrage.| Cairo. 20° | 968 || Biba 163 | 140 o | 945. || Feshn T7O Nias 4 | 941 Maghaghah 199 | 176 18 | 927 Beni Mazar 216 | 193 25 | 922 Matat Factory . B80 i207 38 | 907 Samaltit 244 | 221 50 | 895 || Minya 268 | 245 64% | 880% || Beni Hasan 293% | 2704 73% | 871% || Rodah 308 | 285 85 | 860 || Tall Amarnah .. | 330 | 307 102 | 843 Dérit Escape .: | 340 | 317 120 | 825 Nazali Gantb . 352-4] 320 Distance from Aswan. 805 792 799 752 738 724 700 6743 660 638 628 616 THE NILE. oo TaBLe XIL—continued. Distance} Distance|Distance| Distance] Distance] Distance Name of Place. from from from Name of Place. from from from Barrage.| Cairo. | Aswan. Barrage.| Cairo. | Aswan. Manfaltit .. au ZEA SOE Samtah & Dishna} 665 642 303 Mangabat 406 | 383 | 562 Qina (Kena) 685 | 662 | 283 Asyit A260.) 307 548 Ballas 701 678 267 Abu Tig 2. AAS teA2G: bes Qift .. 704 | 681 | 264 Sid fa 454 | 431 514 Qés . TITAS GO E 254 Tima AGO 409) |b OS Naggadah 7164 | 693% | 2513 Khizindartyah Qamiilah .. 7 abe grt ee | ss and Tahta .. papa Luxor 749% | 7264 | 2183 Ssthag oe 5200 7) AQ 7a | 1A Armant 7OSey| GAS 200 Suhagiyah Canal | 521 | 498 | 447 Matdadna F. 798k | 7754 | 1693 Akhmin $20>|-SOSm iO 4tO Isna (Esna) 8074 | 7844 | 1604 Menshiyah BAZ | 520m. 425 El Kab 840 | 817 128 Girga 5615 | 5385 | 406% || Kelh el Gebel.. |. 846 | 823 | 122 Baliyana .. 5784 | 5552 | 3894 || Idfu .. 859 | 836 | I09 Abu Hammadi 623 600 | 345 Rammadi Canal | 885 862 83 Hew.. xe] 1629 604 | 341 Gebel Silsilis 898 875 70 Qasr es Sayyad 6374 | 6143 | 3303 || Kom Ombo O25= 1,002 43 Faw .. 654 | 63r> | 334 Aswan 968 | 945 ° Taste XIII. TABLE SHOWING THE DISTANCES FROM THE BARRAGE TO THE SEA DOWN THE DAMIETTA AND ROSETTA BRANCHES, AND VICE VERSA, MEASURED ON THE STEAMER TRACK OR DEEP CHANNEL, IN KILOMETRES. Distance|Distance from from Barrage.|the Sea. |Distance|Distance from from eee the Sea. | ROSETTA BRANCH. Name of Place. Name of Place. — DAMIETTA BRANCH, Birshams .. 23 213 | Ashmtn Escape:.. Zoe eas Ataf .. me 35. | 201 Gerés 28 205 Khadarawia Hd. Khatatbeh 45 IgI : | 44 192 D EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. TaBLE XII1.—continued. Distance) Distance Distance Distance | Name of Place. from from Name of Place. from | from Barrage.| the Sea. Barrage.| the Sea. DAMIETTA BRANCH. ROSETTA BRANCH. Benha 51 185 Baiwash Escape .. 2 aESs Mitbera 62 174 | Gizai Lars 7 Zita 88 | 148 | El Kam | 7S 21 555 Mansuria Hd. .. git | 1444 | Tenoub 95 I41 Mit Badr .. 106 130 | Nagila.. 102 134 Samantid .. 124 | 112 | Kafr Zyat LEQS tbe Mansurah 142 94 Kuddaba |} 140 -| 96 Sherbin 168 68 | Shibrakhit | 154 82 Rasel Khalig Station | 182 54 | Desook 168 68 Mit Abu Gdalib 194 42 Bahr Saidi | 170 | 66 Farasktr .. 203 33 | Fuah 181 | 55 Damietta .. 227 Tue eeere | 184 52 Sea 236 © 4,'Defena-.. 195°.) 233 Rosetta 221 5 Sea 236 ° | The following table gives approximate discharges for the Assuan gauge, and accurate discharges at Cazro for the Roda and Barrage gauges. TasLe XIIIa. aan e eee rere eee eee Assuan. Roda. Barrage. | | Discharge in Discharge in | Discharge in Canes Cubic Metres Ganae Cubic Metres Gr | Cubic Metres ao per Day at pee per Day at oo | per Day at Assuan. Cairo. Cairo. pics |kirats pics | kirats) metres ° 22,000,000 | II 175,000,000 13°00) 175,000,000 I 34,000,000 | 12 220,000,000 ‘25| 195,000,000 | | 2 | 48,000,000 | 13 e202 300° "50 | 220,000,000 Ldap WO GHIE. TABLE XIIlAa.—continued. Assuan. Roda. Barrage. Discharge in Discharge in Discharge in Gauge, | Se Dapars | Gage, | CabieMenes | cag, | Cubie Metres Assuan, Cairo. Cairo. pics |kirat pics |kirats metres 3 66,000,000 | 14 335,000,000 75 245,000,000 4 | 90,000,000 | I5 405,000,000] 14°00 275,000,000 iE | 120,000,000 | 16 465,000,000 25 305,000,000 6 | 160,000,000 | 17 500,000,000 “50 335,000,000 7 210,000,000 | 18 535 000,000 7s 370,000,000 8 260,009,000 | 19 570,000,000] 15°00 405,000,000 9 | 315,000,000 | 20 605,000,000 25 440,000,000 Io | 375,000,000 | 2I 640,000,000 250 475,000,000 II 440,000,000 | 22 685,000,000 a5 515,000,000 12 510,000,000 | 23 780,000,000} 16‘00 555,000,000 13 585,000,000 | 24 845,000,000 2 595,000,000 14 665,000,000 | 25 970,000,000 “50 635,000,000 15 750,000,000 | 26 75 675,000,000 16 845,000,000 17°00 720,000,000 7, 955,000,000 "25 765,000,000 18 £,080,000,000 "50 810,000,000 “75 860,000,000 Approximate. 18°66 910,000,000 25 960,000,000 "50)| 15.015 5000,000 Gauge} Upstream, | Rosetta} Barrage. | Below 12 pics at Roda, and 13°5 metres at the Barrages, regulation at the Barrages ordinarily makes the gauge readings of no value as indicators of the discharge. 36 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. CHAP LER. It, Upper EGypr. Basin Irrigation—Description of this System of Irrigation—Basin Canals— Syphon Canals—Extent and Yield of Crops—Engines and Water Wheels— Water Consumption—Details of the Basins—Depth of Water needed for the different Basins—Filling and Emptying Discharges—Effects on the Roda Gauge—Principles on which Regulators in the Transverse Banks should be Designed—Lists of all the Basins of Upper Egypt—Dates of Filling and Emptying Basins—Areas of the Provinces—Details of Canals —Irrigation Capacity of the different Systems of Basins—Esna and Kena Provinces—Girga, Assiout, Minia, and Beni-Souéf Provinces—Ibrahimia Canal Details—Deterioration of Country on the Ibrahimia Canal—Want of Water in the Bahr Yusuf Basin System—Improvements—Geezah Province —The Fayoum—lIts Statistics and Improvements. Tue delta of the Nile, from Assudn to the Mediterranean, having been formed by the gradual deposit of alluvial matter from the Nile in a state of flood, the high land is always on the river bank and the low land near the desert.* This feature is found not only along the main channel of the river, but also along its branches. Plate VII., which gives cross sections of the valley near Kena and Cairo, shows these features distinctly. This natural deltaic formation has been slightly modified by the artificial construction of dykes running both longitudinally with, and transversely across, the direction of the stream. These dykes enclose basins which are annually flooded with water during the inundations. The slopes, therefore, are not quite gradual, but in a series of terraces or steppes. Upper Egypt, with the exception of the Ibrahimia Canal system and the Fayoum, is divided into basins by earthen * Roorkee treatise on Civil Engineering. UPPER EG VPT. a7 dykes running transversely to the direction of the river, starting from its bank and reaching the desert. A dyke running parallel with the river, along its bank, encloses the basins on the river-side, while the desert generally forms the fourth side. Some basins are still further divided by one or more dykes parallel to the direction of the river, in order to divide the low lands near the desert from the higher lands near the river's edge. Large communities have made further subdivisions, surrounded their property by dykes, and made private basins, which they can irrigate at will, and of which they control the water supply independently of the main basins. Almost all these basins have special canals to lead directly into them the flood-waters charged with alluvium. The beds of these canals are almost midway between low Nile and ground-level, i.e. about 3 or 4 metres below the level of country, or the same depth below ordinary flood. The canals are consequently dry during winter and summer. Many of the feeder canals have no regulating heads, but only a mass of loose stone at the take-off from the river. The heads of the canals taking from the Nile are annually closed with earthen banks, which are cut about the roth or 12th August, when the millet crops in the basins have been removed, and the Assuan gauge being ordinarily at 14} pics, the muddy flood water can flow freely into the canals. Each system of basins depends on one or more canals for its irrigation; some of the canals are insignificant, and feed only a few basins; while some, like the Sohagia, discharging 30,000,000 cubic metres per twenty- four hours, are veritable rivers, and irrigate a very extended system. As the feeder canal passes each transverse dyke it is provided ordinarily with a masonry regulator, to control the amount of water entering the basins. Each system of basins possesses an escape, which allows the water after it has 38 EGYPTIAN [RRIGATION. deposited its alluvium, and stood some forty days on the land, to flow back into the river. Wherever the desert impinges on the river bank there is a break in the system of basins. This happens very frequently on the right bank, but seldom on the left, where nearly all the cultivated land lies. The filling of the basins begins ordinarily about the 12th August, and in the southernmost basins is completed by the 1st October, when the escapes are opened and the water discharged back into the Nile, ordinarily by the 15th October. As one advances northwards the date of discharge, and con- sequently of emptying of the basins, becomes later, until at the last basin, north of the Barrages, the escape is ordinarily opened on the 11th November, and the basin dry by the 30th November. When the time of emptying the basins has arrived, if the basins have been completely filled and the Nile has fallen considerably, the escapes are opened and the water discharged. When masonry escapes do not exist the bank is cut; this breach has to be annually repaired before the next flood. If the flood has been a low one, and the basins are not quite full, wherever possible the upper series of basins is drawn on and their water discharged through the lower, thus completing the irrigation. If the Nile is still high when the time of emptying has come, there is no resource but to let the water stand in the basins till the Nile is low enough. This occurs very seldom indeed. The delay in drying the basins is said to engender worms which destroy the crops, while the delay itself puts off the ripening of the grain into the month of April, when hot winds parch the corn and make the crop alight one. The land near the banks of the Nile is so high that ordinarily the Nile cannot cover it. It is flooded eight or nine times a century, when the Assudn gauge reads over 174 pics. This land is planted with Indian corn in flood, and UPPER EGYPT. 39 irrigated by means of minor canals known locally as syphon- canals, because they bring their water at a high level from an upper series of basins and pass it under the next feeder canal by a syphon. Since the slope of the basin canals is about zp} 5, while that of the Nile is 5455, and that of the country 74 it takes 363 kilometres for the basin canal to gain 1 metre on the Nile, and 234 kilometres to gain 1 metre on the country. These syphon-canals, which permit of a double crop on the SYSTEM high lands near the Nile (viz. Indian corn during flood and wheat, beans, &c., in winter), are dammed up in so many places along their course in order to raise the water surface as much as possible, that the silt deposits are enormous. The yearly clearance of these deposits is a very serious matter. On the left bank of the Nile, from Assuan to the Ramadi Canal head (a distance of 83 kilometres), there is but one small basin. From the Ramadi Canal head to a point 20 kilometres north of Kena, where the desert impinges on the Nile for the last time (a distance of 220 kilometres), the basins are irrigated by three systems of canals, which are separated from one another by rocky headlands of desert, but provided with ‘canals traversing these desert headlands. From the last desert bank to Sohag, a distance of 40 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. 144 kilometres, there are two systems of basins. From Sohag to a point 30 kilometres north of Assiout, a distance of 174 kilometres, the Sohagia Canal feeds the basins. From the tail of the Sohagia Canal to Girza, a distance of 235 kilo- metres, the Bahr Yusuf, aided by six canals, feeds the basins; while the remaining 112 kilometres to the Barrage are fed by the Girza Canal. From Assiout northwards, on a length of 295 kilometres and an area of 233,333 acres, Ismael Pasha in 1873 took up the land corresponding to the tracts irrigated by the syphon canals, dug a deep summer canal, known as the Ibrahimia, and introduced summer irrigation. The Bahr Yusuf, which used to take out of the Nile, had its head transferred to the left bank of this canal, and was thus supplied with summer water for consumption in the Fayoum. Previously to this the Bahr Yusuf used to obtain its summer supply from infiltrations only. The Bahr Yusuf, after follow- ing the depression near the desert, finds at Lahoun a gap in the hitherto continuous chain of Libyan hills; it escapes through the Lahoun regulator, on the line of the Lahoun embankment (which does duty here for the Libyan hills), and irrigates the Province of the Fayoum. In summer the Fayoum and Ibrahimia canal tracts pro- duce sugar cane and cotton, while the depressions in the basins are sown with millets and cucumbers; these latter are off the ground by the 12th August. During flood the high lands, the Fayoum, and Ibrahimia canal tracts, produce Indian corn and sorghum. In winter, wheat, beans, clover, &c., are sown over the whole of Upper Egypt; in the basins with- out ploughing, elsewhere after. Since the basins dry quickly after the water recedes, and the scattering of the grain on the slime and ooze can only advance at a certain rate, every effort is made so to regulate the water escaping from the basins, UPPER EGYVRT: 41 TABLE XIV. a Summer Crops. & s Sugar canes) <. G4 -OCO;A Ges at LG. 960,000 COUOnY wire sae 50,000 3 LO as 500,000 Vegetables... 9,500 LOW as 95,000 Melons Wve- =. 14,500 S TOM. 145,000 Millets: > 47 6 a 133,000 : Orbs 798,000 Rice Jee es 75500 3 Gultes 375500 Total... 275.500 acres: f2 55355500 Flood Crops. & & Dates .. .. 2,600,000 trees at 40 .. 1,040,000 Indian corn .. 530,000 acres ,, 4 +. 2,120,000 530,000 acres. 43,160,000 Winter Crops. . cS Wiheatae.. na: 675,000 at 4°5 3,037,500 BeanSs 72.73 AB O,000: 5, Ar 5 2,025,000 Cloyet: 225 >s 350,000! 55,085, © 1,750,000 Barley eee 205 3000 4, 4°0 820,000 Lentils .. -. TA01,000 ,, 5 © 700,000 Flax See 15000) .,°58*0 8,000 Tobacco a 9,000 ,, 20°O 180,000 Esna (« Helbe” A 103,000 ,, 3,9 309,000 and Kena. Gulban” 22000. ;, 46 3° O me 96,000 Ktc. sen tio 46,000 ,, 3°0 138,000 2,011,000 £9,063 ,500 Grand Total—z,215,000 acres at £6°6 = 4145759,000 oe 42 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. that more land will not be daily exposed than can be sown. The importance of the different seasons in Upper Egypt may be thus compared; taking 2,215,000 acres as the culti- vated area, 278,590 acres are under summer crops, yielding 2,535,0004 ; 530,000 acres are under flood crops, yielding 3,160,000/.; and 2,011,000 acres are under winter crops, yielding 9,063,500/. at A4A,750,0002, Or 66/7. per acre. details of the different crops. The crops of the year may be valued Table XIV. gives the To accomplish this irrigation there are employed 1852 kilometres of flood canals, 1328 kilometres of basin dykes, and 1601 kilometres of summer canals, while the flush irriga- tion is supplemented by : 5000 waterwheels, representing . 54 portable engines _,, 65 stationary .,, 9 Total 1700 h.p. nominal. 521 ) 3284, ape5 The amount of water entering the canals of Upper Egypt in an average year is as follows : — APARTES Xa | Discharge in Cubic Metres. Provinces. Summer. Flood. Winter. Esna and Kena | 1,000,000 Girga, Assit, Minya, and), Ow, ? ? | em cnehm a ee ame 2°; 20° | HawyoOmm Sese( k *..- see | a X600,000 Gizeh 400,000 | | 8,000,000 | 37,000,000 115,000,000 6,000,000 14,000,000 172,000,000 I ,000,000 5,000,000 3,000,000 500,000 9,500,000 UPPER EGYPT. 43 During summer the mean supply of the Nile available at Assuan is 42,000,000 cubic. metres per twenty-four hours, of which Upper Egypt takes about 8,000,000, and Lower Egypt 34,000,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours. The summer crop of Upper Egypt is 278,500 acres, obtained in part from well irrigation, independent of the canals. The summer crop of Lower Egypt is 935,000 acres, obtained from 25,000,000 cubic metres per twenty - four hours. A discharge of 9,000,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours is wasted, owing to the non-completion of the summer canal system. The duty of water in Upper and Lower Egypt is about the same in summer, viz. 26 cubic metres per acre per day. Plate XI. gives a plan of Upper Egypt, showing the basins and canals. Since the slope of the country is greater’ than that of the Nile, it is not difficult to obtain a sufficient velocity in the canals to carry the Nile mud to the furthest parts of the basins in any well-regulated system. There are altogether 103 basins on the left bank in Upper Egypt, covering an-area of 1,174,022 acres, while on the right bank there are 62 basins covering an area of 288,392 acres. There are therefore altogether 1,462,414 acres in 165 basins, with a mean area of 11,400 acres per basin on the left bank, and 4650 acres per basin on the right bank, or for the whole of Upper Egypt a mean area per basineof 9000) acres. OF the balance, 461,586 acres are under summer irrigation on the Ibrahimia canal and in the Fayoum, and 291,000 acres are under flood irrigation on the syphon canals, “Lwovof the largest basins in Upper Egypt are Delgawi, at the tail of the Sohagia system, and Koshésha, at the tail of the Bahr Yusuf system; the former contains 48,000 acres, and the latter 40,000 acres. The smallest basin is possibly Maasra, 44 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. on the right bank of the Nile in Guzah province, with only 500 acres. The basin dykes have an average section similar to the left-hand figure on page $3; a few of the transverse dykes are pitched with stone on their northern slopes, to break the force of the waves when the basins are filled with water. Since the average depth of water is 1°50 metre on very extended areas, and Upper Egypt in flood time is like a great lake in the heart of the dry parched desert, it is common to have sudden severe storms which endanger the banks. The villages within the basins are on artificial mounds, protected with stone; and during flood they are so Fic. 2. up by boats or by the dykes. The accompanying sketch gives a general plan of an independent system of basins. A is the head of the basin canal. B is the syphon for the syphon canal. C is the high land under millet. D, E, F, G, are basins, of which the tail basin G is nearly always the largest. H, K, L, are regulators. M is the final escape over the rocky desert head land. ; IX > = oT? Ww on aby DAL DT dtl. Y SPLJIULO 2 ADDL d (UMA SPY ut Os {pow 2 "0. \ wot : | \ [ sprpap. (wah ity, JOUTUNG -ADIL0 SUISD Y Op AdfaL SUIHIZG PUD SIIQUININ DOO _ 009 t- J) DIS LdDAODL HAddn AO dVW u LW Td UPPER EGYPT. 48 Each basin may be assumed to be from 5000 to 15,000 acres in extent, or on an average 10 kilometres long and 4 broad. Previous to the rise of the Nile, the basin canal is closed at its head by an earthen dam, which is cut about the 12th August. If the system is a perfect one, there is a regulating head at A, and a regulating escape at M, with regulators in the transverse banks at I, 2, ance 7) “his, however, is very rare indeed. By the 12th August the Nile is high enough to enter the basin canal with great velocity, and carry its slime to the furthest basin G, all the regulators being fully open. The regulators are kept open until the lowest basin G is within 30 centimetres of its full supply, when the regulator L is partially closed ; and so on, up the series, until the first regulator H is reached, when the filling of the first basin D is taken in hand by closing the regulator H. When the basins are empty, there is at first a severe draw at the head of the basin canal, and too great a velocity to allow of silt deposit. As the basins fill up, however, the slopes become less and less, and eventually become so small that in very many of the canals a heavy silt deposit takes place. If the canal has a discharge insufficient for the series of basins, the closing of the regulator takes place very late, and the velocity not being checked, there is no silt deposit in the canal; when, however, the canal has a sufficient dis- charge, the closing of the regulators causes heavy silt deposits. If the flood is an average one, the operation of filling the basins is over in forty days ; that is, if the filling began on the 12th August, it is over by the 22nd September ; if the flood is a very high one it may be over by the Ist September ; if a low one, by the rst. October. When the upper basin D is full, the canal head is closed by throwing in stone pitching if there is no regulating head; by closing the 46 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. head regulator, if there is one. This generally takes place about the 22nd September, though it may be over on the 1st September. The evaporation and absorption, meanwhile, which are together about 8 millimetres per day, and, there- 4200 x 8 100 fore, equal fo ( =) 33°6 cubic metres per acre per day, considerably reduce the quantity of water entering the basins. While these basins are standing simmering, the Nile is steadily falling, and very frequently the water in the first basin D becomes higher than that in the Nile. In the southern provinces the 1st October is the day to begin dis- charging the basins. This is a very delicate operation. The situation must first be taken in. In an ordinary year the upper basin D is full of water, the other ones are within 30 centimetres of full supply, the regulators are closed, holding up about 1°50 metres each; and the escape M is closed. Ordinarily the escape M is first opened, and then the regulators L, &, H, so that basin D is discharging more into basin E than E is into F, and basin F is discharging more into basin G than the escape M is; by this means all the basins are filled to their proper height before they are dried. Basin D is the first to be empty, and basin G is the last. As the beds of the basins gradually appear, beginning at the south and moving northwards, because the south end is always higher than the north, the sowing broadcast of the seed on the slime commences. The first basin in Upper Egypt is dry ordinarily by the 5th October, and the last by the 30th November. This is the basin system in its simplest aspects in an ordinary, and therefore favourable year. If the flood were always a good one, an independent basin system would always be the best, as the system is self-containing, and at UPPER EGYPT. 47 the time of discharge, discharges straight into the Nile, and does not complicate matters lower down. It will be noticed, however, by referring to the sketch on page 44, that the system above this.one was in communication with it; and if the flood were a bad one, the upper system was capable of sending down enough water to completely fill the basin D and flush all the other ones, and leave not a single acre unirrigated. The system below the one on the sketch is not so favourably situated; no water can pass the rocky desert at M, and, consequently, if the flood is below the average, the upper basins of the next series will not be completely filled, lacking the aid from above. The syphon canal at B, which irrigates the high lands flush, will also be an impos- sibility, and consequently the lands below these rocky head- lands, and below the Sohagia Canal head, where there is no syphon, are always poor and inferior. It is on account of the frequency of low Niles that systems in communication with each other are much to be preferred. It often happens that during the filling of the basins, owing to an accident, or the failure of some regulating appa- ratus, one or more basins get more water into them than their proper allowance, and threaten to burst the transverse banks. ‘This water has to be carefully distributed among the other basins. The relieving of the basins is quite a distinct operation from the final discharging. If one of the transverse banks is breached, which fortunately happens very seldom, the whole series of transverse banks may have to be breached to prevent inundations ; and that means impossibility of good regulation, and heavy repairs afterwards. All these diffi- culties exist because there is a great lack of masonry regu- lators in the transverse dykes and a lamentable absence of masonry escapes. If there was a good masonry escape 48 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. attached to each system of basins, surplus water could easily be disposed of; but since there is no masonry escape, as a rule, the engineers know well that once the final escape is cut there is no closing it again, and consequently have to be very hard put to it indeed ere they cut the final bank before the proper time of discharge. With a good tail escape and ample masonry regulators in the transverse dykes, it would be possible to run the flood water through the basins during the whole flood, and thus gain much additional slime on to the lowest basins, instead of as at present bottling up the basins through half the flood and letting them simmer under a hot tropical sun. After passing a point about 20 kilometres to the north of Kena there are no places where the desert impinges on the left bank of the Nile, and the different systems of basins are in communication with each other. These basins are in principle the same as those described above, except that they all tail into one another. The two main points of escape are: Abutig, south of Assiout, for all the basins of Girga and half those of Assiout; and Abu Kadiga, opposite the Koshésha basin, for all the basins between the Ibrahimia Canal and the desert. Since the construction of the Ibrahimia summer canal, the basins between the tract irrigated by it and the desert, which depend for their water on the Bahr Yusuf, have never had enough of red muddy water, and many of them can only be filled at the time of discharge, for a few days, with clear water which has left its deposit else- where. This means great deterioration of soil. Captain Brown, Inspector of Irrigation, has been able to increase the muddy water supply by supplementary canals, taking direct from the Nile, and discharging through syphons under the Ibrahimia Canal; while Major Ross has left the breach in UPPER EGYPT. 49 the Koshésha basin bank open through the flood, and thus obtained for this extensive tract of land a supply of muddy water direct from the Nile, which has increased the yield of the crops fully 30 per cent. In discharging the water from this long series of basins through the Abukadiga dyke, three factors have to be considered: 1st, all the upper basins shall have been filled to their proper level; 2nd, the Koshésha basin shall not be drowned out, and have to relieve itself into the next system of basins, and swamp them; and 3rd, the water shall not come down in a quantity and at a time incon- venient to Lower Egypt, which at this stage of the flood lies at the mercy of this basin water. The author saw the Nile at the Barrages rise 1°50 metre in thirty-six hours in October 1884, on the rupture of the Abu Kadiga dyke. Below Koshésha lies the province of Gizeh, with a self-contained system which works well. One cannot study the principles of basin irrigation without admiring the skill and order of the whole operation. How- ever much fault may be found with the unskilful treatment of the new summer irrigation in Lower Egypt, the basin irrigation of Upper Egypt, gradually developed through 5000 years, commands sincere admiration. If a fraction of the money spent on Lower Egypt, or on the Ibrahimia Canal in Upper Egypt, had been spent in completing the masonry works needed in the chains of basins extending down the valley of the Nile in Upper Egypt, the benefits reaped would have been astonishing, as compared with what has been done in Lower Egypt. The crop in Lower Egypt is 33 per cent. more valuable per acre than what it is in Upper Egypt; but the cost of raising it is so great, that the peasantry of Lower Egypt are not better off than those in Upper Egypt, while the Treasury receives positively less per acre from Lower E 50 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. Egypt than what it does from Upper Egypt. And now that some 400,000/. are spent per annum on earthwork, the fellaheen of Upper Egypt earn nearly all the money, as the Nile does their irrigation, and the sun their ploughing; while the mass of the fellaheen in Lower Egypt can with difficulty leave their fields. It will readily be understood that since the country has a slope of about zg}qp, the mean depth of water needed to cover a large basin some 15 or 20 kilometres long is much greater than that needed for a small basin some 5 kilometres long. To completely fill a basin of— ; fL tres aaa MictiEss ae ae iO From 35,000 to 45,000 ee E755 OF 7350 i 2;0o + 1°90 sine O00%.5 35 5000 eee ee = 1°50; or 6300 needed a 2 ; I°5 + 1°o - | 31O.7000.,, 25,000 mean as =e ih 25-5 OF 5250 depth of 2 Wt, 88500. 5, 10,000 tO s or 4200 Less than 5,000 acres Tie = or 3150 For a healthy system the quantity should be supplied in forty days, and since gooo acres represent an average sized basin in Upper Egypt, the mean discharge of a feeder canal should be ae = 105 cubic metres per acre per day. The basins are never filled to their full depth by the feeder canals ; they are filled to within some 30 centimetres of full supply, and then the canal heads are shut. This, however, does not affect the supply needed from the canals, as the loss by evaporation and absorption is 8 millimetres daily, or 32 centi- metres in forty days; the canals, therefore, should supply A200 fe = 105 cubic metres per acre per day; and the escapes 32 X 4200 discharge 4200 — = 2856 cubic metres per-acre, UPLER EGYPT. 51 or 143 cubic metres per acre per day for twenty days. After the canal heads have been shut, the full supplies into the basins are obtained by manipulation between the basins themselves. The above quantities will hold good for even the large basins, since most of them have reserved for millets large areas which are separated from the rest of the basins by subordinate dykes, and are only filled at the time of the discharge after the millet crop is off the ground. In very many of the larger basins, so late is the full supply in coming, that all the higher lying parts of the basins are sown with millet in August, and reaped in October, before the final filling takes place. These fields are not protected by banks. By examining the tables of basins, which give the times of discharge of each series, it will be seen that in an average year the quantities of water discharged from the basins of Upper Egypt are as follows :— Acres. Cubic metres per day. Kena and Esna, 300,000 X 143 from 1st Oct. to 20th Oct. = 42,900,000 Girga and Assiout, 500,000 X 143 ,, 5th ,, 25th ,, = 71,500,000 Bahr Yusuf series, 500,000 X 143. ,, 5th ,, 5th Nov.== 715 500;000 Geeza and Rikka, 100,000 X 143 ,, Ioth ,, Bites, § = 9 bA 2004000 1,400,000 acres. The rest is discharged into the Rosetta branch of the Nile. The supplies to be expected in Lower Egypt in an ordinary year, taking five days from Kena, four days from Assiout, and one day from Koshésha are therefore :— Cubic metres. 5th October 7; «» 40,000,000 per day roth 9 x He LTO;000,000. ,, 16th - ee +s 200,000,000 * 2oth i a Ju 200,000,000. 5; 26th - ee .» 160,000,000 a 31st 9 ae Be 80,000,000 5 6th November.. ne 10,000,000 - EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. The discharge of the Nile at Cairo when the Barrage gauge is :— 13°o metres is 175,000,000 cubic metres per day 114.70 ets yy 275,000,000 35 1570 0.) 4,0405,000,000 R 43 EG! 4-053 75553000,000 % 5 P72 |) Hs 7 20,000,000 es 18‘o 53 910,000,000 i S and therefore when the Nile rises from 13°0 to 14°0 metres on the Barrage gauge the increase is 100,000,000 cubic metres per day. When it rises Cubic metres per day. from 14°0 to 15°0 metres on the Barrage gauge, 130,000,000 is the increase eS TO LO TORO: = v5; z $5 5 150,000,000 = | 1 LOTOLO 170 -,, me 93 3 175,000,000 s LTO tO Os". 55 4 . re 190,000,000 “ An extra discharge of 200,000,000 cubic metres per day means, therefore, in an ordinary October when the gauges are between 16 and 17 metres, arise 1°20 metres. By referring to the following diagram of the Assudn and Roda gauges for 1886, it will be seen that this rise does actually take place in October. This diagram has been prepared by making the Assudn gauge of the 1st October correspond with the Roda gauge of the 6th October, because at that date the filling of the basins is practically completed, and the discharge not yet begun. The gauges are also made to correspond on the 17th August and 8th November (Lower Egypt dates), and the Assuan curve very slightly altered between October 22nd and November 8th to allow for the Assudn water reaching Cairo UPPER EGYPT. 53 in five-and-a-half days during full flood, and in eight days at the early and late stages. In the table of canals in Upper Egypt, it will be noticed that the level to which the bed of each canal is cleared has been referred to the Assudn or Roda gauge, according as it is upstream or downstream of the Koshésha basin This is a Fic... 3. “UPPER EGYPT gauge CNV SS eV ae EE TEES eles Hh, ae La KN VY very practical method of understanding the canals, without the aid of levels. The Nile is so uniform in its flow during the period of filling the basins, that if it has reached a certain height at the time of filling, when the Assudn gauge was II metres, say in 1881, it will be at the same height for the same gauge in 1888. By this means the canals are cleared so as to allow them to take in water at a certain stage of the river. Formerly they used to be cleared to a very low gauge and given slopes of 5455, but now they are cleared to the gauges recorded in the table,-and given slopes of 55355. . By this means the silt clearance has been much reduced, without any appreciable loss of water, since the Nile rises very quickly at 54 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. the beginning of the flood after it has once passed eight pics at Assuan. For the Geeza province the levels are referred to the Roda gauge, as it is close at hand, and much affected by the escape water from the upper basins. Advantage has been taken of the long continuance of the flood in this province, compared to the stay in the upper provinces, to have smaller canals for filling the basins, since a good supply can always be counted on for 60 days, instead of only 4o days. Owing to its lying so far north also, this delay is not prejudicial to the crops, as it would be in Esnaand Kena. The readiness with which an intelligent Egyptian engineer refers every basin and canal to the inclined plane of the Nile flood starting from the Assuan gauge, is surprising to one accustomed to refer all heights to a horizontal base, such as mean sea. In the long Nile valley, however, to the south of Cairo, there is great wisdom in adhering to the inclined plane, if for nothing else, as an insurance against mistakes in levels. In order to obtain the required waterway in the regulators under the basin banks, it has been the rule in Upper Egypt, apparently from time immemorial, to make the floor as low as possible, and the openings few in number. This was evidently done for reasons of economy. This fact has so engraved itself on the Egyptian mind, that in Lower Egypt to-day, where deep foundations mean heavy expenditure owing to the high spring level, there is scarcely an engineer who does not think it better to lower the floor than to increase the width. Taking the ordinary opening as three metres wide, and the depth of water.on floor as 3°3 metres, the waterway per opening will be 1o square metres; and if a calculation has to be made as to the number of openings required in each transverse bank of a series of basins, the method of working is as follows :— UPPER EGYPT. 55 The four basins, 4, B, C, D, form one section; assume that they contain 10,000, 5,000, 10,000, and 15,000 acres respectively, with differences in water level of 1°0, 1'0, 1°5, and 1°5 metres. The basins are all within 30 centimetres of full supply, except the first 4, which is full. The three basins B, C, D, have to be raised to full supply at time of discharge, and Fic. 4. the basins have to be empty at the peas end of 20 days, say. [N.B.— 1 acre = 4200 square metres—A contains 1 metre depth of water; @ contains (1°00—*30 =) -70 metre depth of water; C, ditto; and D contains, say (1°50 — *30 =) 1 20 Metts. Therefore Cubic metres. Basin A contains 10,000 X 4200 = 42,000,000 » 3B ” 5,000 X 2940 = 14,700,000 we ss 10,000 X 5040 = 75,600,000 Total «.- ° 101,700;0006 In order to contain full supply :— Cubic metres. Basin B needs 5,000 X 1,260 = 6,300,000 extra 9 Co <9, 810,000 560,260. == 12,600,000. -,; a 5» D . 59. 15,000 % 1,200F= 93,900,0007 5, In order to fill the basins in five days :— : Cubic metres Cubic metres. per day. D, 18,900,000 in 5 days O ) has to [ 4,000,000 has to : C, 31,500,000 and there- N} pass (¢ 6,000,000 sen B, 37,800,000 ) fore Regulator (M) daily | 7,500,000 In order to discharge the water from the basins in the remaining 15 days, EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. Cubic Metres per Day. EOL, 700,000 Regulator P has to discharge daily pemtline ee’ 3 11,000,000 Th 67,200,000 ’ ea 3 Pe ae = 4,000,000 24,700,000 a ttl Views es pode 2,000,000 > Taking maximum discharges for each regulator at the velocities corresponding to the mean heads :— Cubic Cubic Velocity. | Required e Area. No. of Metres per| Metres | Metres ver Open I penings. Day. PEE Sec: second. |Sq. Metres. Regr. M has to discharge | 7,500,000 Sait sd iamat 7 50 5 paar 2s, ” 6,000,000 Com mee erly 40 4 »- O ” » 4,000,000 | 46 | PRET 20 | 2 ye E »” » Id 000,000). 527 | 21 60 6 [About 3°3 metres depth of water is as much as is safe to assume for the whole time of discharge. | Of course many other factors might have come into the calculation, such as the passing on of the supply from the system above this one, or the necessity of discharging the water in 30 days instead of 20 days, but the principle on which the calculations are made remains unchanged. Referring to the map of Upper Egypt (Plate XII.), it will be seen that the basins on the left bank of the Nile have been divided into 11 sections, and on the right bank into 13 sections. The left bank sections run from 4 to K, and the right bank from Z to X. These divisions have had reference to the method of discharging the water, rather than to the feeding of the basins. The following list gives details of the basins in the different sections. UPPER EGIL FT. “20BJING IOC NM SO aia eusy q1asoq eSYRIN EeUGe advosq vyry upqued "QIUTAOI ‘sadvosy oe ana spV ( wy) pure yppurey § ce oD Pye . -) uvqueg *S[BUv.) J9pI0 4 es ° ee [e30.L ee ee unydsy ‘uewirsy a Usnog cus BSBUIE NY wAeqIS UES pue py YyPY pue ipyuey TOL "* upqueg ‘uIseg jo owen “UISeg SORON: zl6 396 Tey TV | Peeqay "m01}99S ‘SOTDST UI osviIeg WOIf 9OUL}SICT etree sateen TAX Gav], EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. of .goL oLl.gh Oe hE oz.gh ia oS .6L of .0g *29eFING JOYE AA jorl a eud yy eusy] T4 eusy, "QOUTAOI 19S9q] eURYIL J uayeqes) ‘sodvosy cc 00z'z oe ee ee epeIeN Be GOR. Bi Mati Th qyued eypeyg | of1‘z juRUISY pue SeULV Egz ‘oF oe nee [P10], e 00S‘ L °° JURULIY 6“ 000 Sr oe ee ee ekvqid i Sgg°z Ieyye prureye yl : As re ie glg‘t IY pue prueyeyl ‘sjeuey Jepeeq arene ‘uISeg JO OWIeN, VI cl Il Ol “uISeg JO (ON ‘panuyuoI—'T AX ATAV I, yoT wel ‘yueg oTIN vil 6r1L ofl Iv Lvl Lvl 99h ILL Tre} 1V 611 ofl 6EL 1vl 99h 99h tLL zgl Sgl ‘peoy Vv ‘SO[LST Ul oseIIEg WOT] DOUISIC, *U01}99S COPPER EGYPT. vuoy t | ojyut sodvosy elupIUIN]] pur ‘rpuIn nqy ‘J4eg upuury aso] esueIe y, "oq pue yn, UNL, ep TeIOL, Ses ee Sap eee eseyed ** BUPUUIBYT Es noyy JVM pue epysriryy TROL "* elopusd eSUIVIL JT, "* ypITeMn T, Jog pur seiyrg CPILMLT (RL EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. 60 BOs 10 1V.19 £z.£9 £9.09 LS .tv9 oz. $9 Sao ‘20ejInS 1972 MW JON ick (9 ce 66 BSI) ‘QOUIAOIg 8BYOS pekg ‘sadvosy eau | €&2°6 CUIVULS a 1Sz°z 7 +s ypzaIeyy) 1€ uiseg | Loz‘6 YON eqely vzo‘'OQIL1 [210 J, a ian as "+ eIysUey (a seyos : Q lpor “emmeSur9 LLS‘o€ SeYOS [LUIPMEST €g9‘v1 YINos BqRIy poe is Ca Ze7 \ j pus Biseyy 6L9‘S1 equg ; Inqny | out) spnenz Oe 10e suIseg IOUT} gSL‘1z "* ssaplog eiseyy | 0g6‘P Jeweyy tuog "So1DW ‘s[euvD I9psI0q ur vary *uIseg JO OWN ae ve oe WoT ze Ig of Re 6z Lz gz Ye'_ ‘ulseq | ‘yur JOSONT SCIEN g6v | goS £6h | vos vos 1zS t2S ZS LVS Lys QS gSS | 60S 1zS | SgS 69S | ogS Ops |eSe5 [23 FV | Peed 7V ‘SOTTY] Ul oseIIeg Worf 9dULISIC, U01]99S “panuyuoI—"T AX AAV I, OPEER EGYPT: 00.bS 00.94 gb. LS 2V.oc £6.65 S6.6S jnoIssy qnoIssy 66 6c 6c 6c BBIIN) 74 66 6c (7 eLseyos ‘* NOIssy oe 6c g, eISPYOS vIBPYOS eon (74 6c elsByOS Seu earn 00S *g oe ee oe ekSNy oS O06 21-5 “ seueueyl| —OY eos UPA weg | gh OOO) 40 asec eee Iqlosy Lv paws IMpIseIN ee | oF v6‘ 961 [e10 J, 606‘ PS Ipuaz Cr 06g ‘8 ni Jonq | +¥ cle ee oe elwg weg | eV BLL fot “+ suiseq tour | zh zS9‘6 ee 189 AA. ‘cc 13 it 6gL‘ gt ‘Op “Yseq vung wa | oF Ogi‘ iI ISO AA 66 66 6¢ 969‘ ysvq peg wuioy | gf 099 ‘6 ee Oa es sIqouy L¢ LOSS TT ys S araeued ||) of Yo'T LVEe poe 19€ Goe Q6E ozV VS Ivy vov vov LLY Ser z6vV vS¢ Tae She Sgt ocVv IvV vov vov 1zS LLY Sot z6V 96r Ol eceheces a an nee ieee GLO SOV 2%) ee ulysqeyeg 99 Ler evi Cb.geo es fe ISSuMeaes fpusoe yi i 2) TON ae SUE - || eaied GeO) Mi it COUCINT Sy GEr‘og | 2 88 72. ern vo CGI €g1 os.1£ | ** Jong lusg os TupyNng puegnsng | EzS°G2 | «* s* °* TURNS £9 €or Lit ss a ee “«. | 19L°S6 | nsngx ayeg yueq yeT | 29 €L1 | oof OSigtas ee as ee Meats OOS. |" sep sa mos 19 Lr | 00z ae age en cae hy eee meee BES Wie: Q ORG a) is pau s o0S‘6z | tssnoureyy enuepieg | 64 Loz -| zz cS GOeL ON ee th a sees f 000'6 “2 | 93) See BCE | Se ele 1vz Re Com Ree line me 7 +2). meng |ooe'er | +: 7° uneyeyrppa | 4e Ive | hz : OfnOG 5, 8s “s ee STEN Sav. O bias Inpye-uniny | 95 eS2 | ole S Obe2y 2 1) CTU as a et 6yL°of | °* °° twpyseueyey | 96 ele. | {Gz S jnoIssV a ‘> omsnqg ayeg | 0046 § | pry y tueg pure vuny, vs yoT | £62 s SUIMO[,] s me epee et a 009 ‘9g ee eC 209 Pie nare, | Oe «| che of .bV a = "+ -_msnx Iyeg | Corfzh | ** JnuRyp-usunMYsy z& Sik | QS< of .9v ie ri “+ ors rwpSeq | ooofgh | ss + ot EwpeTed ae ze | Le “THe FV | Peed IV ae ‘QOUIAOI ‘sodvosy ‘s[vued Jopeaq ee ‘uIseg jo oWeN See OP aeee oe coNosS ee | vay JOON | PIN |-cons uroSeueg| Wosf DOUeISIG : ‘panuuuoi— TAX wav I, see SS See Se ae UPPER EGYPT. (74 6c ce qnOIssy dpus Td ce Pays ee mpq viny tog UISOYV IAL be yovoiq esjpey nqy W pue jnsnA gzb‘Sz [e210], eiynieqg | cooff eIynIlIq Jo sey QzVszz [¥10], ool ‘€ "+ BIVPULTAL ce 60 | of766S [ee =. -« eysogsiyy £6z S6 cil Zit ozV cIt EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. VoV se TEA OA ae Seg “ us neq | 066 neq | 08 Gz6 | of6 eusy yWasoqd yeavyeyy | V9g yereyyey yy 6L £56 956 wera | °" | 96 Viguset sn [210 J, ee -“uouvig ( : oes eyasoy OUTS vos ‘ih Pras] [A LL ° fz gsvie PSII], pue vza0ny | gh r6.41 a loowmnz pue ez | v6S‘L erysueyy | SL fz ee ob .0z ‘| eu AGW se zol‘ot jueuviqeys | VL ce ev Ont eS i 6Sh‘z1 ereyyes | &L a gS 66 CU YySeyY 6 ‘ Of .2z ee cent 009 ‘FI inysyeq | zh gf zl ov .£2z e He ELb‘6 euyey, | rh | 2b 98 09. vz €Z994) ZIOZW ez) | VEISL qeyreryw | of | oT | 98 $6 ; T3 FV peed 1V oe "QOUIAOI ‘sodvosy ‘s[eueD Iopoo yg aw ‘uIseg Jo oweyy oe jo"T Ul voly : JOON | PEN | -sopryy ur oSeureg WOT, VDULISIC "U01}99S “panuyUuoI— TAX AAV, UPPEROEGY?PT: 6 (74 6c Buoy 6¢ Buoy ae 66 66 ec 66 eusy Wosoq yosoq eunyueys 6c 66 Sean -uvys pur eippAg ce 66 ce 79 eippAg pur vee 009 ‘Ez Onis 000‘6 00S‘z obvi ‘gi 000° £1 00g °z obl ‘z ct | NY em wee | ee yasoq e ° 66 SIeCIN ee 66 er eal es}pey ve ws ws po St eZEROFT oo oe SOY pur ysvire.y ‘s+ yurBUTEC 18005 upzeyy pur Tysy "* yeuley pure lox] "* vueqRy pur TqeH riot “yon "* ynog Serwyes | 7 Pte ere “WON ** YINOG ‘esIpeyy | et | rr | Paro 18 SY IYSTY WSTY Sol Paine, Cry GzL OAL, LVL oSL ee ogl fol 69L 664 SS 098 Lvs bel Gczl 622 ore Lvl oSL LSL 09! 691 1gl 8°8 oS b98 z S N “NS S RS : : : Ny S XQ *Q0eJINS Joye M JO melaecl *Q0UIAOIG y19S0q, 11089] ee *sodvosy, ** BISORIA eyeules yeaysty 66 66 ISRO Ise eLpyUeYS [230.1 BIW[CS PUP ISVS ox WOpPeITIe eusiq, 2 a EI PUES vIqpMR, pure yeIPsTH yynos Noy pure peueyy Lee pagum qeid nqv YeIMeus yy 1ouy PFINV eupeyyeyAl 66 eunyueys ‘sjeued Iapoo.7 *SolDV Ul voly [P01 nejoqex) pyved “uIseg JO WIEN Lig Sfo 19 Bag £99 ov9 859 £99 699 EL9 glo £69 £60 | SoL ‘Trey TV |peey tV “MOT]99S ‘SOTIN[. Ul OSvIIEg wort 90ueysiqgT ‘panuyuoI—T AX ATAV I, 67 UPPER EGYPT. JNOI6SV BBIIX) eB eID) BUI yosaq ae MOS SCT 6¢ £o9‘9 vippeg elIepulzey yy | gz6‘1 ae Isey MOST ziz‘*&z = eee ap g6e ‘1 "' ** guIseq IOUTTAL i 66‘ VIMPTCL) ai - gov VIET] a i EgQtl CUICMCS PIMPSTY | goz‘L = |yueq 348 pue wrUYyyy V6P‘So€ oe G10} v 369 suISeq IOUI[L orl‘S | ** eyyex pue prny k Be reg‘fr | upwwepzy pur vypzey SIMBTT | of L°€ wRIeYy yy oe ° Jel Sza*9 ee pe ysiqvieg tam gir Cir oll 601 Qol Lot gol ISTY WSTY WEY oSt Sov Sev ob L6v SoS €1S 09S 09S E45 19S S6S LSv zLVv SgV Lov SoS exS coc Cur 09S cL 1gS S6S S19 L19 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. ‘9deJING TOE MA ela ‘ ee *Q0UIAOI 66 °° epqeeyy 6c 6 6c us ss 66 Ms me 6c Si ONS eURrIL eisng \ ‘“ eqiqeZ nqy sate eLIepulzey yy qnoIssy i ne Dyes ‘sodas STEED peo u 1ez‘oVv QLO‘T GzG°G viLs11 Gal <7 ggice Slg°L bgo%g gzgsze gig‘z 6Ly‘11 "solo Ul Voly es Uh TRIO, ISOM pomoyryl tusg | 921 sk ee eDQRRTAL CzI yseq, pomoyeyl tog | vet e viqiey | €z1 a S91V juog | ce! , : wpwMmuey | 121 “+ s*yeresevy, | O21 SY [e10L “+ suIseq IOULJN, 611 "+ Ten], pur poy | Sri ‘uISeg JO JUIBNT ee ate 69£ 6LE Sgt g6E Liv. 66¢ Liv GeV Lev 6LE Sgt g6e viv Sev Liv Sev oSv TEV AW Dee ay ‘SO[INT Ul adevieg WoL UeISICT "U0192S ‘panuyuoi—T NX TTaVL 68 69 UPPER EGYPT. 66 oe y19S9q7 €Z904) dye MO ee erUIyL jnoIssy 7 -qpussed al gigS1t 6L6‘1 [xs ary t 026 690° HpLOAs Log‘ re 600‘¢@ Lz1*Q LEo‘9 ee Te}0,.L “+ kery PISEL IA EL wqe eqeus eZ9UII) eyes, LBS ekepnsy Tes of msm} °' | 212 yysry | zrr | Lr wsry | €L1 | oof wsry | oof | 69 70 EGYPTIAN [RRIGATION. Dates of filling and emptying of basins in an ordinary - year :— | TasLe XVII. Date Filling begins. Date Filling ends. Je ee Sees —— pee Section. First Basin.| Last Basin.|First Basin.| Last Basin.| First Basin.| Last Basin. First Basin.| Last Basin. A B Cc Aug. 10| Aug. 42 | Sept. 22 | Sept. 25.| Oct. 4£| Oct. 5 | Oct. 10 | Oct. 20 D EK F Pee ee wee oa ee al ig aeesO | OGL See ok ee SEES. 2 G Peon AiR Et ns SRY ly wag te SPA 55 Baler 55 Sie; —20) bo. 25 H wets WOChiS 207)" ore 2O4 Ct, Srl «5 Si we 1S:\" 45 “2a Noy. to 1 Se AUe 2) Past SO PEPE. GO.) 5) Beaune te ee en: © ee a xX en ee ae = ee OC ma | OCL: LG In examining the above table it will be noticed that some of the basins in Section H, on the Bahr Yusuf series, do not receive any water till the 20th September, by which date most of the other sections have nearly completed their filling. Previous to the construction of the Ibrahimia Canal this be ~~ UPPER EGYPT. Sac oe 000 S1z‘z 000‘'0Zz 0g6‘ogt glofzre Col‘ rzV Ez1'°Szv G96‘ Sr r1z‘Vlz obL ‘Ver ‘soloW UL early [219 L ggS*19b| 000‘ 16z 000'0zz oot 196‘ LV G9S‘oS1 000‘ SE 5 "SaldV UT SJOVIT, WOYSLIUIT 5 000‘z€ | c0%gr joe0‘ OI 000°6 | oc0%h ooo’ 000'SS | 000%0€ |ooo’ Sz 000°SS | o00*hz jooo' rf 000'0F | o00%S1 jooo‘S1 000‘ SP ch re 000‘ Sg t " TOL |pue quay | BOT “sold Jowumnsg Ur sULIOg O[IN USTH [T?30,L '* wmokTy e: eznr) ets tUod BIUTTAL eee eSIIX) ue euoy eusy vibszgb‘1| z6E‘ggz CeO -Pu i © © a4 ° rr ove vrs gig‘ ie xX Veouety sj LiL Sgr © M Lil‘Sgt I-H g1h‘6o0e | ° Ke g1L‘60z H Ogt tec 1L6‘09 a-s zS1*glz {-9 Gg6‘Sgz | gtr‘6h | S-O | Lyg‘gtz y-4 Tic Occ zo6‘1£1) O-W 60£° 16 aA-— ob L ‘69 Sgf‘vr | W-qT | S865" 9-V ‘eory | ‘worag woly "U0T}99S “eoTV [PIOL yueg sqsry ‘yur yoT ‘soDW UT Sseary ‘suISug, Ui Sa *QdUTAOIG © 72 EGYPTIAN [RRIGATION. section was as well off as any of the others, while now, owing to the insufficiency of water supply, the lateness of its arrival, and the absence of slime, it is without exception the worst system in Egypt. There are 103 basins on the left bank of the Nile and 62 basins on the right bank. The sections from A to K have respectively 1, 6, 4, 9, 5, 12, 18, 30, 1, 9, and 8 basins each; while the right bank sections, from L to X, have 2, 5, 46,412, 5,-7,°4, 7,0, ©, 0, and 10 basins each. Table XVIII. gives details of the areas of the different provinces of Upper Egypt. The following table gives details of the basin canals of Upper Egypt :— TABLE XIX. Bed Width in Level to which | Mean Discharge Name of Canal. Metres. cleared. per Day. pics cubic metres ATA Ate ce fixe. a 18'0 9 Assuan 4,000,000 Um Ads .. "oO BE isn EF ,000,000 Asphin 1Q pn I ,000,000 Mahamid.. =O 1Oln 5; 1,000,000 eaciliaes te: tear bee re I2°0 IO4 5 2,500,000 Tukh 40 BTOl 6.5 I, 200,000 Det: me) EY eo, 1,200,000 RanNaWs sa SAS. haga 12°0 9% 5 2,500,000 Plummaes es es) aes ee I0°O 9% 2,500,000 Humrdania ie ee ee 8°o0 Tes ans 1,600,000 OAS ee Gt re © ae 16°° 10. «;, 3,000,000 ROTM Dre Tale grass 18*0 EOu i, 3,000,000 Ugntripils, 5.5. ies I2°O IO 2,500,000 GivgSwia. So ss | as 18‘o 10. 30Q0, 000 HOdsSOnne eka, © ie7 Ses 12'O 102g 2,500,000 UPPER EGYPT. TABLE XIX.—continued. Name of Canal. Umléla Anébis Sohagia Dalgawi Yustf Waladia Beni Hussein .. Girza Zumdor Kilibia Maala Byddia Gildsi Higarat Samatha Moesra Tarif Hawis Aisdwia Khazindaria Madana Khassab .. Bed Width in Metres. e ee 2a I2° EO: I2° Level to which | Mean Discharge cleared. pics to Assuan EO Oba er dl We AS? FOr, La, 20520: Rank, 1o Assuan rz Assuan 13 Roda Eo ae, ro Assuan Io 10 8 9 1 II 10 II 10 10 fe 10 13 Roda per Day. cubic metres 3,000,000 2,500,000 30,000,000 5,000,000 25,000,000 I,000,000 4,000,000 5,250,000 1,250,000 2,000,000 I,000,000 2,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000 I,400,000 1,000,000 I ,000,000 I ,000,000 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 2,800,000 ee The following table gives the basin areas on each series of canals, the theoretical discharge necessary, and the actual discharge supplied. Column 4 has been obtained by multiplying the area in 200 acres by on = ) 105, for the basins to be irrigated in 74 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. 4200 60 in sixty days. The basins north of Koshésha can always count on a sixty days’ supply. It will be noticed that the Esna and Kena canals supply plenty of water in an average forty days, and by ( = ) 70 for the basins to be irrigated year, as does also the Sohagia Canal. The Bahr Yusuf is lamentably behindhand. It has been assumed that the mean discharge of the Bahr Yusuf in flood is 25,000,000 cubic metres per day, and of the other minor feeders 6,000,000 cubic metres per day, while the Fayoum takes 6,000,000 cubic metres per day, leaving 25,000,000 per day for the basins. The Bahr Yusuf needs very considerable supple- menting to bring it to the same level as the other canals. If a greater degree of accuracy is required each individual basin * These canals irrigate also an exceptionally large area under Indian corn on the Nile berms during flood. TABLE XX. Theoretical ; Area of . Discharge Actual E eats, Basins in eee required. Discharge ae Acres, 5; Cubic Metres! supplied. |° ~@Y* per Day. S Ramadi and Um Ads* } 35,000 147,000,000 | 3,675,000] 5,000,000) 40 oO ° wn A , mM % | Asphfin, Mahamid* .. | 20,000 84,000,000 | 2,100,000] 2,200,000; 40 Sd : a5 Fadilfa, Tukh, and Dér*| 30,000 | 126,000,000 | 3,150,000) 5,000,000) 40 ao R fis Rannan Humari nes ist S, 5006000 252,000,000°| 6,300,000} 7,000,000} 40 [x] Eiumrania’ i. 3.5 Kasra, Zerziria, Um-( 130,000 546,000,000 |13,650,000/14,000,000} 40 tubal, Girgawia .. 3°: ; : ee ; , * Umléla Anébis .. .. | 50,000 210,000,000 | 5,250,000) 6,000,000 Sohagia .. .. .. [200,000 | 840,000,000 |21,000,00030,000,000} 40 Wao AWIer fs: aux | 5O;000 210,000,000 | 5,250,000] 4,500,000 Bahr Yusuf .. «+ {450,000 |1,890,000,000 |47,250,000|25,000,000} 40 Girza and Zumoor .. |110,000 462,000,000 | 7,700,000] 6,500,000] 60 OFFER EGYPT. 75 can be taken by itself, and the depths (less 30 centimetres) given on page 50 applied. This will tell in favour of the Esna and Kena Canals, against the Sohagia Canal, and very considerably against the Bahr Yusuf. Lisna and Kena Provinces.—Area under basin irrigation, 298,951 acres; Nile berms under Indian corn and flood irrigation, 110,000 acres; total, 408,951 acres. These two provinces comprise the 5th Circle of Irrigation, and extend along 383 kilometres of the Nile north of Assuan. The Esna Province has a mean width of 2200 metres on the left bank and 600 metres on the right ; while the Kena Province has a mean width of 3000 metres on the left bank and 3600 metres on the right.* In Section B three of the trans- verse banks have regulators, but every bank is cut at the time of discharge. The two escapes have regulators. In Section C one transverse bank has a regulator, and every bank is cut at the time of discharge; the two canals have regulators where they enter their first basins. In Section D seven of the transverse banks have regulators, and four of the banks are cut at the time of discharge; one of the canals has a regulator as it enters its first basin. In Section E five of the transverse banks have regulators, but two of the transverse banks are cut; since there is no escape into the Nile, this section discharges into the Girga Province, and gives considerable trouble. An escape into the Nile at Abu Shisha is badly needed, but is difficult to execute, as the Nile berm is particularly high. None of the canals have head regulators. On the right bank there is the same want of regulators as on the left. A very considerable portion of these provinces is under Indian corn during flood, while * It is an interesting fact that in the only reach of the Nile where there is a considerable area of cultivated land on the right bank, the Nile is not flowing northwards, but from east to west. 76 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. about 9000 acres are under sugar-cane, irrigated by powerful pumping machinery. Considerable areas of land near the deserts, which were once under cultivation, are now generally barren, owing to the disrepair in which many of the canals have fallen during centuries of neglect. These canals are now being attended to, and if the sections of the canals which traverse the rocky deserts, and bring down high-level water from higher up the Nile, are well attended to, considerable ameliorations will result. The canals in these provinces carry a liberal supply of water, and the existing basins are well irrigated. On the left bank of the Nile north of AssuAan is the plain of Kum-Umbos, which was once covered by the Nile, but which is now a desert. Monsieur de la Motte has elaborated a project for converting this plain of some 250,000 acres (according to his calculation) into a reser- voir for supplying water to Lower Egypt in summer. The weir across the Nile, the diversion, navigation channel, and reservoir, are estimated to cost 4,000,000/, Abu Said Bey, Inspector of Irrigation, is eagerly taking up the few reforms possible in his circle. These are detailed on page 83. Money is badly needed to execute the necessary masonry works. Girga, Assiout, Muinia, and Beni-Souéf—Area under basin irrigation, 1,018,523 acres ; Nile berms under Indian corn and flood irrigation, 149,000 acres; summer irrigation tracts, 237,546 acres; total 1,405,069 acres. These four provinces comprise the 4th Circle of Irrigation, and extend along 490 kilometres of the Nile. The mean width of culti- vated land on the left bank is 10 kilometres, on the right bank 12 kilometres. In Section F the transverse banks are fairly well provided with regulators, but the extra water which comes down from Section E necessitates the cutting of all the banks. This system drains back into the Nile by a UPPER EGYPT. V2 breach in the longitudinal bank south of Sohag. Section G begins at the Sohagia Canal head. This canal has a masonry regulating head of twenty-one openings of 3 metres each, built in 1873, and after a course of 60 kilometres opens into the Beni Smia basin without a regulator. Up to this point it has banks like the Nile, and the infiltration water in summer suffices for the lift irrigation of extensive sugar-cane fields ; beyond this the canal runs through its basins without any kind of bank at all. Near the head, the bed width is 70 metres, the R.L. of the bed 56°50 metres, ordinary flood level 61°25 metres, and the flood level of 1887, 62°23 metres; with a calculated maximum discharge of 40,000,000 cubic metres per day, and an ordinary mean flood discharge of 30,000,000 cubic metres. This canal never silts. The basins on the right bank, for some 30 kilometres, are fed by the Umléla and Anébis Canals, while the high land on the Nile bank is irrigated by the Kilfa4n and Shatarah Canals, and partly by the two preceding ones. The whole section dis- charges into the Nile by a cut in the longitudinal bank of Beni Smiah basin at Abutig, and by two escapes in the longitudinal bank of Zenar basin south of Assiout. This section gets a very satisfactory deposit of alluvium every year, while the regulators in the transverse banks are gene- rally sufficient. Section H.—The first five basins in this section are irrigated by the Sohagia Canal, aided by unim- portant feeders from the Ibrahimia Canal. The head of the Ibrahimia summer canal is opposite Assiout ; this canal has a take-off without any regulating work. At the 62nd kilo- metre, near Deirfit, are a series of masonry regulators, and on the left bank is the head of the Bahr Yusuf, which feeds the basins up to Koshésha. The Dalgawi basin, No. 51, is fed by a canal of its own, known as the Dalgawi, taking from 78 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. the Ibrahimia Canal at Deirfit. At the time of discharge the above six basins (Nos. 46 to 51) discharge into the Bahr Yusuf. The remaining basins from No. 52 to No. 68 are fed by the Bahr Yusuf aided by a number of feeder canals, some from the Ibrahimia Canal and some from the Nile, led through syphons under the: Ibrahimia. These supplementary canals, some of them quite new, are quite insufficient to make up for the enormous deficit of red water occasioned by the construction of the Ibrahimia Canal; and Captain Brown, Inspector of Irrigation, has directed most of his attention to the remedy of this sad state of affairs. This section is also insufficiently supplied with regulators; the tail basin of Koshésha should certainly be provided with a solid masonry escape. Since the Abu Kadiga breach has been kept open in flood the necessity for this work has become very urgent. The land on the left bank of the Bahr Yusuf is badly irri- gated, lying rather too high for the present supply. The Bahr Yusuf has a length of 316 kilometres from the head to Lahoun Bridge, with a maximum flood discharge of 33,000,000 cubic metres per day. The head-regulator has five-openings of % metres each, and’a lock of .35 x 8°5 x @ metres, with the K.L. of the floor 39°3r5-metres. The height of wing walls is 8°20 metres. The mean discharges in summer and winter are 1,300,000 cubic metres and 2,700,000 cubic metres per day respectively, for consumption in the Fayoum. Owing to infiltrations into the bed of the Bahr Yusuf these discharges are increased to about 3,000,000 cubic metres per day in winter, and in summer to 1,500,000 cubic metres per day. The width of the bed is some 50 metres, and maximum depth of water 7 metres. The head lock is open to navigation in summer.* The last basin of this series * The depth given for locks is always the depth of water in summer. UPPER EGYPT. 79 is the Koshésha, which is open to the Nile in flood. Formerly the longitudinal dyke of this basin used to be repaired before the flood, and cut about the 15th October, at the time of discharge. Since 1886 an opening 40 metres wide has been left in the bank throughout the flood. By this means the basin itself receives red muddy water over its extensive area of 40,000 acres, and at the time of discharge escapes the water of Section H gradually, and no longer hangs over Lower Egypt like a dark cloud during the latter half of October. The R.L. of water surface in this basin should be 26°75 metres for the irrigation to be completed. If a R.L. of 27°30 metres can be maintained, the transverse bank between Koshésha and Bahabshin may be done away with. A R.L. of 26°30 metres just covers the basin. The R.L. of water surface was 27°65 metres in 1884 (a very low flood), when the cutting of the dyke raised the Barrage gauge from 15°59 metres to 17 metres in thirty hours, representing an extra discharge of 210,000,000 cubic metres per day. The R.L. in 1887 (a very high flood) was 2720. Metres. The Ibrahimia Canal is the only summer canal in Upper Egypt, if we except the Fayoum. It was completed in 1873. The head of the canal is at Assiout, and the tail at Ashmant, the total length being 268 kilometres. From the head to the 62nd kilometre there is no regulating work of any kind, and since the original bed of 35 metres was quite insufficient for a depth of water of 8 metres in flood, the severe scour in flood yearly brought down the banks, and has increased the bed width to 60 metres. The material brought down chokes up the bed, which has to be cleared yearly at a cost of some 25,000/. The railway running along its right bank needs considerable protection from this eating-away action of the 80 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. water.* The opening for boats at the railway bridge over the Ibrahimia Canal near Assiout is 11°80 metres wide. At the 62nd kilometre of this canal is the Deirfit regulator with a cluster of six masonry works. Beginning on the left hand the works are as follows :— TABLE XXI. Openings. | R.L. | RL. R. L. of of Up-| Top of Floor. stream | Wing No. | Width. |H.W.L.| Wall. metres | mtrs.| metres | metres | metres metres Dalgawi Canal Head |42°715| 2] 3°0 |47°50\47°515| R. L. ground 45°00 ? 9 Lock 35 x 8°5 x 2 Bahr Yusuf Head .. |39°315 Deirfitia Canal Head |40°115 9? 99 39 Sahilia Canal Head.. [40°915 (oy fo), () (e) ©) 5 S Ibrahimia Canal Regr. |39-315| 7 2 5 nD www Ww Escape Head .. .. |42°965 ey x 8°5 (flor. Rob Ate 3Ts:) Of these locks the Bahr Yusuf head lock is fully open in flood and boats can shoot it; during summer it works. The Ibrahimia Canal regulator lock works except when silt deposit interferes. The escape head lock does not work. The R.L. of water surface at the head of the Ibrahimia Canal is 51°75 metres in an ordinary flood, and was 52°75 in 1887; the ground level is 51°80 (R.L.); during summer the R.L. of the ordinary water surface is 45°20 metres, At Derfit the R.L. of ordinary flood is 45°23, while in 1887 it was 47°50; the ordinary summer R.L. of water surface is 43°50. During flood the downsteam gauge at Dertit on the Ibrahimia Canal is kept at R.L. 44°50 metres, the canal at Minia not being able to carry more. * A series of stone spurs put opposite each other at intervals of about 250 metres down the canal has kept the canal from silting in the reach experimented on, and has also protected the railway. UPPER EGYPT: 8I The remaining masonry works on the Ibrahimia Canal are the following :— TABLE XXII. | R. L. of Water Surface. a 3 Openings. ees ma on ny i S R.L.of| Name of | ¢ ee ea es = Toc! Ground. | Regulator. 2 , | Floor. Ss ock. Sets KiB SEE choca (ie Bee alive | Ble ce ae eee el metres mtrs.| mtrs.| mtrs.| metres | metres | metres | metres | metres | mtrs. metres so Lock 39°50|Minia | 127] 3 | 3°0/ 35°28) 40°81 | 40°59 | 40°01 | 38°29 [5°33 35 x 84 x 2 not working. "60 Matai |169) 6 |2°5| 32°77| 36°87] 36-22 36°32 | 35°82 [4-40 tts partly gel 9 5] 32°97 | 30°87, 36°22 13632) 35: Sul ae) ee 33°50) Magdga | 197] 5 |2°5 | 30°83 34°58 | 34°03 33°93 | 32°92 4°00] ” |Sharahna) 221 | 23° 0/205 00:30 63) <-4) = 20 7G) ke ego 0) The bed-width of the Ibrahimia Canal from the head to Deirfit is practically 60 metres, though it is cleared on a width of 35 metres only; below Deirit the width is 30 metres, and about 20 metres at Minia. In flood the depth of water at the head of the Ibrahimia is about 9 metres, and below Deirfit 5 metres; during summer the depth of water is about 3 metres at the head, and 2 metres below Deirit. The bed is dredged on a-slope of s5455 for 20 kilometres 1 from the head, and then to Deirit on a slope of sg4g5.. The discharges at Deirft are as follows :— Cubic Metres per Second. Ibrahimia above Deirfit .. 5 , 200, 000 in summer. 88,000,000 in high flood. es ss 15,000,000 in winter. Ibrahimia below Deirfit .. 3,300,000 in summer. 11,000,000 in flood. 9 9 ) ? 7 4,200,000 in winter. 9 Vusuf Canal ~ 258 Sees T, 300,000 in summer. 32,000,000 maximum possible in flood. 27,000,000 ordinary maximum in flood. 3,000,000 in winter. G co N EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. The Deirtit escape discharges as a maximum 34,000,000 cubic metres per second in flood. The escapes from the Ibrahimia Canal to the Nile are— 1. Deirfit Escape. 2. Madsara Escape near Samaliit, 2 openings. . Abadia Escape near Feshn, 4 openings. wo 4. Saida Escape near Beni-Souéf. As originally designed the R.L. of the bed at the head was 43°00 metres, with a slope of ygigq for 200 kilo- metres to Mega4ga, and then a slope of y34,, to the tail. The depth of digging at the head was 9 metres, at Magaga 2 metres, and 1°4 metres at the tail. In the Minia and Beni-Souéf Provinces the Ibrahimia Canal irrigates not only the high land near the Nile, but a long strip of land taken from the basins. The new longi- tudinal bank has been removed westward, while the old longitudinal bank, with its deep pits and stagnant water, is a running sore through the length of the tract, doing infinite harm. It will be noticed that the water surface in summer is nearly as high as in flood at the regulators below Deirit ; this is coupled with the fact that the land traversed by the canal is in great part light and sandy, owing to its position near the Nile; and that owing to the total absence of rain the land is never washed. These three factors between them are combining to destroy the country irrigated by the canal. Salt efflorescence is very greatly on the increase: coarse grasses are overrunning the ground in many places ; begin- ning at the Beni-Souéf province, sugar cane is being abandoned for cotton, which is not ruined by salts to the same extent as sugar cane is; the winter crop does not yield half what it did some fifteen years ago; while some 10,000 acres of the best land in Egypt have been thrown out of cultivation and con- OPPER-EG VPT- 8 OD» verted partly into a salt plain and partly intoa marsh. All this since 1873, i.e. in fifteen years. The liberties which are taken with Nature in Lower Egypt, and which bring their punishment slowly, bring speedy retribution in Upper Egypt, where the summer heat is excessive. A system of extensive draining and washing in winter may do something, but the only real remedy is a lowering of the water surface, and the putting one-fourth of the land every fourth year in rotation under basin irrigation. The damage done to the basins on the Bahr Yusuf by the construction of the Ibrahimia Canal and the cutting off of the water supply has already been noted. Since 1884 the main improvements in this circle have consisted in the construction of new canals to ameliorate the condition of the basins deprived of water since 1873, and to drain the lands swamped by the Ibrahimia. In the basins themselves a very determined effort is being made to change the section of the banks from (1) to (2). Fic. 5. The smaller flood canals are cleared to their full width on a slope of 39359, while a deep trench, 1 metre wide only, is dug down the middle of this bed to allow of an early entry of the flood supply so that the millet may be sown as early as possible. This has greatly reduced silt clearances. Gizah Province—Area under basin irrigation 144,940 acres; Nile berm under millet and flood irrigation 32,000 acres ; summer irrigation tracts (south of Khatatbeh) 4040 acres; total 180,980 acres.. This province is a part of the third Ged 84 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. circle of Irrigation, and extends along 95 kilometres of the main Nile, and about 4o kilometres (in great part desert) down the left bank of the Rosetta branch. The mean width of cultivated land on the left bank is 52 kilometres, and on the right bank 2 kilometres. Section K is irrigated by the Girza and Zumur canals, which have a low discharge com- pared with the canals in the upper section (except the Bahr Yusuf). The position of this section to the north of Koshésha, however, allows of sixty days of flood supply being counted on instead of forty, as above. All the transverse banks are provided with regulators, and there is a sufficiency of escapes, but all the works are sadly in want of repairs. The Nile banks have been thoroughly renewed. The Fayoum.—Cultivated area 220,000 acres; area capable of reclamation 60,000 acres ; total 280,000 acres. The province of the Fayoum is the only oasis in Egypt in direct communication with the Nile. The Bahr Yusuf, which receives its supply from the Ibrahimia Canal at Deirtt, traverses the Assiout, Minieh, and Bene-Souéf provinces for 316 kilometres, and finally leaves the valley of the Nile at Lahoun. After a further course of 22 kilometres it flows through the town of Medinet el Fayoum, the ancient Arsinoé. Near this town it is divided into fourteen canals, which irrigate the province of the Fayoum. Three small canals, however, one on the right and two on the left, had taken off about midway between Lahoon and Medinet. The Fayoum is a veritable oasis surrounded on all sides by desert and con- nected with the valley of the Nile by the thin strip of culti- vation along the Bahr-Yusuf. The depression in the Libyan hills at Lahoun is about 6 kilometres wide, and across this depression there runs a very ancient bank of great height and width, which was UPPER EGYPT. 85 riveted with masonry on its eastern slope in 1835. This bank separates the Fayoum from the Koshésha basin of the Beni-Souéf province. The accompanying sketch gives the mean section of the bank, and shows the reduced level of the - country and of the water in the Koshésha basin during flood. dK (0. ie---- 15-60 met. --->* RT 37-20 metres KUSHESHA BASIN EAYOUM RL. 23-40 Ground, NEY Near the village of Lahoun the bank is pierced by a new regulator with two openings of 3 metres each, and one opening of 4 metres. Below it is Mohamed Aly’s old regu- lator, which has gradually been undermined. The mean siope of the Bahr Yusuf from Lahoun to Medinet is +¢455. For the first 12 kilometres the Bahr flows within an earthen channel on a slope of sqdop, in the next 3 kilometres it is broken up into a series of rapids, with a limestone bed. For the rest of its course, up to Medinet, it again flows within earthen banks on a slope of ggigy. Up to the 12th kilo- metre the Bahr has followed its natural channel; after this point, and if left to itself, it would have followed one of the three deep ravines on the right, and thus escaped to the Birket el Qurdim, or lake to the north of the Fayoum. To keep up the level of water for irrigation, however, two of these three deep ravines were banked across by massive earthen embankments, while at the third an old escape head was built up. By turning the Bahr Yusuf over the limestone bars it has been kept on the watershed and rendered capable of feeding all the canals of the province. The maintenance of all these embankments in first-class order is a matter of the 86 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. greatest importance. A breach would be attended with the most disastrous consequences. Breaches ave possible, as Linant Pasha describes the carrying away of one of these embankments in 1820. Plate XII. gives the longitudinal section of the country from Lahoun to the lake. Up to Medinet, a distance of 22 kilometres, the slope is ;,4y5, the same as the general slope of Upper Egypt. From kilometre 22 to kilometre 36 the slope is t2y5y- We have now reached the level of the Mediterranean. For the remaining 8 kilometres the slope is zip. The water surface of the lake itself is about 40 metres below the Mediterranean. This longitudinal section, which is a type one of the province, shows clearly how the steep slope has told on the canals, which through centuries of neglect have been allowed to cut deeper and deeper, and are now practically everywhere so much below soil that flush irrigation is a matter of difficulty, though the water surface at Lahoun, when at its lowest, is some 5 metres higher than the general level of the first plateau near Medinet. Considering the quality of the land and the quantity of water available at all times of the year, the Fayoum is a poor province, owing to the great depth of water below the ground. From discharge observations near the head of the Bahr Yusuf a gauge of 22°33 metres R.L. in summer gives a sectional area of 147°8 metres, a slope of zg$op, a mean velocity of ‘12 metres per second, and a discharge of 1,532,805 cubic metres per twenty-four hours. During flood a gauge of 23°33 metres R.L. gives a sectional area of 183,355 square metres, a slope of gay, a velocity of 4848 metres per second, and a discharge of 7,680,096 cubic metres per second. The bed-width is about 25 metres roughly. On referring to the plan it will be seen that the country is (PDITT ‘UAL, 32 fPOULITY SONA] Pag 999) Pedy Spx] LoPOY SIA oT (Punodss) GO'EC AaUrerrrigy GE Le POT POOL] O00 OF YUNG fo TY ~ > LOFY M2104 (2) IIx WIWId 000! DIE At x RES yea 000. 00¢ ‘a7RI0 ~ buo 200,00; PROG ; buoy cS 9934-4 te ae S| 0z CZ so {cuit (attics -B9C2-- , t A BS a ’ 3 & x 8 > % Pt $+ tt we & = s & 8 Digit deatettetata tat x 3 & $ % > r | Si ries ! 1 ' ' i 1 ! L i / Bee reem ees Soe NUNG) jf? 2d0)9--------------*%---- Aupnign jo adojo------ OAS (L109 fff- - ---------------- 4 ' | WOOAVA AHL TO NOLDOUS TVNICGALIDNOT ales So wit t+ --Ol -$--A ey Uc eal Twas Sane thal hea => 00-8 eC ae 2b gp Ob -08°6 ! FOUL) - OF — FM unin?) Oey === == <=1 OF -OF - = JO-0F ~n-n=- bf 9 D9 Lupa UPPER EGYPT. 87 cut up by deep ravines, some of which are 100 metres in width, and 15 metres in depth ;. the two main ones are known as the Batts and Wadi el Mirya, and both tail into the Birket el Qurim. Indeed, nearly all the canals are more or less ravines. It is quite a common feature in the Fayoum to see wheels lifting water by water-power ; while all the canals are studded with corn mills worked by turbines (panchakkis) of a pattern intro- duced from India some 30 years ago. Since January, 1885, a gauge has been daily read at the Qurim lake, and the diagrams of gauges during 1885, 1886, and 1887, are given in plate XIII. It will be seen how steadily the level has fallen since a systematic attempt has been made to reduce the height of water, and so reclaim land annu- ally swamped by the lake. The measures hitherto adopted have met with much success, and when once the canal system is remodelled, and the canals everywhere occupy the highest instead of the lowest land, there should be a still greater fall in the water surface. It is the water supply entering the lake during winter which chiefly needs regulation, as it is then that the great rise in the lake has hitherto taken place. The average summer discharge at the Lahoun regulator is 1,500,000 cubic metres per day, the flood is 6,500,000, and the winter discharge 3,000,000 cubic metres per day. The area irrigated in summer is 43,000 acres, in flood 220,000 acres, and in winter 135,000 acres. If we allow 30 cubic metres per day per acre during summer, 23 in flood, and 11 in winter, we find the water expended in the Fayoum during summer as (43,000 X 30 =) 1,300,000 cubic metres per day, in flood as (220,000 X 23 =) 5,000,000 cubic metres per day, and in winter (135,000 X II =) 1,500,000 cubic metres per day. The rest finds its way into the lake. The number of small masonry regulators in the province is $8 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. 32, and of regulating weirs (nasbahs) 69. There are about 250 corn-mills worked by water power, and 150 Persian wheels, worked by water-power or oxen. A corn-mill complete costs 4o/. to erect, pays a yearly tax to Government of 43/., can be rented at 30/. per annum, and grinds daily about 25 cantars of corn. A Persian wheel driven by water power costs 4o/,, pays a royalty of 5/, irrigates 33 acres per day, and can com- mand an area of 30 acres in summer. The irrigation of this province has been in the hands of Mr. Marshal Hewat, Assis- tant Inspector of Irrigation, working directly under the Inspector-General. The province has been very well surveyed, and a number of projects prepared for both improving the existing irrigation, and reclaiming land which is now desert, but which was once well cultivated. Most of the canals have been provided with new regulating heads. On both the north and south of the Fayoum depression there are ruins, and large areas of abandoned Nile deposit, which was irrigated 300 to 400 years ago. It is possible to reclaim upwards of 80,000 acres by improving the water supply from the Ibrahimia, and re-excavating old canals at a cost of not more than 1/. an acre. These tracts have been discovered by Major Ross, and are being very thoroughly surveyed. The projects will soon be before the Government.* * Since the above was written Egypt has experienced the very low flood of 1888. The experience gained is given in Chapter XI. PLATE XT. GAUGE DIAGRAM. LAKE QURUN RES BELOW MEAN SEA. MET SECTION ON MN. = K ‘ . w: v y oO eee \ ' u | t | a Ss ty = 7 , ‘ —. a: ay ® > ls x =) oO S55 ’ ae 4 Ss 7s CoN = ie | 2 s a= em \ A ee [xc ee aa Sax a- \ myaaee Z ee sata NS ee aoe 1 oO a es] 7 7 oes: | ee i Oo Hl ae see He : f ul / wn = = f A = F San ely A > | ae Eat oc pee ieee ea | ili / 2 a = ra = = at Sf ee eel acai ae a J = _—— f— Ze — Z ee E a (= = w= a Ww z atc = / aL 5 / Ey a) | Fae T 4 ee 3 . a re Pam f= eT i a te B 7 ? Sa 7 > [ N A / < | i z F | £ Ss e Al Palit Fy / Soe z } \ == eS / ‘ < r - 4 : i eS \ ' ' | = — $! anges a wz ‘ i I aa ee ve za eee < i = i }—— — =f ‘i ® L * = —+ \\_ a eee eee ee ee — a \ NLS le eee Ss aoe a ad le ee = tu \ | - Se alee gs es eae | \ a = = 4 fee I a =i) - a aoa! ale goa = < . ee 3 \ > ~ —L. a + — — ° ° S 2 ° % ° N st © © S & 8 ® ° ° ° o Oo = = eS 0) + it + + + + + eq | \ | ' ! | ELEVATION UNDERSHOT WHE FOR RAISING WATER FAYOUM KL IN + 4 mie 50, Metres. Dimenstons ul Scale CHAPTER =. Lower EGYPT. Summer Irrigation — Description of this System of Irrigation —Summer Canals—Extent and Yield of Crops—Engines and Water Wheels—Water Consumption—Heavy Clearances of the Summer Canals—Evils from Excessive Supply during Flood—Problems before the Engineers— Behéra Province — Canals and Regulators— Rayah Behéra in the Desert— Khatatbeh and Atfeh Pumping Stations—Disadvantages of Lifting Water in Summer as compared to Water by Gravitation—Improvements— Abukir Reclamation—MWenoujieh and Garbieh—Canals and Regulators— Navigation—Diminution of Silt Clearances—Improvements—Kalyudbia, Sharkia, and Dakalia-—Canals and Regulators—Navigation—Improve- ments of the Drainage—Diminution of Silt Clearances. Lower Ecypt, previous to 1820, was irrigated, like Upper Egypt, by a partial system of basin irrigation. The high land was under cotton or Indian corn during flood, and the low land under basin irrigation. Every fifteen or twenty years a high flood swept over the country, and thoroughly inundated and washed the high lands. The country was covered with a network of dykes which formed the embank- ments of the different basins. Mehemet Ali Pasha changed this completely by excavating a number of deep summer canals capable of discharging the low-level summer supply of the Nile. The presence of this water in the canals allowed of the cultivation of cotton during the summer, and thus introduced cotton on a large scale into Egypt. Mehemet Ali strengthened the dykes of the Nile and of the canals, which dykes now assumed a fresh importance as they protected the go EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. country. from inundation ; he stereotyped this new system of irrigation, as he did pretty well everything else he took in hand. If the embankments of the basins had been main- tained, the basins might have been filled periodically on the old system, and Lower Egypt to-day would have been enjoy- ing all the advantages of cotton cultivation together with those of basin irrigation. This, however, was not to be; the old basins were neglected, the embankments ploughed up, and now that rich mud deposit which constituted the wealth of Lower Egypt for thousands of years can no longer be secured to renovate the land. How long this struggle against Nature will last it is difficult to say, but in the middle strip of the Delta proper there are unfailing indications of the expe- diency of a return to the partial system of basin irrigation. There are tens of thousands of acres of apparently good land, which can produce neither Indian corn nor wheat, which glisten white like snow through the summer when turned up in ridges and sown with cotton, and are visibly deteriorating year by year. A couple of years under flood water would give them a fresh lease of life. The following information has been obtained from Linant Pasha’s ‘Memoirs’:—The excavation of the grand summer canals necessitated 110,000,000 cubic metres of earthwork, representing an expenditure of 3,300,000/. In a single year the Nile dykes were strengthened with 27,000,000 cubic metres of earthwork. The yearly summer canal clearances in Lower Egypt before the construction of the Barrages used to be 13,300,000 cubic metres, representing an expenditure of 5 30,0007. per annum. The measured dis- charges of the summer canals gave the amount of water entering the different provinces of Lower Egypt during an ordinary summer as follows: LOWER EGYPT. OI Cubic Metres in 24. Hours Behérap Provinee® 2.5352 yet = 934,504 Menoufieh and Garbieh Jal fists Ys Bee See OARS Kalyubia, Sharkia, and Dakhalia inte (TisOd 2533 30 fotal’ 2 “so 4007 nea The discharge at present entering these provinces is 24,750,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours during summer, but the area irrigated in summer now, as compared with the area irrigated then, does not bear anything like the same rate of increase. This is due to the fact that poor land needs much more irrigation than rich land, and Lower Egypt to-day is not what it was when cotton cultivation first began, and the basins had only recently been abandoned. . With this preliminary sketch we may proceed to consider the existing system of irrigation in Lower Egypt. The year is divided into three seasons, as before described. During summer an average discharge of 34,000,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours can be counted on in Lower Egypt. The water for summer irrigation is obtained from ‘séfi,” or summer canals, which are deep canals capable of carrying the low-level water of the Nile. At their heads they are generally six metres below the level of the country, while the irrigation from them is effected by means of pumps, sakyas, and other machines. They are designed to carry a supply in summer capable of irrigating one-third the area commanded. The summer crops are cotton, sultani rice, sugar-cane, cucumbers, and vegetables, while clover is irrigated up to the beginning of June. The summer is followed by the Nile or flood season. The flood crop of maize is the staple of food for the whole agricultural population. During the floods, besides the maize, cotton, rice, and sugar cane, are irrigated 92 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. and matured ; and the fallow land, of which there is very little, is put under water. The water for flood irrigation is obtained both from the summer canals, and also from separate flood canals. The summer canals are filled so as to command the country, while the flood canals are shallow ones, capable of taking in only the flood supply, with their beds about two metres below the level of the country. The irrigation during flood is flush. The flood canals run while the Barrage gauge is about 14 metres, which it generally is from the first week of August to the first week of December. The third season is the winter, when the crops are wheat, beans, barley, and clover. The winter irrigation is effected from the summer canals in their upper reaches, and from the summer and flood canals lower down. The importance of the different seasons in Lower Egypt may be thus compared ; taking 2,737,418 acres as the revenue- paying area, 935,000 acres are under summer crops, yielding 9,470,000l. ; 1,280,000 acres are under flood crops, yielding 4,760,000/.; and. 2,106,500 acres are under winter crops, yielding 9,040,000/. Practically, the whole area yields a double crop which may be valued at 23,270,000/., or 8°5/. per acre. Summer Crops. Acres. ae Total Value. Oowonwis: ieee es 826,000 at 10°05 .. £8,730,000 SilgarCane Gi as. 0 le. ee 4,009 5, 1070 ca 40,000 Vegetables, gardens, &c. .. 25,000. petOnOus fx. 350,000 SultaniriGess. | cer eel 5: FO,O0O sy GO te 4% 350,000 Mota as. oss 935,000 493470,000 LOWER EGYPT. 93 Lood Crops. Yield. Acres. ze Total Value. Dates (1,100,000 trees) .. — at © "A0c ss. AAO 000 Maize ss <5. oe seb ss) 1, 200,000).8 305) mene fecOG1 00 Flood #ic@ a.--- a eeeee GOs OO0 nn eDeS a 120,000 Total, ... 22 — 2,280; 000 5.5 S210. =. 1 1008000 Winter Crops. ~ Acres. 3 ia Total Value. Tobacco Sk soca Ree ere 25500 at 207071 2) = 45 On000 Plax S22 ee esa ae 400005 LODO. pes 40,000 Vegetables, gardens, &c. .. 35, 000m, . 5 On On mua 350,000 Wheat? tienes ee ee ee 670,060 4,- 470 3,680,000 Barléy= => ce geese ee 220,000 45 =O 660,000 Beans 25) so ees 230,000 1,320,000 ClOVEE 12) Sins eee eee 735 '5000",)8 420 2,940,000 Total 2.3, .b60 25,8005 00mm 410 -» 9,040,000 Total tor thejyeat 722) a. = 2,737,410 at O° 5 = 23,270,000 To accomplish this irrigation there are employed 6971 kilo- metres of summer canals, and 216 kilometres of flood canals, while the flush irrigation is supplemented by : Horse-power. 33,673 Waterwheels, representing ».. -.. ) 11,224 2,176 Portable-eneimesss ca eis, (ere tO 400 349 Stationary eneimes. 2205.) 9s. 1-6 5,420 Total eh 20. FAs Since 480 cubic metres per day is the mean performance of a horse-power in Egypt, these machines lift during summer 17,400,000 cubic metres per 24 hours. 94 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. The amount of water entering the canals of the different provinces of Lower Egypt during 1886 was as follows :— TaBLE XXIII. Discharge in Cubic Metres per Day. Provinces. | Summer. | Flood. Winter. | | | A BeWehdes tc. Gs Yio fe Pees eos 4,250,000 | 16,000,000 3,000,000 Menoufieh and Garbieh fa fOY700.. 000 | 41,500,000 | 17,509,000 Kalyubia, Sharkia, and Da- | kahlia | 9,800,000 | 41,200,000 | 20,000,000 a eos ee ee ee Total .. .. | 24,750,000 | 98,700,000 | 40,500,000 The deltaic formation described in Chapter II., is not peculiar to Upper Egypt, it refers also to every part of Lower Egypt with slight modifications.* Here, no very extensive tract has been formed by the inundation and consequent de- posit from a single stream. On the contrary, it has been the work of many. It isa common occurrence to find dry beds possessing all the characteristics of the existing channels. In some cases channels are found of such capacity as to show without doubt that they are deserted beds of the main stream. It will thus be seen that the delta proper is not made up of an equable deposit of alluvial matter to the right and left of the main channels, but, on the contrary, by that from a number of channels, some of which have subsequently been obliterated. The fall of the country also, instead of only following the course of the main channels, is affected equally by all the others. Intermediate between the channels, the ground is low, and the line formed by the intersection of the two planes sloping away from their respective banks, evidently indicates the course in which the drainage from those planes tends to * Roorkee treatise on Civil Engineering, vol. ii. LOWEERAEG ILS, 95 flow. Such lines will be formed also at the extreme boundaries of the delta along the edge of the desert. A few of the canals are on new alignments, most follow the traces of the old channels, and are in consequence very winding and crooked. They, however, command the country well and intercept no drainage. They are in this respect vastly superior to the artificial canals which were, as a rule, laid out very badly. Plate XIV. gives a contoured map of Lower Egypt, from - which it will be seen that the longitudinal slope varies from totoo Near the apex to gghgq, and even 5,1,,, near the lakes. The deltaic formation (viz., the country sloping away from both the banks of every channel) is very much more pronounced near the lakes than what it is further south. When Mehemet Ali began cotton cultivation, he deepened these natural watercourses, and dug some new ones sufficiently deep to take in the low-level summer water of the Nile. The yearly clearance of these canals entailed much labour on the country ; and it was to obviate these difficulties that Mehemet Ali began the Barrages at the head of the delta proper in 1835, and had it not been for the corvée, or forced labour, he would have finished them. The presence of the corvée enabled the Government at first to dig the canals deep and dispense with the Barrages ; and afterwards, when difficulties arose owing to a partial failure of the Rosetta branch Barrage, it seemed easier to the Government to keep on calling out the corvée than to face the problem of the Barrages, and definitely solve. it. To these deep canals Egyptian irrigation owed all its difficulties. Canals meant to irrigate small tracts of land, and needing during flood a bed-width of 6 metres and a’ depth of 2°50 metres, had bed-widths of 6 metres and depths of 6 metres. They ran 1 metre deep in summer, and sufficed for the summer crop, which covered one-third the whole area 96 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. commanded. During flood they irrigated the whole area, but had to run 6 metres deep in order to insure flush irrigation along their entire lengths. The result was that regulators had to be built at intervals of 8 or 10 kilometres along the canals, and partially closed during flood to bring the water to the surface of the land. This converted the canals into a series of pools, which formed very efficient silt-traps. The checking of the velocity caused the Nile mud to settle in the beds of the canals in deposits of 2 metres and under, on hundreds of kilometres. This had to be removed yearly by the corvée at enormous cost. Hundreds of acres of valuable land lay buried under mountains of mud, while the fields them- selves lost the rich mould. But this was only the beginning of evils. In spite of the closed regulators, and numerous other contrivances, the canals were so disproportionately large during flood, that they sent down into the lower lands further north such an excessive volume of water that all the canals, escapes, and drainage cuts, were full to overflowing with flood water, and were, in consequence, unable to perform their proper functions. The country during flood was divided into a number of islands surrounded. by water at a high level. The natural consequence was that salt efflorescence was greatly on _ the increase in the lands under cultivation; while 1,000,000 acres capable of reclamation, were maintained in a state of swamp. Owing, besides, to the existence of so many regu- lators, about five per cent. of which only were provided with locks for navigation, the canals were no longer the magnificent highways for the conveyance of produce which they once were. Indeed, many poor lands were not cultivated at all, because the cost of transport was prohibitive. The deep summer canals are supplemented in flood by shallow flood canals. The Nile begins to rise about the rst of PLATE XIV. PLAN OF LOWER EGYPT. 1887. HYDROGRAPHIC DATA. 7 Scale, 1-600. 000. Contours 1 metre apart, reterred to Mean Sea. i\ yr =) DAMIETTA BRANCH E> ROSETTA BRANCH = Dp yp ueeno: 1° Rayah Meroutich 2° Rayah- Behera 3° Rayah lewtiky A. Province of Behera B. . , Garbich Cast 27 _ Menousich De ee » Dakatiel Oe : , Sharkieh Le , Aaliubtah eS REFERENCES : it ere Canal ~----------~+., Drainage Gat is = wh Q q x ee -._ omtours LOWER EGVET, 97 July, but in this month the rise is not sufficient for flood irriga- tion, which begins usually about the 5th August. As soon as the water is high enough to flow into the flood canals, the irrigation of the land for maize sowing begins. The maize is sown up to the 10th of September. The young plants are gradually thinned as they grow up, providing green food for the cattle at this season of the year. The early sown maize yields twice as much corn as the late. For flood irrigation, therefore, an early rise of the Niles the best.) Whe cad: ot the flood is contemporaneous with the reaping of the maize ‘crop, which is followed by a final heavy irrigation of the whole country, and the subsequent sowing of the wheat crop, after ploughing, and the clover generally without ploughing. Be- sides, therefore, the extra value of an early maize crop itself, it is very desirable that the final flood watering, which prepares the land for the winter crop sowing, should be given when the Nile water is high enough for flush irrigation. Since the Nile falls quickly after the 20th October, the sooner th emaize crop is off the ground the less is the chance of there being any necessity to lift water by machinery for the winter crop. It will now be easy to understand that the works the Indian engineers have attempted to carry out during their five years’ stay in Egypt may be classed as follows :— 1. The strengthening and securing of the Barrages so as to insure a constant high-water level during summer, and not only utilise the whole summer supply of the Nile, but do away with great part of the heavy silt clearances. 2. The construction of escapes and supplementary flood canals, so as to irrigate during summer from the summer canals, and during high Nile from the summer canals in their lower reaches, and supplementary flood canals in the upper reaches of the summer canals, and thus reduce silt deposits. II 98 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. 3. Having reduced silt deposits to a manageable amount, to substitute dredging and contract work for the corvée. 4. The obtaining of flood supplies as early as possible into the flood canals. 5. The reduction and regulation of the supplies en- tering the summer canals during flood, so as to save the low lands from inundation. 6. The improvement of the low lands themselves by drainage and basin irrigation. 7. The improvement of the navigation. Chapter V. is devoted to a consideration of the first ; the second is treated in this chapter; the third in the ninth chapter; the fourth and fifth in this chapter; the sixth in the fourth chapter, and the seventh in this chapter. The canal systems of the different provinces of Lower Egypt will first be described, and then the modifications effected and being effected. Behéra province will be classed by itself as lying to the west of the Rosetta branch. The two central provinces will be described together ; and then the three provinces lying to the east of the Damietta branch. The province of Bekéra contains 398,000 acres of culti- vated land, 260,000 acres of cultivable land, and 240,000 acres of land under water; total 900,000 acres. It lies to the west of the Rosetta branch, and is the most difficult of the pro- vinces to irrigate. The irrigation is effected by three main canals, known as the Rayah Behéra, the Khatatbeh, and the Mahmudia. By referring to the plan of Lower Egypt on Plate XIV., it will be seen that the Rayah Behéra has its head upstream of the Rosetta Barrage. The Khatatbeh canal has its head at Khatatbeh, about 45 kilometres down the Rosetta branch, and joins the Rayah Behéra, the joint canal being henceforth known as the Khatatbeh. The LOWER EGYPT. 99 Khatatbeh canal tails into the 15th kilometre of the Mah- mudia canal, which, starting from the left bank of the Rosetta branch south of Atfeh, flows into Alexandria harbour, and supplies the town with drinking water. The following tables give much information about these canals and their main regulators. Between the Barrages and Khatatbeh, the sandy desert impinges on the left bank of the Rosetta branch in so many places that the Rayah Behéra has to pass through 20 kilo- metres of pure sand. In this reach it is very difficult to maintain the canal, not so much on account of the drift sand of the desert (which is inconsiderable) as on account of the great difficulty of making the canal keep to its channel. The water, if it has the least velocity, begins eating away the sides, and a section like oi Gy On soon becomes like E, F, G, H. The area of water is the same, EKGraze though the bed is very much higher. If the water at the head could be maintained at a constant level this peculi- RIG. 8. D Flood W.S. eS WN H XS SS ~ XX ww Sa SEE S xX Iw WY SS eS Summer W.S, G SS Se, aI SS a ig ae emmy eS arity of the canal would not matter, but with a changing level it is fatal; e.g., during flood the section A, B, C, D, is changed to E, F, G, H, and the bed is actually higher Eee? 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This difficulty was met by a wise action of the Egyptian engineers. They kept the Rayah Behéra as a summer canal, shutting its head by an earthen dam in flood, while they used the Khatatbeh as a flood canal. By this means they secured a more or less constant level of water, and kept the canal system working: The level of water maintained above the Barrages used to be very low, and the discharge obtained was considered too small, especially as the province of Behéra is full of influ- ential landholders who live in Cairo and Alexandria, and have a voice in the Government. The Government therefore erected a pumping station at Khatatbeh, to lift water in summer. The Mahmudia canal was dug by Mehemet Ali in 1819-20, with the object of opening a direct water-way between Cairo and Alexandria, supplying the latter town with water, and providing for summer irrigation. This canal was fed in a novel way. An area of 60,000 acres to the south of Atfeh were surrounded by a dyke, filled with water in flood and turned into a reservoir for supplying summer water to the Mahmudia. In 1849 it was considered cheaper to lift the water from the Nile, and cultivate the basin ; consequently pumps were erected at Atfeh. ‘Le Génie civil’ (vol. x., Nos. 2, 3,and 5) contains much information about these pumps and those at Khatatbeh. There is an abstract of these papers in the Minutes of the ‘ Proceedings I. C. E. (Vol. Ixxxix., p. 515.) At Khatatbeh, the water is lifted by five huge centrifugal pumps with vertical shafts, while at Atfeh there are six scoop-wheels. The discharge at Khatatbeh 1s 2,500,000 cubic metres per 24 hours, and at Atfeh about 2,000,000; the lift in the former case being about 2°65 metres as a Maximum, ane. 200 pmetres aS a Meal, the life at Atfeh1s-22metmes asa maximum, and 1°20 metres Ow EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. as a mean, The pumps at Khatatbeh are weil constructed and excellently managed, and yet they are showing signs of deterioration owing to faulty designing. All the rubbing surfaces of these enormously heavy machines are vertical, which makes it exceedingly difficult to keep them oiled, and this means wear and tear. If renewals are ever necessary they will be very costly indeed. Their one chance of life lies in the splendid management and unceasing supervision. Machines like them will never again be erected in Egypt. A number of easily manageable 48” or 54" Gwynne pumps, with a separate channel for each group of three or four, would have been better. If the original screws at Khatatbeh had had diameters of 7 feet, instead of 10 feet, and been constructed on the same principles as the screws at Sherbin they would have been working to-day.* The Irrigation Com- pany have a contract with the Government which lasts till 1921, to lift annually in summer up to 2,500,000 cubic metres per 24 hours at Khatatbeh, and 2,500,000 cubic metres per 24 hours at Atfeh, for an annual indemnity of 26,320/., and 427. per 1,000,000 cubic metres per 24 hours at Khatatbeh, and 28/. per 1,000,000 cubic metres per 24 hours at Atfeh. In 1886 the company received 51,250/. and pumped 4,250,000 cubic metres per 24 hours throughout the summer. In this province there is a chronic deficiency of water in flood, winter, and summer, and in 1885 and 1886 the Govern- ment was tempted to use the Rayah Behéra in flood. It had been provided with a series of groynes about 250 metres apart through the sandy portion, but these were not sufficient, and the canal silted up completely. It is not likely that the experiment will be repeated until the groynes are permeable * Very large machines seem not to answer in localities where repairs are difficult and costly, and generally postponed till it is too late. LOWEXK EGYPT. 103 ones, and some 50 metres apart. In the author’s opinion it would be better to leave the Rayah Behéra as a summer canal, and if the Khatatbeh canal does not supply enough of water in flood, make a second head from the Nile north of Kafr Zayat, as proposed by Major Ross. This is being carried out on a 20 metre bed to discharge four million cubic metres per day in flood. | In spite of large sums of money spent in pumping, viz. between 40,000/. and 50,o00/. annually, the dredging of the three canals is as necessary as ever on account of navigation, water supply in winter, and the fear of allowing silt to accumulate. The province of Behéra is an excellent example of the costliness of pumping into the canals in summer instead of completing the Barrages, and lifting water by gravi- tation. The advantages claimed for pumping were : Ist, no necessity for. dredging the canals, as the water would enter at a high level from the pumps; 2nd, a supply of flush irriga- tion in summer; and 3rd, the certainty of the pumps as compared to the Barrages. These advantages were to out- weigh the cost of pumping. Sir Colin Moncrieff decided to work the Barrages instead of multiplying Khatatbeh all over Egypt. The experience gained in Behéra proves that the obtaining of a supply of 4,250,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours in summer necessitates an annual outlay of 51,000/. To raise, therefore, the whole 34,000,000 cubic metres per day available in summer it would cost 408,o00/. per annum, while the Barrages now can utilise some 25,000,000 cubic metres per day at an annual outlay of some 15,0007. And after paying for the pumping, the necessity for dredging would remain the same because the requirements of navigation demand a fixed depth of water in winter in some canals, while others would run dry in winter if not dredged. This 104 EGYPTIAN [RKRIGATION. and. If the canals were allowed to silt up sufficiently to give flush irrigation disposes of the first supposed advantage. with the supply sent down in summer which irrigates one- third of the province, and which is one-third the quantity needed in flood, the flood supply could never enter the canals early enough for the sowing of maize, and when it did it would be from 2 to 3 metres above the level of the country, as it is three times the summer supply in quantity. When there is but one set of canals to irrigate 1,000,000 acres in summer and 3,000,000 acres in flood, it is impossible to have flush irrigation all the year round. In the lower reaches it would be possible, of course, to give flush irrigation near the regu- lators, but that is done now with the water obtained by gravitation. The necessity of keeping the beds low, to allow water to enter in winter and save pumping in that season (a matter of another 200,000/. per annum), would make the water level in summer too low for flush irrigation. 3rd. Prima facie the Barrage looks as reliable as the gigantic and complicated pumps at Khatatbeh. The principal works carried out since 1884 have been in connection with the Rayah Behéra. Mr. E. W. Foster, the Inspector of Irrigation, has elaborated a very complete project for the remodelling of the Rayah, Khatatbeh, and Mahmudia canals, of which a beginning has been made with the construc- tion of the Kafr Dawar lock and regulator, separating the high and low land of Northern Behéra. The regulators are being remodelled to suit the new conditions, while the 20 kilo- metres of desert near the head have been provided with a series of spurs opposite each other. The number of these spurs will be continually added to, so as to bring them nearer to each other and enable the action of one spur to cease when that of the next begins. The great difficulty in the way of LOWER EGYPT. 105 improvements in this province is the late arrival of the floods and the want of water in winter. To meet this a new feeder is being constructed from the Rosetta branch of the Nile north ofthe Kafr Zayat. The main drain of Behéra, the ‘‘ Masraf el Amiam,” which had practically disappeared, has been cleared and widened, and is being prolonged. A private company is digging a new canal, called the Nubdria, along the south- - western edge of the province, in order to reclaim desert ; and another company is trying to reclaim Abukir lake on a very enlightened principle, which is sure to meet with success if a good supply of water can be assured. Provinces of Menoufich and Garbieh. — Cultivated area 1,200,000 acres, cultivable 600,000 acres, under water 180,000 acres, total 1,980,000 acres. Thése two provinces comprise the country lying between the Rosetta and Damietta branches. The main irrigating channel is the Rayah Menoufieh, which starts from between the two Barrages, and after a course of 23 kilometres divides into two branches; the right-hand one, or Bahr Shebin, discharges into the Mediterranean, west of Damietta, and the left hand one, or Bahr Bajur, into Lake Barillos. The Rayah supplies two large summer canals with water, the Bahr Shebin supplies eleven, and the Bahr Bajur three. All the canals are well supplied with regulators, and many of them with escapes. These two provinces are very favourably situated, and are the two richest provinces in Egypt. 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Table X XVII. gives details of some of the regulators. By the completion of old locks and construction of new ones, navigation will soon be open on the Rayah and Bahr Shebin, connecting Cairo with Mehalla Kebira throughout the year; and on the Bahr Bajur, connecting Cairo with Alexandria throughout the year also. The Cairo-Alexandria summer navigation line will follow the main Nile, then the Rayah Menoufieh, then the Bahr Bajur, and finally drop into the Rosetta branch at Kuddaba, north of Kafr Zayat ; from the Rosetta branch the Mahmudia canal will continue the navi- gation to Alexandria. The new locks on the Cairo-Alex- andria line are all 50 metres x 8 metres x 2 metres, though there is an old lock on this line 35 metres x 8 metres x 2 metres, while the Mahmudia has double locks of 56°8 metres. x 12 “metres X 2) anetres, and= O34 5= merece < 7 metres x 2 metres at Atfeh, and the same-sized openings into Alexandria harbour. The new locks on the Cairo- Mehella Kebira line are 35 metres) x4 7 mieues 0-2 mettes; though the old Karanian lock is 17°5 metres x 7 metres xX 2 metres. On anemergency all the locks within these two provinces, except those at Kuddaba, could be opened, and boats of any length, provided the widths suited, might be passed. The main work in these Provinces since 1884 has been in the direction of the reduction of silt clearances in the main canals by methods detailed below. The summer canals have a mean slope sph gy, while the country has a slope of zo405; and advantage has been taken of this to use the summer canals for flush flood-irrigation in their lower reaches and supplement Cie inzuery proxy jeurg pesey prop eIL], 1yeg pray eye, yeg peoyy | [euro sueysig O0.40 Ou g We O48 o1.V - ¢ oS. O76 |-09,.0: 100-2 "IOJULM UT S$yvoq 0} uadO 60,6 || Oz.O1] OS 11lee .v ‘syeoq 0} usdQ oe oF oa ces a Of Suleo.S | Ogse-1e., i a eee ¢ oG.o1/ o£ .V1| 0g.91/90.4 One jaquiasacq syvoq 0} uedQ { °C. 1-X 9 X bz ‘yDoT OG Tule atul Oo 2c 100. ; Come ‘poop ‘z X 9 X ¥e “YOoT a Coe caiCOns Oa. : 00.€ proy : Ipres 1qeq ' : OO.” | CO,¢ | @o,S KO“ = cae yreyse N : Ks ov .S OSes aso 120049, 20: dO.e unisegq me 06,01 O9,L Ol O1| OO /1T\ET 6 00.¥ seqeiqnys ‘uoTjONIysSUOD | ; é : ; ropun ‘2 x g x 08 ‘yo0T/ On, cul 06.01) 0$.€1| of .v1\go.4 00.V pro infeg 1yeq ‘Arenue{ | 0} dn puv poop ut uodo| cc m~ OMmMON news () ; CaN 6c 66 OV. Gia Ook OS. ov. | oF. jo6.z—| go.z | Lo. C “* pIgUIC Z é oc. § | 60,9 | 0$.9 jof.1—| of 2 | O18 urlequey ‘doOTONISUOD JapuN Yoo'T | O”-g NO nOSa) | Oreo VaCOvorlOS.l leec ae. | Olaa eyUeS ROG Ee ier et Of. 11) 0040. \G00n6 OO.11) 0O.2tl0n.G. | OO 1 007.8 5 SIP W Cote Xoo hE OI. Vil O¢,O1| 09408) ©O,z1) CO, yO/.5 || OO, 4 | 00, uUIvURIv YT ulqoys rye "2 WG cet et of.S1| oz.z1| 02.21] 0g.1| og.S1\09.g | 00.¥ | 00.7 yeivuan ss "2X 9X 0G ‘yoory | 00.41] 00.€1| 00.£1| Of .91] O5.gr/00.01 TOV hE sv proxy | yoynousyy yedey So.tJOUL SoIJOUL | SarjOtU | SOTJOUT | Sot}JOU SatjouU | SOTJOU | SoI}OT | SOT}JOUL Og GeO ° 5 . SQ x S NY x N < S BS © Q | ~~ ‘wivalys | ‘Urearjs | ‘WIvarjs | ‘WIed17S -umoq | -dq |-umoq| -dq ‘sIOyIO |'Te1}WID *10} [NDOT oe ‘Teues Jo oweyy “SyIVUIIY oe “rouLUING “poopy Ul pray WIOlZ 9DULISIC, ; ‘soulusdg *QIVJINS IOJVAA JO “'T 'Y JO 21S *SOIJIUIOTLY] *sdutuadg JO ‘ON | i ‘HaIGUVS) GNV HALMNONAWW ‘SUOLVINDAY— JIAXX AAV] TYPE SECTIONS OF EGYPTIAN CANALS RAYEH MENOUFIEH. R.L. Flood 716.00 RL. Surraner 13-00 DFS OG ae ee see BAHR SHEBIN BELOW DEMERA. 3-6 ; 26-00 meer ees aaa Ta ; RL Sur: } SAHEL CANAL HEAD. 9:0 148-0. 00» 10-0 1 1 wt 4 1 RL. 15-00 See eee: 4-5 35 | AT He ae RL Ground 16.50 metres Alternative weeks DETAILS OF DISCHARGES . Season Flood Summ! Flood Summ Flood Flood Summ Flood. Flood Summit Flood A | Summ? Bed Width t cS (mean) S Area of Cross Section in Sq! metres Slope dees 20, 000 22:00| 90- 00 awe 15, 000 220. 30. 00 eae ee 100, 000 8-0 60 - 00 kia 21, 000 6-0 60 - 00 Sets 12, 000 8:0 10 - 00 pee ee 72, 000 G- &- EG) O 40: 00 40 - 00 OTRO) 60- 00 70 - 0O 27, 000 Haslet 14, 000 aera {2, 000 Beeline 26, 000 72, 000 Mean Velocity | metres p.sec -90 IY) .70 33 Discharge in Xt iS C'metres per 24: hours . 217, 000, 000 I, 000, 000 5, 500,000 700 , 000 2, 800,000 3, 400, 000 250, 000 1, 600, 000 2, 100, 000 250, 000 2 600,000 250, OOO Flood. Canal Flood 4- 117° OO ees 20, 000 380 280, 000 PLATE XV(a) LOWER EGYPT. 109 them by flood canals in the upper reaches. In other places the summer canals have been fed from neighbouring high-level canals during summer and winter, and from flood canals in flood. The expenditure on some of the canal clearances was extravagantly high compared with the results obtained from the clearances. The greatest offenders in the Delta were the Sahel and Nagar Canals. The annual cost of clearance of the former was 15,000/. for corvée labour, while it gave a summer discharge of 200,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours ; the cost of the latter was 18,o00/, and the discharge 100,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours. Pumping engines, deli- vering water at a 4 metres higher level, would have delivered 2,500,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours for the same sum of money. As the corvée expenditure, however, did not appear in the Budget, public attention was not directed to it as it would otherwise have been. The accompanying plans show the work done on the above canals. Referring to the plans, the thick lines are the deep summer canals, the fine ones the new subsidiary flood canals. (Fig. 1.) During summer the new summer canal (4 — 4) feeds the three canals to the right (the extreme right hand canal is the Sahel) with water obtained from the high-level Rayah Menoufieh. During flood the canals take from the Nile. (Fig. 2.) The numbers I, 2, 3 show the new escapes, while the whole of the flood irrigation in the upper reaches is now carried on by the flood canals. The summer canals during flood begin to irrigate where the new flood canals leave off. “The escapes insure a fairly good velocity during flood in the summer canals. On these two systems of canals, comprising (Fig. 2) the Nagar, Sabbal; and. Nenaiah and (Fic. 1) the Attar Khadrawiah, and Sahel canals,* the corvée cleared in 1883— * The remodelling works cost 18,0007. LEO EGYELIAN IRRIGATION. 1,281,000 cubic metres costing 51,520/.,, while in 1887 there was cleared 53,000 cubic metres costing 2120/, Among other methods employed with success are: the partial closure Fic. 9. Vi ll Ss BARRAGES of the head, and complete opening of the 2nd Regulator, every alternate week in flood, so as to generate a current and prevent deposits; the building of masonry regulating heads on all groups of minor canals, so that in summer water is held up to command the highest canal, and the highest canal is not silt cleared as before to the level of the lowest; during summer, regulators are fully used, and a system of “‘ azé/s” * is being gradually developed; and, lastly, by finding out the area irrigated on each canal, and distributing the supply pro- portionately, the favourably situated canals no longer take more than their share, and more is consequently available for the unfavourably situated canals. Besides the great saving * « T4til,” an Indian word—in Arabic “ Manouba”—periodical closing of irrigation outlets in certain reaches of the canals, to insure a supply of water lower down. LOWER EGYVET. Tk of labour and money in these -silt clearances, there are three other distinct advantages: 1st, the rich Nile mud, instead of being deposited into the canals, is carried on to the fields ; ETG3eno: \\ > z. . be WS GEES PSEFEN ~ a iGo) 32% H eS | <¥ S e,( o Cr N So eracks SEK and, all the canals have beds sufficiently low to take in water for irrigation during the winter, before the annual clearances which generally take place between February and April; 3rd, these same canals are open to navigation during the winter at a time the regulators may all be opened, and navi- gation carried on through the central arches of the regulators, many of which have been provided with drawbridges. The author knows of canals where the presence of water during the winter has allowed of clover being irrigated and conse- quently cut five times instead of three, which means 5/. per acre instead of 34. Indeed, the extra quantity of water avail- able since the canals ran freely in winter has very sensibly lowered the price of cattle and consequently increased the number of waterwheels. Summer irrigation is far more indis- pensable for the low lands at the tails of the canals than it is 142 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. for the rich lands at their heads. Of the 1,200,000 acres in these provinces about 850,000 acres are capable of producing between the 1st of August and 31st of May two excellent crops; one crop of maize during the flood, the other of wheat, beans, or clover during the winter. To the owners of such lands cotton is a luxury. The remaining 350,000 acres are incapable of producing maize, owing to excess of salt; but they can produce good cotton and rice, and to such lands, therefore, as much water as possible should be sent down during the summer. The other work has had for its aim the reclamation of the Berea or low lands near the sea. This wili be treated fully in Chapter IV. Among the improvement works carried out may be enumerated: the new Melig regulator on the Bahr Shebin, costing 23,000/.; the head and other regulators on the Bahr Saidi, with the locks, costing 15,000/.; and the thorough clearance of the old neglected drains. Two large canals, used in old basin days for draining the basins, viz. the Bahr Nimra and the Um Yusef, have been converted into drains. Provinces of Kaliubia, Sharkia, and Dakahlia.—Culti- vated area, 1,150,000 acres, cultivable, 500,000 acres; under water, 490,000 acres: total, 2,140,000 acres. These three provinces lie to the east of the Damietta branch, and go south as far as Cairo. The Damietta branch itself, which has silted up considerably and runs at a high level as compared to the Rosetta, has up to the present done duty for a main feeder canal or Rayah, and has not done it badly. Three of the main canals take out from above the Barrage and benefit from its operations; two take out near Benha and have a temporary stone dam below their heads, to raise the summer level; and two canals take out from near Zifta, and have a temporary stone dam below them. ‘These stone dams are ee, rer h— Te OG Te % 2-081 FHL A.B. -$ Puovas tod ‘pout g-4 UoYdINS AL AparpA | WII MAQG OYE UIDLp JO abroyosuy £0-2-T a, GL a a a ee JOUD) UL: Gout OFF TY FOULS TY er ere erence a ee =< QRS SSASES SSS RASS @ 2S oo G SECTION ON £5 -EZO 2 SEP TIA TORR: -- = < ye JAX ALVTd NVW1d YA Meat et aaa apes = eRAKame poy ce ey restcetns | dt om y eeesoaes “IWNVD NOHS Y3Q0NN ey y XY 4 4 = pee oes ae v XD) « NIVUG WVZIN YUOA NOHdAS OOF mvt LOWER EGYPT. Lk3 put inin April or May, and removed in great part in July; they hold up about a metre of water in summer, have no effect on the river in flood, and cost annually about 5000/. between them. The conversion of the Benha temporary dam into a permanent Barrage, at an estimated cost of 285,000/. would have answered admirably, and not interfered with existing irrigation. This project, however, was abandoned for the original scheme of an independent Rayah, called the Rayah Tewfiki, taking out from above the Barrage. This latter scheme is entailing a very heavy expenditure, and swallowing up all that remains of the 1,000,000/. loan, after the Barrage repairs, while it benefits the three Eastern Provinces alone. The Benha Barrage project benefited the two central provinces as well as the three eastern, and was less costly. The canals in these three provinces discharging over 1,000,000 cubic metres per day in flood are detailed in Table XXVIII. Of these canals the Ismailia is navigable to Ismailia and Suez, and provides those towns with drinking water. Having been carried at a high level parallel to the Wady Tumilat, it has completely destroyed the Wady by its infiltrations. The locks are 38°5m. x 8°5m. xX 2m. metres. A canal called the Wady canal, connecting the Ismailia canal to Zagazig is navigable also, and has a lock 38°5 x 8°5 x 2 metres at either end. The Bahr Moés, from its head near Benha, is navigable as far as Zagazig. The Bahr Sogair is navigable from Mansourah to Menzaleh. The new Tewfiki canal, when completed, will open up navigation in summer between Cairo and Damietta, locking into the Nile at its head near the Barrages, and at Mansourah. By the construction of a lock near Mataria, and other improvements initiated by Mr. Garstin, the Inspector of Irrigation, navigation will also be I = S = NX S NN Re N < : SS S XQ ‘op “eIung i ‘ “eImeyIeys Jo advoso poopy "CIMBYIVYS pue visnsseq 10J ae ‘Iv8oS IL WoT “vLINSUB I Uj} jo wolenuUos sy} ST SIT, ‘Ires0g ryeg JO pvoy OT, ‘snpnyy iyeg OJ, ‘yeury, eg jo pvoy Of, ‘snpny iyeg OF, ‘jeueg viyng jo proy OL, 6c (79 yoy ‘SOOW Ip yoursq WSY MOTJVOINI OT, 6c 66 yoT “eisusseg jo youriq WYSY ‘uNequiny pue ey Jo prey aa 66 64 WoT "PIMBYICYS JO YOUrIG JS THEY JO pesy OL fl Oc en ao { 1000 \ : Dyke ero The introduction of cotton cultivation into the Birriya on wholesale principles caused the basin system to be aban- doned, while the cotton crop and the basins in rotation might have continued together, both to the advantage of the cotton and to the preservation of the land. This, however, was not done. All the fields were planted with cotton, and produced fairly well; gradually the lower fields fell out of cultivation, owing to salt efflorescence and lack of drainage. As the higher fields were now called on to produce a double share DRAINAGE AND LAND RECLAMATION. et of an exhaustive crop, while they received no manure or Nile deposit, they had to be planted with cotton and rice alter- nately, to prevent their complete deterioration. The drainage water of the rice-fields was run on to the lower lands, and completed their ruin. New canals dug without levels or alignment, and the conversion of all the drainage cuts into irrigation canals, was all that was needed to destroy the higher lands. This soon followed. In many places, now, the tops of the old banks and the beds of the old canals are the only places which yield a crop at all. The only remedy for all this is a return to the basin system. The State Domains Administration clearly sees this, and is trying to reintroduce basin irrigation on a large scale. It seems ridiculous that, during the summer months, when the water has no fertilising property, and there is very little of it, it should be utilised in irrigating a few fields here and there, scattered over all the basins; and that owing to the presence of these crops the whole series of basins should be deprived of the rich muddy fertilising water of the flood. If the summer crops were confined to a few basins in rotation the rest might be flooded with the muddy water, and rendered as fertile as they were when the ruined mounds which fill the horizon were populated towns and villages. It will be seen from the above that the Birriya consists of low-lying plains swept during the winter by salt water, of extensive swamps easily capable of reclamation, and, higher up, of land destroyed by false systems of cultivation. At the beginning of this chapter it was stated that the low lands to the south of the lakes had been ruined by the rise of the water-level in the lakes, which rise was owing to the increase of the sand bars between the lakes and the sea, and the partial closing of the openings in these sandbars. KZ L2 £GYPLITAN IRRIGATION. There is a tradition that the level of the land itself fell some goo years ago; but to unscientific men the fall of the land or the rise of the water-surface would appear the same. It is possible, however, for the land to have fallen. The Nile, like all deltaic rivers, deposits each flood its annual layer of fresh soil. This deposit is greatest near its banks. The natural consequence is, that the river advances into the sea in a series of tongues corresponding to the different mouths of the river. There is a limit to their length in the fact that, after a time, during some year of high flood, the river breaches its banks, and finding a shorter course to the sea, tears open a new channel, and silts up the old one. This accounts for the sand-hills advancing far into the sea to the north of Beltine, at the old mouth of the Sebennytic branch of the Nile, and to the west of the present mouth. The flood-water of the Nile, however, as it forces itself into the sea, meets the prevailing north-west wind, which drives back the matters held in suspension, and carrying on the sand, deposits it in long bars, stretching from mouth to mouth ona regular curve. These sand-bars are added to every year, and are considerably higher than the land behind them. In the following longitudinal section down the Delta proper, the ‘point C shows the position of the sand-bar with the lake behind Rie. 14, a LOWER EGYPT 3 AM TTLTTTT TTT TPDOL EVO B mee A LAKE Be pO ”4 a. it. The steep slope on from C is noticeable. Since the point C is yearly added to, the A BCD becomes liable to slide, DRAINAGE AND LAND RECLAMATION. bes which it might do on the occurrence of a severe earthquake. If there was to be any settlement, the line BA CDE would take the position BF GDH. A reason for the great de- terioration of this land may also be found in the possible slight rising of the level of the water in the Mediterranean sea since Ptolemaic times, owing to the increase during an earthquake of the section of the Straits of Gibraltar. A considerable increase of section would permit of a greater supply entering the Mediterranean from the Atlantic Ocean, to make up for loss by evaporation ; with a consequent rise ~ of water-surface in the Mediterranean. Having considered the probable and possible causes of deterioration of the low lands, or Birriya, it now remains to consider methods of reclamation. For reclaiming land which ts deteriorating, but which is capable of producing inferior crops, a return to basin irriga- tion every fourth or fifth year is infinitely the best method, If this cannot be done, the land must be provided with a drainage cut and sown with summer rice, or sown with clover, and well washed throughout the winter. There are many localities where it is not possible to provide drains during flood, except at an enormous cost; for such localities there should be provided a drain, working through the winter, and aliowing of a systematic washing of clover. The author is indebted to Mr. Frank Hazeldeen, of Alex- andria, for the following facts. Deteriorating land in the pro- vince of Behéra, bought for 16/. per acre, and improved at an expenditure of 4/. per acre, brought in nothing the first year ; paid its way the second year; paid 3 per cent. on the total expenditure to date the third year; 6 per cent. the fourth year; and 6 per cent. the fifth year. The Government land tax was 1‘O/. per acre per annum, and the above profits were 134 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. nett after paying the land tax and all expenses. This tax is high. All lands nowadays are taxed much more lightly. ‘The land to be reclaimed was divided into a number of beds by alternate canals and drains, the latter from a metre toa metre and a quarter deep, and one metre broad at bottom. The earthwork cost some ‘o1/. per cubic metre. With a : good supply of water and BIG ee: : : good drainage this system ought to work well. The Canal ee lands were planted with rice ' , a! 81 91 he RI S 5 Q es at first, and now cotton is ree, Es being encouraged. During S the winter the land is put ' under clover and well | washed. It is steadily im- ae ~ = proving in condition every year. This winter washing, as before remarked, is much to be commended. For reclaiming land which was once under cultivation, but which is xow more or less of a salt plain, dotted about with good plots of land, and lying generally between 1°50 and 3°50 metres above sea-level, basin irrigation is recommended. According to Mr. Aubert, of the State Domains Administra- tion, than whom no man in Egypt has greater experience in this kind of work, one should have basins of between 500 and 1000 acres each—the smaller the better. Each basin should be encircled by a bank of the following section; the land should be well levelled with a kind of broad wooden spade, driven by oxen, known locally as a ‘‘kassabi” ; there should be some eight or ten inlets into a basin of 1000 acres, and one outlet. The inlets and outlet require to be protected with rough stakes and fascine work. A depth of water of from 60 DRAINAGE AND LAND RECLAMATION. 135 to 75 centimetres is needed for a perfect irrigation. If the land is we/l prepared, and advantage taken of all natural features, the preparation of the land and the construction of the dykes should amount to from *50/. to 14. per acre. The patrolling and protection during the three months of flood will amount to ‘1o/. per acre for the first year, and a mere nomi- nal sum afterwards. If the irrigation is carefully done ° 104. per acre will be obtained from barley the first year ; but in the opinion of the author, it would be preferable to let the land stand under water through the first winter and be thoroughly washed. Much land is only half reclaimed by the proprietors being anxious to begin sowing long before the ground is fit for it. If the land to be reclaimed is very salted, and the red muddy flood-water of the Nile is introduced on it to a depth of 60 centimetres, the salt is buried under a thin deposit of mud, and eventually rises and destroys the land a second time. All experienced cultivators state that such land cannot be washed during August and September, when the water is saturated with mud, and incapable of washing. The first year no water should be allowed to come on the land during September and October, but from November to March the water should be freely given in any quantity available ; this insures a good washing out of salts. The following year, the rich water of the Nile flood should be introduced, and a deposit obtained over the whole land. Then the ordinary rotation of rice, barley, clover, &c., may be introduced, followed 136 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. by cotton as the land improves. If reclaimed, the land would be worth from 10/. to 40/. per acre, according to quality. For obtaining a deposit, the month of August is the best; and basin irrigation, from canals which have an insufficient supply of water in August, is indifferent. It will take three years to render theland fit for cotton cultivation. The basin irrigation should be renewed every third year after the land has been reclaimed. The author has observed that the Nile mud is all de- posited within half a kilometre of the inlet drain, and would recommend small canals 2 metres wide and 50 centimetres deep, leading into the middles of the basins, and there distributing the deposit. Such canals cost very little, and are invaluable. Indeed, many poor cultivators who cannot afford basin banks, do very good basin irrigation simply with these small canals, which wash the lands and deposit the mud over the fields. It has been assumed all along that the main drains are in good working order. Where a good supply of water in summer can be assured, it is customary to dispense altogether with basin irrigation and depend entirely on reclamation by summer rice culture. The land is covered with drains about 100 metres apart, 1 metre deep, and 1 metre broad at bottom. Between these drains, insignificant canals are dug, and the land levelled with the kassabi, and made into beds of about 30 metres by 30 metres. These beds are well washed through the winter, and lose a good deal of their salt. In the month of March, the upper crust of loose salted soil is scraped off with kassAbis and collected in ridges, and the land is then sown with summer rice in the usual way. The method of irrigation needs summer irrigation, and drains in good working order throughout the year. The rice is followed DRAINAGE AND LAND RECLAMATION. 137 by clover; and after a few years, cotton may be grown. Given an assured supply of water in summer, such land will need 2/. per acre to reclaim, and be paying 2/. per acre the second year, and improving steadily. If the water is flush, this method has many advantages. The obtaining of a supply of water in summer is a very serious consideration, and in Chapter X., Mr. Cope Whitehouse’s scheme of a reservoir near the Fayoum will be fully considered. If the scheme is taken up and is a success, the reclamation of much of this barren land between contours of 3°5 and 1°5 above the sea will be assured. The discharge of water needed is 40 cubic metres per acre per twenty-four hours. For the evtensive swamps, containing good land, and capable of being easily reclaimed, the one thing needed is good and efficient drainage. Drainage cuts of sufficient capacity, and pumping stations for the lowest lands, are. the first consideration. Afterwards, rice cultivation. In case the great reservoir in the deserts, to the south of the Fayoum, is not made, there will be difficulties in the way of obtaining water through the months of May, June, and July. The author proposes to obtain this as follows: he takes as an example, the little Borillos, a depression containing 90,000 acres, lying about ‘50 metres above mean sea, and separated from the great Borillos by a dyke constructed in 1887. He would divide this area into three basins of 30,000 acres each, and surround one of them by double banks of the following section. An area of 30,000 acres covers 12 kilometres by 10°5 kilometres, and the dyke would therefore be 45 kilometres long, with a cubic content of 1,960,000 cubic metres, costing 39,2001. as an outside figure, because the area is intersected with old banks, which might be utilised. During flood, the water would be allowed to sweep over the area and wash it, [30 EGYPTIAN [RRIGATION. while in winter, the canals would be tailed into this basin, and fill it by the end of April, up to which date there is never any BiG, 27. : WE: WZ RESERVOIR We lack of water. Early in May, rice sowing begins, and the water supply fails everywhere; the reservoir could then be drawn on for water ; and, since it has been filled to a depth of 1°50 metres, of which *75 metres may be considered as lost, the remaining '75 metres would.represent (126,000,000 x *75=5) 94,500,000 cubic metres, or a discharge of 945,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours for 100 days. This would suffice for aed 23,600 acres of summer rice. This summer rice, valued at a low computation, would be worth 70,800/, The land cultivated with summer rice would be gradually reclaimed, while the land in the basin itself would become, in the course of seven or eight years, the richest land in the district. One of the other belts might then be turned into a reservoir, and this one planted with cotton. The borrow pits, from which the earth for the banks was taken, would constitute a good drainage cut, and convey the drainage water to the dyke near the great Borillos, where it would flow freely into the lake, through an opening provided with a self-acting shutter, and suffice for rice culture. If dry crops were taken up, and a thorough reclamation of the land attempted, a pumping station lifting about 1,000,000* cubic * Costing some 40,000/ to erect, and a daily expenditure, when working, of 252. DRAINAGE AND LAND RECLAMATION. 139 metres per day about 1°50 metres in height, for four months per annum, would turn this tract into first-class land. The wash of the waves on the dykes would be guarded against by a growth of bulrushes and “birriya” weeds; the staking of the dykes would cost 50/. a kilometre, or 2250/. altogether. Any company attempting reclamation in this way would have a good chance of making money. A capital of about 2/. per acre would be necessary. The idea of Birriya reclamation, by basins in the Birriya itself, was suggested to the author by the fact that Mehemet Ali had fed the Mahmudia Canal through winter and summer, from 1820 to 1849, by a reservoir of this kind, filled in flood, and utilised in weter and summer ; while a reservoir as pro- posed by the author, would be filled in winter, and supply water only for 100 days. If something of the kind is not done, the winter supply in the two central and three eastern provinces will always be a serious difficulty. The discharges entering the lakes in flood have been much controlled, while the supply entering Lake Borillos has been reduced from 40,000,000 cubic metres per day in flood to 13,000,000 cubic metres perday. This latter represents white water which has left its slime behind, and cannot be reduced. The lakes now rise very little in flood, and a serious attempt might be made to reclaim the land, were it not that the supply entering the lakes in winter (when the canals have to be kept open for irrigation and navigation purposes) is considerable, the evapor- ation slight, and the north winds strong. This results ina perpetual winter flooding of the land by the sea and fresh water combined. The author proposes to utilise this winter supply of water for the reclamation of the land. For the low-lying plains swept by sea-water, or the salted pans to the extreme north, different considerations apply. If 140 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. the land is high enough to need no pumping machinery, reclamation by rice-culture will pay well; where the land lies so low that pumping machinery is needed to drain it, the problem of reclamation is complicated, since the rate of washing can only keep pace with the power of the pumps. While there is so much good unreclaimed land in Egypt, no attempts would ever be made to reclaim the salted hollows, were not some of them, by their position, capable of being converted into exceedingly valuable property if reclaimed. Lake Aboukir near Alexandria comes within this category. Good land on the Mahmudia Canal bank is letting for 122. per acre per annum, while the lower lying clover fields are let at 6/. per acre per annum. Land is scarce, and it is worth while making a determined attempt to reclaim the land lying to the east of Ramle, and known as the Aboukir Lake. It is due to the fact that Nile water contains very little sul- phate of soda and carbonate of soda that reclamations in the Nile valley are comparatively easy. Sea-water itself contains common salt, chloride of potassium, chloride of magnesium, sulphate of calcium, sulphate of magnesium, &c. ; all of which in proper quantities are not only not harmful, but some of them are very valuable manures. Messrs. Johnson and Cameron in their ‘Elements of Agriculture and Chemistry,’ state that first-class land in East Friesland, formerly overflowed by the sea, but for sixty years cultivated with corn and pulse crops without manure, is thus constituted :— Soluble saline matters (common salt, chloride of potassium, sulphates of potassium and calcium).. 18 Se otowcdmG tema on oa Pe ee ee A a 45 Hine layeand oreanie matter..0 2. ..° Ge 6. = 937 IOO0O DRAINAGE AND LAND RECLAMATION. 141 North Friesland is certainly a cold country, and Egypt a sub-tropical one, and a proportion of salts which is a valuable addition to the soil in one case might be harmful in the other, were it not that rice is a crop which not only is not injured by a large proportion of salt, but which reclaims salt land. The Lake Abukir Reclamation Company have decided on erecting a pumping station at the north end of the lake, running one main drain down the middle of the lake, and working from the edges of the saucer-like depression in con- centric rings towards the centre. With alternate canals and RTGyenos ~~ *2 rr RRANEAN 'B PUMPING STATION SS spear ‘ a = LAKE ABUKIR drains at about 2 kilometre intervals, and intermediary minor canals and drains at 500 metre intervals, it will be possible to thoroughly wash out the salts in time. The depression has an area of 30,000 acres, drained by two powerful pumps. The author assisted at the trial of these pumps in March 1888. The machinery consists of two 48-inch centrifugal 142 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. pumps, of the “Invincible” type, patented by Messrs. J. and H. Gwynne, of London, driven by two high-pressure, expan- sive, compound, surface condensing engines. The engines are direct-acting, and of say 50 nominal horse power each. There are four Galloway’s patent boilers, but three only were used at the time of the experiment. It is to be noted that, owing to the delay necessitated by a great part of the work being under the double line of railway, part of the pipes were incompleted, and the jet condensers only were used. When these measurements were taken it should be stated that the tops of boilers and steam-pipe were without any cover- ing, and that the machinery had only done a few hours’ work, still there was not a sign of a warm bearing, every part working perfectly. The mean discharge per minute from the two pumps working together was 440 tons per minute over the weir, plus leakage, which could not be measured, owing to the green masonry of the temporary discharge weir yielding in two places. If the leakage be taken as 20 tons per minute (which is under, and certainly not over the mark), the mean discharge becomes 460 tons per minute. Discharge, 460 tons per minute-= 7°66 M® per second = 662,400 NM? per day. Mean lift, 6°82 feet (7°18 maximum and 6°68 minimum). Mean effective horse power (W.H.P.) = 212°9. Consumption of coal per hour = 294°15 kilogrammes. Consumption of coal per hour per W.H.P. = 1°39 kilo- grammes. Number of revolutions, 70. Mean pressure in boilers, 75 lb. Steam cut off at 74. Vacuum in condenser, 25 (jet condenser working only). Indicated horse power (both engines), 390. DRAINAGE AND LAND RECLAMATION. 143 Ratio of effective to indicated horse power A yee oa ee eRe ee acoe es 54 The pumping station, including masonry works, pumps, engines, &c., cost 20,000/., and, judging from the after per- formance of the pumps, the author estimates that it will cost 22/. to raise 1,000,000 cubic metres of water. This sum ought to cover all contingencies, stoppages, delays, establish- ment, &c.* By working in concentric rings, washing the lands in the manner described before, and completing the reclamation by means of summer rice and clover, the lake should be practically reclaimed in eight years. It is not a heavy expenditure of money, but time, which is needed to reclaim this kind of land. Similar land, when reclaimed, in other parts of the Delta, would be worth 152. per acre; but near Alexandria it ought to be very much more valuable. In all such works a steady complete reclamation of a few thou- sand acres annually, and their settlement before fresh land is taken up, is the sure way to succeed. It is owing to the fact that so many companies in Egypt have attempted to reclaim land by a heavy initial expenditure, instead of by a continuous expenditure of small sums of money, that land reclamation in Egypt has got a bad name. Water can take up 3°5 per cent. of salt and become of the specific gravity of sea-water, and it is by the continual removing of fresh water after it has become salted that land is reclaimed. Rice aids the reclama- tion, but time is the most valuable factor. The only kind of land capable of reclamation, and not yet * Pumping should always be aided by evaporation, either by using part of the lake as an evaporating pan, or draining overflow into a neighbouring lake and evaporating there. 144 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. mentioned, is the sandy stretch of country to the north of the lakes. Here sand-hills predominate, but there are extensive plains of sand capable of reclamation. It seems strange that in a country where money has been invested freely in every kind of enterprise, no attempt has been made to make money out of the wholesale cultivation of the date palm. Where water can be obtained throughout the flood along the sand- dunes bordering the Mediterranean, the date-palm flourishes. Near Beltine there is a tract of some 20,000 acres eminently suited for date culture ; flood water has been introduced since 1887, and the fellaheen are profiting by it to extend date culture; but, of course, with limited means they work slowly. The villages own some 100,000 date trees, for which they pay the State ‘o25/. per annum per tree, and make a profit of ‘20/. per tree per annum. In beginning a plantation, it will cost *40/. per seedling transplanted; while some 150 trees.can be put into an acre of land. After being trans- planted, the date tree produces nothing during the first two years; in the third year it may yield, but in the fourth year it certainly begins bearing, and is then worth some °20/. per annum. When it begins to bear, the Government tax of ‘o25/, per tree per annum is put on. The date trees are soon surrounded by a number of young trees, which in time can be transplanted. Since the date produce of Egypt barely suffices for the needs of the population, and there is plenty of opening for export, there is not much chance of overstocking the market. It is, doubtless, the heavy first cost of cultivation, and the delay of three years before the trees begin to yield, which has up to the present prevented the natives from taking up the cultivation on a large scale in northern Egypt. English capitalists, however, might find date cultivation on a large scale a very paying investment. DRAINAGE AND LAND RECLAMATION. T45 Note.—The great want of Egypt is a class of rice which will ripen sufficiently quickly to be fit for reaping before winter, if sown in August. Rice of this quality must be sought in the highest latitudes where rice is grown. At present the only rice grown in flood is the coarse Sabaini ; but there is a new kind of rice from Italy, known as the “Risone di Novara,” which ripens apparently as quickly as the coarse “ Sabaini,” but which is of very superior quality. If this is true, the future of Birriya reclamation is easy. Lhe Author, who has been conducting experiments on land reclamation by basin trrigation (known as “warping” in the Fens), 1s now inclined to the opinion that an initial expenditure of only 25l. per acre on slight banks and small drains, and steady washings for six years, will give better results than an enitial expenditure of 11. per acre, and heavy washings for three years. Lime is the most efficient agent in the reclamation of salted lands. EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. SoA VabR AV. Tue BARRAGES. Temporary Barrages or Dams—7Ze Barrages—Napoleon on their necessity —Early History—Attempt to utilise Stone from the Pyramids—Linant Pasha—Mougel Bey—Cost—Description of them—Method of Regulation previous to and after 1884—The Gratings—Method of Strengthening in 1884 and 1885—Repairs begun 1887—Original Method of Construction —Errors—Method of Repairing in 1887—-Earthen Dams in the Nile of Dry and Wet Earth compared—Downstream Sheet Piling found pro- jecting above Floor Level—Methods of closing Springs—Broad Shallow Foundations versus Deep Narrow Foundations—New Regulating Appa- ratus—Anticipated Time and Cost of Repairs. Ir will readily be understood that important summer * canals which take off directly from the Nile are rendered far more effective if they start with a dam or barrage thrown across the Nile from bank to bank. “This barrage arrests the flowing waters, and forms a reservoir, from which the canal can be fed at a higher level than would otherwise be possible.” Both permanent and temporary barrages are employed in Egypt. The temporary barrages{ are formed of rubble pitching carefully deposited into the river at the beginning of the summer, and capable of holding up a metre or a metre and a quarter of water. The whole length and breadth of the platform is covered with about one metre in * Roorkee Treatise on Civil Engineering, vol. u. + These temporary barrages were proposed by the author in 1885. He considers that the head of water should never be such that the water pressure bears a greater proportion to the submerged weight of rubble than 1 to 50. He takes the submerged weight of rubble as 40 lb. per cubic foot. Le LLL ff fp pfppd 4 LLL LL PELE PPL PEPYEELLLEA OO¢L Te unung pasodory “£881 QG3aYIVdaY SV SIJOVYUVE JTIN Lif eto er ane a EEE ase eee SKK ; 149 BEL 6 GU ae ean ae a OO ee epnt G ete Wl ce eee 00° &. a 0) mae a Rael men ee Beh a tg oe te be ag ae OO PR SA.QDUL GEG MROTUINT) satu Gop YIUDLY PHOSOY ryyoua'T | s ( SniVL $881 ) TVWNIOINO— JOVUNVE JATIN se POTS OLL2Y, Os Pe 14 Aypommni pooled. (7) | en ee ort las 2 oe egy ane POM Ge (Addng souums ) sa.spue 1gf YypouaT ‘UWVOLIW ‘HONVYG VILSINVG 39VauVEa AdVeOdWIAL “SILJIUL fh 29 MIM = -ANSAVGOS —---- 7S -- --- - ------------> INAV mae gs ie ae SALVO UL OGLE YIouy TVNVO VNLSIM ~~ YlaM VUVAMZAd 2 = . : SILJIUL GO QE UYRDUIT R “IWNVO JNOS~YIaM IMHaG | soe ee x ORE | Sanna ec IG PY on | 7/H SOLOUL Off, “yphua'y | “TVNVO VWYOV ~YIaM VIHXO Way f9 " bc erearr Ph au ee recaae rch Hee a! a, ire ae | : SANIUL DGC YpOUAT \ “IVNVO SJONVD YIMOT YIFM VYHOUVN “SUIHM HO SNOTLDOAS : WAX ALIVId THE BARRAGES. 147 depth of tipped stone, and then the next layer of 50 centi- metres is laid, and so on, to avoid undue scour at any one place. These barrages need very careful protection at the two flanks to secure them from the back action of the water. Frequent soundings are taken on the downstream side in order to find out if any serious displacement of the stone has taken place, and to replace it if necessary. On the rise of the river the crests are lowered as far as possible, and the floods pass over them without appreciable afflux. Plate XVII. gives a cross section of one of these barrages. The permanent Barrages at the heads of the Rosetta and Damietta branches of the Nile are open dams, provided with openings along their entire length. Since the Nile in Egypt, during flood, is con- siderably above the level of the country, which is protected by dykes from inundation, it would have been dangerous to build a solid barrage which would have still further raised the water surface, unless a length of barrage could have been obtained much in excess of the normal width of the river. Plate XVII. gives cross sections of the more important barrages in India (taken from the Roorkee Treatise of Civil Engineering) and of the Nile Barrages. It will be seen that most of the Indian barrages are solid ones. An afflux of 3 metres in summer corresponds to about 80 centimetres in flood on some of the Indian barrages. As early as the beginning of this century, Napoleon had spoken of the necessity of some regulation at the bifurcation of the Nile, in order to send the whole supply of the Nile first down one branch and then down the other, and thus double the inundation in flood :—‘ Un jour viendra ou l’on entreprendra un travail d’établissement de digues barrant les Branches de Damietta et de Rosetta au ventre de la bache [the bifurcation |, ce qui, moyennant de batardeaux, permettra ie 148 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. de laisser passer successivement toutes les eaux du Nil dans “une branche ou dans l’autre, et de doubler ainsi l’inondation.” In 1833 Mehemet Ali Pasha, Viceroy of Egypt, finding it exceedingly difficult to clear the new summer canals suf- ficiently deep every year to receive the low level summer supply of the Nile, began closing the head of the Rosetta branch with an enormous stone dam in order to send the whole supply down the Damietta branch, which branch used to feed all the important canals. Linant Pasha induced the Viceroy to stop this rash proceeding, and proposed the construction of two barrages about 10 kilometres below the bifurcation, one on either branch. He proposed to build the barrages in the dry, and turn the Nile through them ; closing the original channels with earthen embankments, opposite the new diversions. Mehemet Ali approved of the plan, and ordered the Pyramids to be dismantled and the stone removed to the Barrages. When they proceeded to consider the method of demolition and transport, Linant Pasha proved to the satisfaction of the Viceroy that owing to the building of the Pyramid from the bottom upwards, it would be necessary to dismantle it from the top downwards, and consequently more costly than the opening of new limestone quarries on the bank of the Nile near Cairo; the Viceroy gave up the idea. The excavation of the foundations was well advanced, the workshops built, and the collection of materials in hand, when Mehemet Ali changed his mind and stopped the works. With the aid of the corvée he dug the main summer canals deep enough to dispense with the barrages, and for seven years, from 1835 to 1842, no more was heard of the latter. In 1842 Mougel Bey arrived in Egypt, and recommended the present Barrages and fortifications at the bifurcation itself. The idea of fortifications apparently pleased Mehemet PLATE XVII. Lp } Ss oy Bed widthy Metres yp ff E A \ ee a7) 1 LNT SSS 5 Metres \oo ——HaianONSW AVAVY Bed. width en AAS SSN TN yung A | z + ae} B ° / > Ve ye /, Lie J Ns Ly Y / fry S e Bed width 30 Metres Damieta Branch THE BARRAGES. 149 Ali's military mind; he conceived the idea of making the bifurcation the military capital of Egypt; and the works were immediately sanctioned and begun. Mehemet Ali died in 1848. By 1853 the works had not advanced sufficiently to please Abbas Pasha, the Viceroy, who dismissed Mougel Bey, and ordered a new man, Mazhar Bey, to finish the works on Mougel Bey’s plans. The works were completed in 1861 at a cost of 1,880,000/. exclusive of the corvée. The Barrages, fortifications, canal heads, &c., are considered as having cost the country 4,000,c00/. Commissions of inquiry sat on the Barrages in 1863, 1865, and 1867; their conclusions are embodied in Linant Pasha’s memoirs. In 1863 they closed the Rosetta Barrage for the first time, but reopened it almost immediately afterwards, owing to a settle- ment of part of the work. Later on, the method of repairing this settlement will be described, as well as the further history of the work. Plate XVIII. gives a block plan of ¢#e Barrages, while Plate XIX. gives longitudinal and cross sections of the Rosetta branch Barrage. It will be seen that the Barrages are open dams across the heads of the Rosetta and Damietta branches of the river at the apex of the Delta proper. Of the two branches the Rosetta has one and a half times the flood supply of the other, while its bed is some 2 metres lower. The Rosetta Barrage is 465 metres between the flanks, and the Damietta one 535 metres. These Barrages are separated by a revetment wall 1ooo metres in length, in the middle of which is situated the head of the Rayah Menoufieh, or ‘“‘ Menoufieh feeder,” which feeds all the canals in the provinces of Menoufieh and Garbieh. ‘The Rayah Behéra, intended for the irrigation of the province of Behéra, has its head situated on the left bank of the Rosetta branch, 150 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. just upstream of the Barrage. The new Rayah Tewfiki, intended for the irrigation of Sharkia and Dakahlia provinces, is having its head built on the right bank of the Damietta branch, just upstream of the Barrage. These canals are intended to accomplish the whole summer irrigation of Lower Egypt, once the Barrages are repaired. The platform * of the Rosetta Barrage is flush with the river bed, being 8°90 metres above mean sea, or 3 30) Metres on the Barrage gauge. Its width is 46 metres, and thickness 3's metres. It is composed of concrete overlaid by brick and stonework. Plate XX. gives sections of this work on an enlarged scale. Downstream of the platform was a talus of rubble pitching varying in places from 16 metres to 3 metres in depth, while its width was between 2 metres and 50 metres. The left half of the platform is laid on loose sand, the right half on a barrier of rubble pitching overlying the sand. This loose stone barrier is 10 metres high and 60 metres broad at the deepest part, and tapers off to zero at the ends. It closes the original deep channel of the river, and its only cementing material is the slime deposit of the Nile. This deposit has to all appearances made the platform watertight. The platform supports a regulating bridge with a lock at either end. The bridge consists of 61 openings, each 5 metres wide; the lock on the left flank is 12 metres wide, while that on the right is 15 metres. Fifty-seven of the piers are 2 metres wide, while three of them are 3°50 metres wide each. Their height is 9°75 metres. The lock-walls are 3 and 4°75 metres wide respectively. The piers support arches carrying a road- way. The two locks are provided with drawbridges. The * Taken almost verbatim from the minutes of the ‘Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers,’ vol. Ixxxvili., part ii, Wherever the texts differ the error is in the ‘ Proceedings Inst. C.E.’ “XTX r, a L Vv Al d ZH {= SONPIUL “a ¥V NO NOILDS Oe: 000° aI ? S S$SOUD J “SONAYSIAY /YMOM IUOPS AO YA 1S IAT N a~aALIUay) SOANMIUL GO NNEL P CHA ' lo = i a i R aa ’ ‘ 4 / fe a ¢ Z fi BEQUN | 1685 a % = OF Sheet piles SSE about 5 openings concrete were then staunched, the stone and brickwork floor O P laid over the concrete, and the piers raised to one metre above water-level. The cofferdam was then moved forward, and the space to be occupied by five new openings enclosed and treated in the same way. The sheet-piling EF and GH was not cut down to floor-level, but projected both up and down stream of the platform to a height of one metre above the floor. There seems to have been no difficulty THE BARRAGES. 159 experienced in this method of working, except under the arches numbered 52, 53, 54, and 55, near the left flank ; here the sand was of a particularly fine quality, dark in colour, and very light, with the springs strongly impregnated with decayed organic matter. In spite of the dredger working in still water, the fine sand poured in fast from between the piles, and after being dredged was allowed to accumulate to a height of eight metres and upwards, just outside the sheet- piles. The more it accumulated the more the silt ran in, until the deepening of the trench became an impossibility. Mougel Bey wanted to postpone the work to the following year, but the Viceroy was urgent: men were crowded into the quicksand, the concrete skipped in, and the mixture of con- crete and quicksand had to do duty for the floor. Mougel Bey says that the concrete there could not be more than 1°50 metres thick; Linant Pasha says that the springs here were always considerable, cracks appeared in the Barrages before any water was held up on the Barrage, and eventually this part of the Barrage failed and was surrounded by a coffer- dam. hic 24 Referring to the cross-section of the river on page 157, it will be seen that the construction of the Barrage along the part cd, where the floor lies higher than the bed of the river, could not have been carried out as above. Here a mass of loose stone was pitched into the river from boats, until the upper surface of the tipped stone corresponded with the 160 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. bottom of the platform, or the line A B. Into this barrier of stone, sheet-piling (along the up and down stream edges of the platform) was driven in as far as it could go. Sail-cloth was laid on the upstream side of the piles, and held against the piles by the force of the current. The concrete was skipped into the water between the piles. Theoretically the tipped stone was at the R. L. 4°70, but, practically, it must have been much lower, to allow of the extra concrete being skipped in here. As much of this concrete was skipped into running water, great part of the lime was washed away, accord- ing to Linant Pasha. Subsequently, when the cofferdam was erected’ on the concrete for the completion of the floor and superstructure, the springs in places were so excessive that the floor-level had to be raised 50 centimetres above the general level. The concrete was composed of broken stone, pure lime, and artificial puzzuolana in the ordinary propor- tions. No exact record exists of the proportions, as far as the author has been able to ascertain. Much of this concrete has not set, and in places has been found like pudding, though in others it is as hard as rock. The Barrages are being repaired out of the 1,000,000/. loan specially contracted for the completion of the summer irrigation system of Lower Egypt. Lieut.-Colonel J. H. THE BARRAGES. 161 Western, R.E., is the Director of Works, and Mr. A. Reid, of the Indian Public Works Department is the resident engineer, A beginning has been made with the left half of the Rosetta branch Barrage, which contains the injured openings. Two earthen dams, A, B, C, D, and E, F, Ge. have been made round the left half of the Barrage, as shown in the accompanying sketch. TG ae2iG: vN 3: (ELT Pumping stations at I and J keep the water at a low level between the banks, and so relieve the springs in the work. X, Y, Z, W is the area within which the repairs are being executed, and K, L,M,N,O are ro and 12 h.-p. portable engines, working centrifugal pumps which keep the founda- tions and work dry. The water from the pumps is carried in wooden troughs supported on trestles, which troughs throw it into the Nile, outside the banks. At a and B the deepest water is found, and the shallowest at y and 6; the former section is represented m Fig. 27. - Sand-bags,* costing * If wet clay is used the slopes of the banks under water are 4; where dry earth is used the slopes are 4. M 162 EGYPTIAN [RRIGATION. rooo/., were used in the construction of the earthen bank, which work was much facilitated by the closing of the Barrage gates throwing back water on the bank. At P and Bigs 27: QO, where the dams were to pass over the pitching on the downstream side of the Barrage, channels were dredged through the pitching to allow the clay bank to rest on the original sandy bed of the river, and not on the top of the pitching. The sand and earth within the area X, Y, Z, W, thas been excavated up to a R.L. of 9°20 metres, i.e. one metre above the floor, and the last metre in depth is taken out just in advance of the new masonry. All repairs are above the level of the old floor, as will be seen from the three sections given below. An upstream apron, 25 metres wide and 1°25 metres deep, of masonry, has been added to the Barrage ; while the floor under the arches and on the down- stream side is being repaired according to its state and re- quirements, each opening being taken on its own merits. The first is a section through arch No. 53, the worst of the series; the new work in this arch, and in No. 52, has been taken down to the old floor on a width of one metre only; up and downstream of this metre belt, the new work lies on the sand which overlies the old work to a depth of some 50 centi- metres. The springs here were very bad, and there were fears of the arches collapsing. The second and third sections are through ordinary openings. (It was a fatal mistake for the original sheet-piling to have been left projecting about THE BARRAGES, 163 one metre above the floor. The water issuing through the openings shook the piles, disturbed the bed near them, and caused very violent springs along the sheet-piling.) The Eire wo: PIER av rece - 15 80--x 106. x Vee ef TERT SS oe eT : Haran O mm <-B-4---- 15 80-- 10 0-XB-0X Ai a RE So <4 xX springs under the arches near the settled work threw sand, and were not exposed, as explained above in the description of section No, 1; along the sheet-piling the springs threw clear water of a yellowish colour, with a strong taste and smell of decayed organic matter. The springs were closed in various ways, but after months of experience, the following methods were generally adopted as the best. If a spring burst out outside the old work, it was immediately covered with ballast, and in finding its way through the ballast, in time ran quite clear. Springs along M 2 164 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. the sheet-piling were closed either by vertical pipes or by horizontal ones. 1st. (Vertical. Pipes)—The spring was dug out to a depth of say 30 centimetres below the surface of the old masonry ; and a vertical tube of from 5 to 10 or 15 centi- metres diameter, according to the quantity of the water, was inserted. The hole was then filled up with ballast round the tube. This tube was drilled with holes on the lower half of its length, while at the upper end were cut the threads of a screw, so that a cap might eventually be screwed on. Round the pipe, and removed about 10 centimetres from it, a ring of brickwork in stiff clay was built,* open on one side; the cement masonry was then brought up from A and B till it was flush with the brickwork. in stiff clay, and was allowed time to set. When set, the brickwork in clay was removed, and the space between the pipe and the cement masonry was * Brickwork in clay, or clay in canvas bags, is indispensable for this kind of work. THE BARRAGES. 165 filled up with cement mortar, or concrete or brickwork, an open space being still left on one side to allow the water coming up through the ballast to flow freely away. When the cement mortar had thoroughly set, and was strong enough to prevent springs working up through it, the opening was quickly shut up with dry cement and cement mortar, and weighed down, and the water began to flow freely through the top of the pipe. When the cement closing the opening had thoroughly set, the cap was screwed on the pipe, and the whole built over. 2nd (Horizontal Pipes).—The pipe in this case was drilled with holes on half the circumference of half the length, i.e. on a quarter of its surface, and was laid horizontally in a trench, with the holes over the spring, which had already had ballast strewn over it. The ballast was spread round half the pipe to the axis B.C Rich 32: New Cement: Masonry D E Brick uv Clay RRMA. CEN LEE SSS S Od Ss ap Oe Lege TT q Oud Work SSS LLLLLLLLEL IL ” SS Work, SS A Eupe Boo, 0. © P95 425 Po? ww ; ISS AG GS GGG GL SG, G ga S SWAN SSgss Ballast. At E F a ring of brick in stiff clay was built round the pipe, and at D E cement masonry round the pipe. When the masonry at D E had set thoroughly, the brickwork in clay was removed and replaced by cement mortar or brickwork, while the space from B to C was covered with cement mortar and masonry, and the water allowed to flow down the pipe CBA. Great care had to be taken that a hand-pump kept the water at M always lower than the top of the pipe, until the masonry above B C had thoroughly set. When the 166 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. masonry had set the cap A was screwed on, and the whole space carefully built over in cement masonry. This system is very handy in a lock-gate recess. There were other methods of treating springs if they ran through a clearly defined orifice; such as putting in a small bag full of dry linseed and letting it swell, and closing the spring, which could then be plastered over; or by cutting off the bottom of a bottle, putting it over a small spring, building round (taking care always to leave an opening till the cement had set), and eventually corking the bottle; but the two methods given in detail never disappointed, and are strongly recommended. No attempt was made to force liquid cement down the pipes. No attempt was made to close the springs under the broken arches by means of compressed air, though all the French engineers in the country were eager to see it employed. The author knows of no method by which a diving bell could be brought on to an uneven floor, and being provided with some elastic substance along its edge where it touches the masonry, make an air-tight joint, and thus enable one to get at the spring. The spring could then be made to run backwards under the pressure of air, and be easily staunched. It will be noticed in the cross sections of the repaired Barrage floor given on page 165 that the floor has been raised and lengthened, while no deep curtain wall has been provided. Sir John Fowler's borings near the Barrage had disclosed that the nature of the subsoil does not improve as one goes deeper, and therefore nothing more was to be gained by a deep curtain wall beyond what could be gained by an hori- zontal extension of the floor. It was feared also that a deep curtain wall, taken down far below the bottom of the existing platform, might endanger the platform by disturbing the sand THE BARRAGES. 167 lying under it. By an extension of ‘the floor, both up and downstream, the points at which water enters the strata under the Barrage floor from the upstream side, and issues as springs on the downstream side, are placed so far apart, that the resistance the water will meet with on this length will be sufficient to deprive it of the force necessary to move sand, and carry it away from under the work. The springs will issue clear, and be harmless. The following figures explain the action of the springs and the distance they have to travel :—— FIG. 33 a 5 —> —— <5 ae § Orighvaly Barrage : @ metres TMA TTY TMNT Ti? <——__ 722 metres ———> Wy works are immediately necessary, and none are undertaken. Where, however, the action along the Nile bank is severe, the banks as a rule are protected either by having stone spread over the slope, or by stone spurs. Where the soil is good, protective works of any kind are effective; where, however, strata of sand are met with, a good deal of skill is necessary to make the protective works effective. The spreading of stone over the slopes is very costly, and needs THE NILE IN FLOOD. 173 frequent renewals owing to slips; it is, as a rule, adopted only in front of villages and towns, when property is valuable, and it is desirable to preserve the bank in its existing state. At all other places stone spurs are put up. These spurs cause severe action just below the spur, but thoroughly protect the bank. Care has to be taken, before putting in the spurs that at the points where the spurs are to be, there is plenty of berm. By the action of the spurs, the thread of the current is thrown away from the bank. Since protection of a bank by this system of spurs concentrates the current, Fic. 37. and makes its action more severe, it is very unadvisable to put in the upstream spurs D, C, B first. The downstream spur at A should first be put in, then B, then C, and so on. By this means the severe cur- rent is always kept in the middle of the stream, and never touches the bank. The size of the spurs and the quantity of material neces- sary depends entirely on the depth of water, and the force of the current, and no rules are worked to. For some spurs 4000 cubic metres are barely sufficient, while others need scarcely 300 cubic metres. The practice followed is to make 174 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. the spurs at first as small as possible, and then add to them every year.. The Nile in passing round the curves has very often a considerable spill channel at A; the larger this channel, the less severe is the action at B; where there are no spill channels, protective works are doubly necessary. The following rules generally guide the irrigation officers in the construction of spurs: 1. Never put the spur at a right angle to the current, but always at an angle of 45°. As the river rises in flood, the current changes considerably, and if the spur were put at right angles to the cold FIG. 39. weather current, it might drive the river into the bank at certain stages of the rise. 2, he top of “the spur is to be on a gentle incline as at A, and not horizontal as at B. A spur like B produces very severe action just below itself. There are two or three tentative methods of protection, which are being tested on a small scale. They depend for their success on the fact that a slight check to the velocity FIG, wir. causes the Nile in flood to deposit silt, and that the cutting of the banks is done more by the edge of the current than by the body of the water. THE NILE IN. FLOOD. I “I On The above sections explain themselves. Of the many other systems of protection recommended in works on river protection, none have been tried, because the irrigation requirements have up to the present not left much time for devoting to the river, except during flood, when little can be done; while lately the financial difficulties of the Government have made it reduce the allotments. Few attempts have been made at river training in Egypt, but where they have been made, they have been very suc- cessful. The training works have been ruled by the following principles :—(1) that all training works should be put in the shallow water at the tail of the last shoal above the point operated on; thus in the accompanying sketch where the Fic. 44. river is wanted to leave the channel A C B, and adopt the channel A D B; the first year’s spurs are put in at M and N, the next year’s at O and P, the third year’s at Q and R, 176 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. and so on. (2) A permeable spur is better than a solid one. Young acacia trees anchored in a line are generally employed. Fach tree should have an anchor of its own, and be inde- pendent of the others. Each tree costs about 3/. in position, and the chain and half-ton anchor costs about 3/. more. Wherever tried, this system of river training has been most elective: Among other methods of training, that employed by Mr. Eads on the Mississippi, with marked success (the Mississippi has three times the flood discharge of the Nile), might be adopted with advantage in Egypt. The following is a résumé of Mr. Eads’ argument.* His plan of jetties or permeable spurs was based upon a knowledge of the fact that the Mississippi river is a transporter of solid material, almost all of which is held in suspension by the mechanical effect of the current; and that the quantity of matter which it is able to carry increases with the square of the velocity. The current of the river is caused by the fall of the water from a higher to a lower level, that is, by the force of gravity. The element which resists the current is the friction of its bed. This friction does not follow the law of solids, but increases or diminishes exactly as the width of bed or wetted perimeter of its cross section is increased or diminished. Hence, if the stream is contracted, where it is too wide, to one half its width, one half of the frictional resistance will be gone, and the current will be more rapid, and therefore more able to carry a larger load of sediment. He then states, ‘“‘ By some, caving banks are attributed to the direct action of the current against them, by which strata of sand underlying those of clay are supposed to be washed out. This is not correct. * Taken from the ‘Scientific American’ Supplement. THE NILE IN FLOOD. 177 If the water be charged with sediment to its normal carrying capacity, it cannot take up more unless the rate of current be increased. Caving banks are caused wholly by the alterations in the velocity of the current. Alterations are inseparable from a curved channel, because the current in the head is usually more rapid than on the point, but if the channel be nearly uniform in width, the caving caused by the curves will be very trifling ; and in proof of this, many abrupt curves exist in the lower part of the river, where the whole force of the current has set for years directly against them without any important caving of the banks. ‘The curve at Fort St. Philip is a notable instance, the great difference in the width of the flood-channel constituting the real cause of the destruction and caving of the banks. This tends to great irregularities in the slope of the flood-line, and consequently great changes in current velocity, by which a scouring and depositing action are alternately brought into very active operation. The whole of the river below Red River proves this. Caving banks are much less frequent there than above, because the flood- width of the river is far more uniform. A correction of the high-water channel, by reducing it to an approximate uni- formity of width, would give uniformity to its slope and current, almost entirely preventing the caving of its banks. By such works the flood can be permanently lowered.” The jetties or spurs were made of piles and willows, and were permeable to the flood. To treat the Nile on this principle it would be necessary to fix first upon the uniform top width to be adopted. Say 500 metres for the Rosetta branch. By referring to the sketch, it will be seen that the river could be brought to a uniform top width by building light, inexpensive spurs on the sandy shoals. The land between these spurs would rise N E70". EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. rapidly and become cultivable. This system of training would have the great advantage of paying its way. There are many places where the reclamation of the sandy shoals would almost pay for the construction of the spurs. This in addition to the training of the river. The Nile is in flood annually during the months of August, Fic. 45. September, October, and November. Taking 11°50 metres on the Barrage gauge as the mean summer level of the Nile, the highest flood gauge has been 18°60 metres, corresponding to a rise of 7 metres, the mean flood gauge is 17°00 metres, corresponding to a rise of 5°50 metres. A gauge of 16°00 metres at the Barrage allows of general flush irrigation in Lower Egypt, except along the edge of the Nile. In Upper Egypt a gauge of 16 pics at Assuan allows all the basins to be properly filled. A lower gauge leaves some lands uncovered with water. To secure flush irrigation everywhere in Lower Egypt a gauge of 17°00 metres at the Barrage is necessary. Up toa gauge of 17°00 metres at the Barrage, corresponding to 22 pics 12 kirats at Rhoda, there is no danger. Beyond that there is danger, and harm is done both by infiltration, and direct swamping of standing crops on the berms. The ordinary duration of a flood above this level is fifteen days, the maximum duration has been three months. THE NILE IN FLOOD. 179 Taking an ordinary Nile, the following will be observed :— Metres. Pics. ist August, Barrage as tar BA MOO pa Roda. | 2-483 Ist September an ol) Re Oe Ge: ee - Tt RE 1st October - in| SEIS be = .. 224 1st November es ey oo ie OR OMe « peer rst December s cad low. ne peep eee a ae Ee The above gauges refer to Lower Egypt. The flood of Upper Egypt is measured by the gauge at Assudn. The mean gauge on the Ist June may be taken as 2 pics; 1st July, 4 pics; 1st August, 11 pics; 1st September, 16 pics; Ist October, 15% pics; 1st November, 11 pics; 1st December, Opies: Basin irrigation begins generally when the Assuan gauge is 14 pics, but it has to wait for the cutting of the millet crop in the basins. The causes of high floods in Lower Egypt have been described in the first chapter. The three highest floods in this century of which there is any record were in 1874, and 1878, and 1887. The flood of 1878 was slightly in excess at Assuan. The floods of 1874 and 1887 were at | their highest at Assuan about the 5th of September, when the basins were being filled in Upper Egypt, and irrigation in Lower Egypt brisk everywhere. The river had fallen considerably by the 1st of October, when the basins were opened, and consequently it was possible to get through witHout serious breaches in Lower Egypt. The flood of 1878 was very different. The gauge at Assuan was at its highest on the 1st of October, when the basins began to be opened, and irrigation in Lower Egypt was slack. The opening of the basins was the signal for an inundation such as Egypt can seldom have seen. The Roda and Barrage gauges of October, though high, were not nearly so high as they would N 2 180 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. have been had not the left bank of the Nile breached,* south of Cairo, and a considerable portion of the flood-water escaped through the Province of Gizeh into the Rosetta Nile, sweeping away the railway bridge near Menashi. The Rosetta branch rose at Kafr El Zayat 1 metre higher than the level corresponding to the Barrage gauge of the time, but owing to the great capacity of this branch of the Nile, it was able to carry the supply without flooding the whole country. The height of the flood was so extraordinary that the railway authorities marked the maximum rise against the right abutment of the Kafr Zayat bridge, and cut the figures 1878 against it. The Damietta Nile did not fare so well. The flood came on at atime when all the canal-heads which take out of this branch had been closed with stone dams, and water was not in much demand. The branch itself, after passing Zifta has a very contracted channel, and could not carry the supply. The flood rose to nearly the full height of the banks, and eventually breached the left bank of the river, midway between Zifta and Samantid, and destroyed the standing crops, and every village which lay between it and the sea. If the Damietta branch had not been relieved by the breach near Cairo, which discharged into the Rosetta branch, the damage would have been far more serious. As explained in Chapter II. the Upper Egypt basins must be opened early in October, or they will not dry in time to allow the winter crop to be sown in season. Before the construction of the Barrages, the maximum discharges of the Rosetta and Damietta branches of the Nile * If a year like 1878 were ever to come again, the left bank of the Nile opposite Cairo should be cut on the 1st of October, in order to save Lower Egypt. THE NILE IN FLOOD. 181 in flood were nearly the same at the head of the Delta proper.* A little lower down, however, the Rosetta branch had con- siderably more water than the Damietta. About 2 kilometres below the Barrages there was a branch called the Shalakan branch, which flowed from the Damietta into the Rosetta Nile. About 20 kilometres below the Barrage the Bahr Ferouniah took about one-third the total quantity of water out of the Damietta branch, and threw it into the Rosetta branch. Both these were closed by Mehemet Ali; and at the same time the Bahrs SirsAweiah, Baguria, Shebin, Kadrawiah, Moés, Um Salama, Mansouriah and Saghér, were also com- pletely closed, or provided with regulating heads, which very considerably diminished their discharge. Previously they had discharged a very considerable quantity of water, which left the Damietta branch itself a comparatively insignificant stream. The cross sections of the Damietta branch near the Barrages and at different points down its course in Plate VIII. show how considerably it is contracted. The cross sections of the Rosetta branch, on the other hand, show that it main- tains a uniform section along its entire length. The closing of the Bahrs Shalakén and Ferouniah has caused the Damietta branch in its upper reaches near the Barrage to suit its section to the contracted section lower down. This it has done by silting up its bed and becoming a broad shallow stream, which in a very high flood has at its head a considerable increase of discharge for a slight rise of the gauge. This excess discharge in high flood causes great anxiety lower down, where the section is con- tracted. The Karanain Regulator at the head of the old Bahr Shebin, taking from the Damietta branch below the Bahr Ferouniah, was built in 1842 by Linant Pasha, with * Vide the notes on Linant Pasha’s hydrographic map of Lower Egypt. 182 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. its wing wall 60 centimetres higher than any previous flood. By 1870 the Nile had risen 70 centimetres above the wing wall, as measured by Linant Pasha, though Assudn had shown no signs of increase. In 1878, though the Damietta branch was relieved by the Gizeh breach, which discharged into the Rosetta branch, the flood-water surface was 1°50 metres above the wing-wall. From the above consideration it will be evident that the Damietta should be trained near its head by long spurs on one bank, so as to contract its channel to half its present size in width, and deepen its bed. This will allow more water to go down in winter and summer, when it is needed, and less in high flood, when it is dangerous. Making the Damietta branch Barrage capable of holding up water in high flood is very desirable. It would insure the Damietta branch from breaches. Besides regulation at the Damietta branch Barrage, there are two other methods of reducing supply in this branch during a high flood. One of these is the construction of a second mouth to the Damietta branch from near Ras El Khalig to the mouth of the Bahr Shebin. It would be necessary to make two good banks in the small patch of cultivated land near the Nile, about 500 metres apart, and let the Nile sweep over the Berea, reclaiming land along its entire length. The other is the construction of a reser- voir in the Wady Rayan, or at Kom Umbos, which will be considered in Chapter X. The Nile flood of 1887 was the only high one seen by the author, and an account of it is worth recording. It has been impossible to get any full accounts of former floods. As far as can be learned, the flood never before attained the level of 18 metres on the gauge above the Barrage THE NILE IN FLOOD. 183 (recorded since 1846) without there being disastrous inun- dations. In 1861 (the Barrage gauge being 18°07) the right bank of the Damietta branch was breached at Sumbakht, north of Mit Ghamr. In 1863 (the Barrage gauge being 18°‘09) the left bank was breached at Talkah, opposite Mansourah, and the same year the right bank of the Rosetta branch was breached at Nadir in Menoufieh, opposite Khatatbeh. In 1866 (the Barrage gauge being 18°03) the right bank of the Damietta branch was breached at Sefer and Mit Damsis, north of Mit Ghamr ; the right bank of the Rosetta branch near Dessouk. In 1869 (the Barrage gauge being 18°15) the left bank of the Damietta branch was breached at Kafr el Hataba, north of Mansourah. In 1874 (the Barrage gauge being 18°60) the right bank of the Damietta branch was breached at the head of the Bahr Moés, the left bank at Batra, north of Mansourah ; the Rosetta branch was breached on its right bank at Dessouk, and again at Gezireh el Fars, 10 miles south of Rosetta. In 1878 (the Barrage gauge being 18°57) the Nile was breached at the head of the Sharkawieh Canal, north of Shubra, the Damietta branch on its right bank at the Bahr Moés head, and at Sharabas, north of Faraskur ; on its left bank at Mit Badr Halawa, between Zifta and Samanoud. The Rosetta branch was breached again at Dessouk, and on the left bank in many places between Khatatbeh and Kafr Zayat. The great breach of Mit Badr Halawa has left a marked impression in Egypt. Serious loss of life then occurred. 184 EGYPTIAN [RRIGATION. Still more serious was the Nadir breach in September 1863, occurring early in the flood, and impossible to stop until the waters subsided ; the water travelled down the valley of the Bajir, where the canals had no banks to which the people could run for refuge. In 1887 the flood rose to 18°31 on the Barrage gauge, and no breach occurred throughout Lower Eeypt. he result of this was that the flood, having found no vent for escape beyond its banks, assumed graver proportions as it advanced. At the Barrage it was 26 centimetres lower than it had been in 1878. At Mansourah it was only 8 centimetres lower. North of Shirbin it was the highest flood on record. Nearly everywhere throughout Lower Egypt it was the right or eastern bank of the river on which there was the heaviest action. The following table, prepared by Major Ross, shows the levels attained by the Nile flood of 1887, compared with an average year like 1886. The level above sea cannot be given for the Wadi Halfa gauge. Its maximum in 1887 was 7°42 metres higher than its minimum for the year. The effects of excessive floods on Upper and Lower Egypt are widely different. In Lower Egypt it is necessary to irrigate all lands but to flood none. “In Upper Egypt vastly the larger proportion of the land is contained. in great basins made on purpose to relieve the flood water, and so long as the embankments which divide these basins are not topped or carried away, the deeper the water the more the alluvial mud deposited, and the better the winter crops. While there are exceptionally high parts which, in an ordinary year, are not flooded at all, and remain uncul- tivated, but in a year like 1887 are as productive as the THE NILE IN FLOOD. 186 TABLE SHOWING THE LEVELS ATTAINED BY THE NILE FLOOD OF 1887 AND 1886. Distance 1887. ; 1886. Rise Poston of Ganga, | ome RRA. | 5, PRB OL gies. |, Bist | of ped * |Above Sea. Above Sea.| Over 1886. aa kilom. metres Wadi Halfa’ ..7 *.. a ws 30th August. ASSUAI So lpeta ne se ae 93°81 Ist September .. 93°05 -76 Brmant gc.) a6 ese 200 | 78°99 6th ~ aA Te ee 276 Gebelau (Keneh) .. 281 73°35 Ghilasi canal head.. 203. | 72-00 Riman 5 be 208 Ek. 70 Dumraniyah ,, oe 347 69°74 Abou Shoshah ee 383 66°70 SORAG yc aes AA jae O22 toth September .. Gr OA y= 4s 55 ASSiQutd. = “taal a 548° | 52°86 —p-a27th-nSi paey, "99 Roda (Assiout) .. 660 | 43°52 | 2oth-2ist ,, e 42°56 *96 Minteh 55 Sac e FOO {540231 2oth-22nd ,, i 20, O0elts be 22 Maghagha .. .. 769 -| 34°97 2oth-z21st ,, oa 22S 7On Ete 20 Beni Soucte= 30. 825 29°80 | 2oth-z2nd ,, Se 29-7 Owls Be LO Wastay 4.92502 = os 860 26°74 24th : = Doe e z°O3 Kath Amare.) 2 - 881 24°68 | 25th 5 xe 22261 1‘07 Ayal = Oleg cee 895 23°02 25th © 73 222A TE S28 ‘Bedrechim,= 25/7 Vs 922 22°71 25th e o 20°49 1°62 Roda(Cairo)2e 8 2. 941 30°02 1) 25th : or TO.12 Eh Shubra cg sane 952 19°67 26th 6 a 18°30 | Upstream Barrage.. 967 tO aE 25th - ae 16°95 1°36 Katatbeh .. Ior2 14°07 25th-26th ,, bs E20 OL 1°28 ga Nagelih .. 1070 9:92 | 28th re S295" E72 g A Shibrakhit .. EEZE 6°30 | 25th-26th ,,.. AC OTe |) 1633 Pa AtiC ee aes 1152 Ae5o: +) 25th—27th™ ,, ws 3°25 1°25 Rosetta... 1186 "81 24th-25th ,, os 507) "o4 = Benha es IoIg | 14°54 | 26th—27th ,, f 13°05 1°49 39 Mit Ghamr 1056 12°14 | 25th—26th ,, a 10°38 1°76 BB Mansourah IIO5 7°66 | 26th 3 se 62 £0 122 E56 e Sharabas .. | 1160 3°28 25th-26th ,, es 2°19 1°09 Zero 60 centimetres above mean sea. 186 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. rest, the injury done in such a year is often more to the villages situated in the basins than to the crops. Every year these villages become islands in shallow lakes, but when the lake deepens discomfort must follow to the islands. The lower houses are swamped, the inhabitants are partially imprisoned, and the cattle suffer. “The great basins hardly ever spread to the Nile bank itself. The safe/ land bordering on the river is often too high to be covered by ordinary floods, and generally it is devoted to the zaddéri or maize* crop. This is either sown when the river is low, and laboriously watered by shadoofs (or in August with the rising flood). The crop ripens during high Nile, and must be protected from inun- dation. This sakel land, which left to itself would be the richest in the country, has in many places deteriorated from the effects of over-cropping, and the effort made to protect it against floodings have also protected it from the wholesome washing and renewal of the muddy Nile flood, so that salt efflorescence has taken place. The principal loss in Upper Egypt was the destruction of the zaéérz crops, but, as Major Ross remarks, in many cases the proprietors looked on the loss with composure, knowing the benefit that their lands would derive from the fresh mud deposit. Moreover, they have seen “that many who have protected their zabdrvz at great expense now regret having done so, as the filtrations through the loose soil bank of the sae practically destroyed the zadérz, and so lowered its yield that it did not pay; and now these men find their sa/e/ lands much salter than before.” “Writing of the two southern provinces, Keneh and Esneh, Major Ross, Inspector-General of Irrigation, states that the rise of the Nile over that of 1886 was from *76 Seeather,. nollet:’ THE NILE IN FLOOD. 187 to I metre, not a very great difference, but enough to in- undate the whole of the sahe/ lands for a period of thirty- six days (from 17th August to 23rd September). The water surface stood from ‘40 to ‘60 metre above ordinary full supply in the basins. It slope was uniformly about ‘07 metre per kilometre (4°09 inches per mile), The depth of water in the basins was from ‘70 to 1°20 metre above what is considered full supply, the result of which was that the water of one basin stood back in that to the south of it, and the cross embankments were washed over by the | waves and greatly injured. The longitudinal embankments parallel to the river suffered greatly too, and in many places the Nile overflowed them in a shallow film of water. The basin system failed then, and as far as the irrigation of the season was concerned no harm resulted (except to the xadbdérz crops) and much good.” * In Lower Egypt the whole country is under crop at the time of the flood, and has to be protected. A breach any- where would be disastrous, while one in the first too kilo- metres might destroy the crops on 300,000 acres. The terror reigning over the whole country during a very high flood like 1887 is very striking to any one seeing a flood for the first time. On the settlement of a culvert in the Nile bank near Mit el Kholi, and the consequent first rush of water through the bank, the author witnessed a scene which must be common in Egypt on the occurrence of a serious breach, but which fortunately was rare in 1887. The news that the Nile bank had breached spread fast through the village. The villagers rushed out on to the banks with their children, their cattle, and everything they possessed. The confusion was indescribable. A very narrow bank covered with children, * Sir Colin Moncrieff’s report on the flood of 1887. 188 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. cattle, poultry, and household furniture. The women as- sembled round the local saint’s tomb, beating their breasts, kissing the tomb, and uttering loud shrieks. And every five minutes a gang of men running into the crowd and carrying off something wherewith to close the -breach. The men meanwhile were not in the least confused, but in a steady business-like manner were working at the breach, and closed itin half an hour. The author has noticed that while the fellaheen are left to themselves they have a very good idea of what should be done, but when one of the many hundreds of the civil employés on the Nile banks in flood is present, his ignorance and fear seems to take possession of the crowd. These employés are not engineers, and have not the least knowledge of any engineering fact in this world. The mistake the Government makes is to economise to an excessive degree in money and materials, which are in- valuable, but which have to be paid for. They at the same time make up for this economy by sending two men on the bank where one is needed, because the men are not paid for. If every second man was allowed to redeem himself for a trifling sum of money, and the ransom money were spent in purchasing materials, the engineers would be far better able to cope with the flood. During flood the Nile banks are covered at intervals of about 70 metres with temporary booths, in which live the watchmen, and from which they shout to one another and confuse the whole country. In each two or three kilometres there must be at least one wag, and by slightly changing a message indescribable confusion can be caused. During the day the Government officials order about the corvée, and during the night the corvée order about the Government officials and keep them from sleeping by shouting down reports of imaginary breaches. Out of THE NILE IN: FLOOD, 189 some twenty reports of this kind which the author investi- gated, only one was founded on fact. There is a well- authenticated story of a very high Government official sending down a message for another official's horse, and the message arriving that his wife was needed. It is with rough play of this kind that the corvée drag out the tedious months of the Nile flood; for though there is enough of work and excite- ment for one man inspecting 400 kilometres of bank in a steamer, nine-tenths of the corvée are stationed in places where no breach could possibly occur, and where there is absolutely nothing to do but pass on messages. The following memoranda were made during the flood, and may be useful as practical records :— 1. The use of Sand-bags.—The operations this flood have disclosed the great value of sand-bags. They are easily transported ; quickly filled with earth and deposited in place ; make a good join with an earthen bank; thrown into deep water, will stand nearly perpendicular if bank needs to be raised quickly ; form a bank practically water-tight; are very cheap compared with stone. Twine and packing-needles should always accompany the bags. Cotton-seed sacks, 24 piastres each, are the most eco- nomical, and are also easily handled. In using them in running water a row of stakes should always be driven in, as they prevent the first sacks from rolling; once some fifty sacks are in position the rest do not roll, but stay where thrown. For the efficient use of sand-bags the banks should everywhere be 1 metre above maximum flood ; this permits of taking earth from the top of the bank and quickly filling the sacks and staunching the breach, when there is nothing but water on both sides of the bank; this is a point of very great importance, as at the beginning of a breach, time is 1g0 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. everything. Sacks should never be filled with sand and left as reserve, as the dampness destroys them; fill them when needed. 2. Protection of Banks during Flood.—lf a bank is being eaten away in front and there is no infiltration through the bank, a “banquette” is advisable. If, however, the bank has slipped badly on its reverse slope owing to infiltrations, earth should be thrown on the river side if there is any berm; if there is no berm a safety bank should be thrown up, and stakes supporting sand-bags be driven in on the ) river face. ‘‘Banquettes” under these circumstances (as hitherto practised) have done more to endanger the banks than the action of the river itself where the current is very severe. A few bushy trees thrown into the water, with 1} some sand-bags tied to the branches to weight them down, 1 | and a few boats laden with earth moored over the trees, | protect the bank temporarily, until some more permanent work can be undertaken. THE NILE IN: FEOOD. IQ! 3. Protection from the Wash of the Waves——The ordinary protection of banks by vertical stakes (generally 44 to 5 metres long) tied or nailed together, and packed behind with Indian corn stalks and brushwood, is well adapted to save banks from the wash of the waves. 4. Lveatment of Safety Bank.—No safety bank should be allowed to stand a single year without being subjected to water pressure. High-flood water coming on these new banks for the first time is disastrous. Cuts should be made Fic. 49. STASEIEslaye BANK Th tt at A and B before the flood, which may be closed when the Nile is 24 pics at Roda; they should be opened again when the Nile has fallen to 24 pics. This not only con- solidates the banks, but fills the pits with clay. 5. Lvreatment of Culverts—All culverts should be pro- vided with clay banks in front of them, as in the accom- panying sketch. If the culvert is to be left open, a wooden shoot can be run through the clay bank. The clay bank to keep pace with the rising flood. 192 EGYPTIAN [RRIGATION. These banks cost ‘50/. per culvert, when very well done, and render the worst culverts harmless. In the dangerous places there are about six culverts per kilometre. ian 7777/7 ea 6. Sharp Bends of the River—When the river rises in high flood above its ordinary channel it has a habit of cutting sharp round some corners, such as C, where the soil is always sandy, and where a breach would soon assume very serious proportions. No bends of this kind should be unprovided with a safety bank, such as A B. During the high flood of 1887 it was very noticeable that the matters held in suspension by the Nile were incon- siderable compared with years like 1884, 1885, and 1886. This gave the Nile water a cutting edge, which did consider- able damage to the banks. The water during the first week of July was of the ordinary summer colour, about the THE NILE IN FLOOD. 193 1oth of July the green tinge appeared, and instead of lasting about fifteen days, was in four days changed into red, showing that the rains in Abyssinia had begun early. The water during the first week of August was very muddy indeed, but it soon became comparatively clear, and re- mained of a milky tinge through the rest of the flood. The Fic. 52. 4 z Za o flood-water, therefore, could not have come principally from Abyssinia, as the colour was not red enough; it could not have come from the great swamps of the White Nile, as this water takes time to collect, comes late, and insures a high summer level in the following year, while the flood of 1887 came very early, fell early, and is being followed by a poor summer. It must have come principally from the Saubat O 194 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. river, whose waters have a milky colour, and which is not provided with great reservoirs. Another feature which was very noticeable about the flood of 1887 was that the foam which accompanies the green water of the early rise was present through the whole of September in great quantities. The following estimate was made by the author of the cost of protecting the provinces of Menoufieh and Garbieh from inundation :— Cost oF NILE PrRoTEcTION for 432 kilos or 1,200,000 acres. Materials Paid for. - Salid-pavs utilised, 60,000 at.4,°O2 2. 22 .. ee I ,800 Stone a ROO OMWEm a Oven MR as. oS) “Ge is 2,500 Stakes - POCO emp OOmin, pus te" Set! ww © 3,300 7,600 Materials Unpaid for. Camel loads of stalk for 42 kilos., 14,000 at £°15 each.. 2,100 iotalmatenals “2. .. -- 6,700 Boat Hire and Contingencies. MS MICU CTSEALE OOM SM Ge a ee we ws 1,200 Corvée, 1,374,079 men at £03 ere ese es 3 sce, AT ooo Labour and materials, Total .. £52,122 Therefore: cost of protection per kilometre of bank = 120/,, and per acre ==1:045/. If the cultivated area of Lower Egypt be taken as 2,750,000 acres, the cost of protecting the country came to 123,750/., of which sum Government paid 26,o00/. and the fellaheen did work representing 97,750/. Sir Colin Moncrieff, in his note on the Nile flood of 1887, says: “On the roth September an important decree was Fei aide a keel pee a ak ee THE NILE IN FLOOD. 195 issued that whenever the Nile had reached 24 pics on the Roda gauge all persons fit for work, of whatever rank or station, should be liable to give their help in protecting the banks. This law was of some use; but, as heretofore, there is no doubt the burden of protecting the country from inundation fell chiefly on the poor, and the sentiment of ‘ Noblesse oblige’ was conspicuous by its absence among the rich and powerful proprietors.” 196 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. CHAPTER VIL ENGINEERING DETAILS. Regulators—Regulating Apparatus—Vertical Needles—Horizontal Sleepers Rolled Beams—Wrought Iron Gates—Stoney’s Patent Sluice Gates— Grating Gates—Bridges—Navigation—Locks Sizes of Cargo Boats— Inspection Houses— Mills — Aqueducts—Syphons— Metal Pipes— Dis- charges of Rivers and Canals—Discharge Diagrams—Water Regulation Type Canals — Dredging — Bucket Dredgers— Grab Dredgers— Sand Pumps—Details of Dredging—Rates of Dredging—Specifications for Lock Gates, Wrought and Cast Iron—Gearing—Well Sinking—-Masonry, Brickwork, Stonework, Concrete, Earthwork, Pitching—Iron Pipes— Dredging—Earthwork by hand—Rates of Materials, Labour, and Works Account System. Tuere are no falls or rapids on the Egyptian canals. All the regulators have their floors flush with the bed of the canal, or considerably below it. This is a relic of the time when the summer supply could never be depended on, and more reliance was placed on the tens of thousands of corvée deepening a canal, than on weirs being able to raise the water-surface. Plate XXI. gives a plan of the Melig regulator completed in 1887. It was designed with slight modifications on the old plans. = ie floor 1s flush with the bed as before, but the roadway is now some 3 or 4 metres above high-water mark. The abutments, piers, and wing walls, have a considerably reduced section, while the latter are taken well back into the bank. The old regulating heads of canals used to be retired from the Nile, which meant heavy silt clearances upstream 4 MELIG ° REGULATOR XXL. x 4 I PLAT ON BAHR CHEBIN ws 600 Scale metres per day c 000,00 ¢ ) , 20 € schar Du \ | 37,106 c° metres thwork Ea lating Grooves Regu OO St SS is 2 Wy NoY SPD S 5 sss EF sw Sasa ee x Ss Si ae 3 19 SQ as & Ei Saris: gil en | 4 > & Sk Js Oo yu Ss £ in © NN © ei cos oS als 5 Bg ie iro} Ce) rr le 1 1 gy mat 1 ' ' tons Lock, Gates Cast tron Ouvins sills 1571. Wrot trom ¢ £500 Pumping ULES y 7 3-50 metres --}-+- 4 * Lew a lq aw 0-OF es ee On A.B.C.D. i 1! 1 ! ' 1 4 i 1 1 1 SECTION & ELEVATIO SECTION ON G.H. SECTION & ELEVATION ON E.F. Reference. Puchinag Ro res Ae OTLCTE 21 ( 7 Fe Masonry [reid ¥ ¥ m GQ ENGINEERING DETAILS. 197 of the head. They are now taken well forward and protected with pitching. As explained in Chapter III., Egyptian summer canals which carry in flood seven and eight times the discharge they do in summer, while they irrigate only three times the area, need a considerable number of escapes. These escapes not only get rid of the surplus water, but also act as scouring sluices. By the latter term is not meant the scouring away of deposited matter, but the prevention of heavy silt deposits. This class of work was much neglected formerly, but is now being taken in hand. On deep summer canals the first regu- lator is at the head, the second some 10 kilometres down, and the third some 20 kilometres from the head. It is preferable to abandon the second regulator in flood, excavate minor flood canals parallel to the summer canal on either bank up to the second regulator, and construct an escape from above the third regulator, either into the Nile, or some other canal. During a very high Nile these escapes cannot act, but in nine years out of ten they act well in August and September and half of October, i.e., while the Nile water is charged with alluvium. The system of regulation in ordinary use in Egypt is that of vertical needles, resting against horizontal girders or beams ;* the horizontals are fixed to a frame, which moves in the grooves. The accompanying plan shows the four vertical timbers (generally 25 centimetres x 15 centimetres in section), to which are bolted the iron horizontals. The vertical needles are lowered between A and B, and rest against the girders. There are two great advantages in this SYStEM :; * For calculating the strains on these girders, it will be found convenient to take all dimensions in metres, because a cubic metre of water weighs 1 ton. 198 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. ist. The vertical needles divide the falling water into a number of threads, and so completely break its force. They thus protect the floor and the pitching, and do away with FIG. 53. Byrn rn nn rn nn rn nn nn ny nn nnn ng nnn nnn ng enn pn ee ne CROSS SECTION OF GIRDER CROSS SECTION ON XY. the necessity for cisterns. An ordinary brick floor, without any cistern, will easily stand the shock of 35,000,000 cubic metres per day falling 2 metres, provided the verticals are carefully spaced, and driven down to the floor. end. This system can be used in any depth of water. It answers as well ino metres of water as in 3 metres. A pair of sheer legs is erected over the opening, and the verticals are lifted by 32” rope, working over pulley-blocks, and lowered in front of the horizontals ; the water drives the verticals against the horizontal frame. When a sufficient number of verticals have been thus lowered, a wooden monkey is attached to the rope passing through the upper pulley-block, and the verticals driven home, and then spaced. For lifting the verticals, if the head of. water is over 1 metre, the most ready method is to Se ENGINEERING DETAILS. 199 attach a chain to the head of the vertical, tie the other end of the chain to a loose timber lying on the bridge, and, making use of the parapet as a fulcrum, raise the vertical by leverage. The final operation of lifting the vertical out of the water, and laying it on the bridge is best performed by the sheer legs. This is the system of regulation practised in Egypt from time immemorial, and, though some slight modifications have been intro- duced, this is the system working to-day. Where iron girders* are not used for horizontals, they are replaced by oak beams. For the verticals, pinewood (Kamera) is infinitely preferable to fir (Bartoum). The upstream parapet of the bridge has two wooden beams running along the edges (as at A and B, in sectien),f to protect the parapet from the rough handling it receives. Where stone is cheap, a coarse of ashlar replaces the wooden beams. The needles used in Egypt have generally far too large a section, and are in consequence unwieldy. For depths of 5 metres and under, a section of 10 centimetres X IO centimetres would suffice. The disadvantages of this system are :— 1st. The necessity of having a large gang of men to work the needles; and and. The difficulty of making a water-tight closure. The first disadvantage is not felt during the flood, since there are always corvée labourers available ; nor is the second * The rolled beam advertisement sheets give every kind of information about the strength of the girders. If steel girders are preferred, they are obtainable as readily as the iron ones. T eigoaes: 200 EGYPTIAN [RRIGATION. of much consequence in flood, since no water-tight joints are needed at that time of the year. In summer, however, no corvée is generally available for this kind of work, while water- Fic. 55. tight closures are frequently needed, and consequently some change is necessary. Advantage has been taken of the fact that nine out of ten of the regulators have their floors much lower than is necessary, to drop wrought-iron gates into the grooves, and thus raise the floors to the highest level possible with efficiency. These gates are fixtures, and the regula- tion by means of vertical needles is carried on above them. The water is broken up into threads as before, while the length of the needles has been reduced by two or three metres. For depths of water of 5 metres and under, movable horizontal sleepers have been introduced in many places. They make a water-tight joint (comparatively speaking), but cause severe action below the regulator. There isa head of water at times of as much as 3 metres. Of course the main difficulty lies in lowering the timbers through so great a depth of water, and against so great a head. Lowering and raising the horizontal sleepers is performed very much as it is on the canals in Upper India, where the depth of water never ENGINEERING DETAILS. 200 exceeds 3 metres. If it were not that there is an unlimited corvée in flood time, when alone these great depths occur, it would be almost impossible to work these horizontals. One very serious disadvantage connected with horizontal timbers for regulation is the fact that, except at the head, the lower timbers are scarcely ever moved, and the water surface, in consequence, maintained throughout the year at a very high level. This high-level water injures the lands by percolation ; an observation which can be verified by an inspection of the Ibrahimia Canal, where horizontals are uniformly used. The severe action of horizontal regulation can be studied with advantage at Deirtit, where enormous holes are made yearly in the pitching below the Bahr Yusuf Head, and the Deirit Escape Head. For the new regulators on the Rayah Tewfiki, Colonel Western and Mr. Reid, following Indian practice, have con- structed wrought zvox gates, worked by travelling crabs. Plate XXII. gives details of one of these gates. Each opening is provided with two gates, sliding in separate iron grooves, which together form a double groove. These gates are easily worked, and can make a water-tight joint; they, however, cause serious action on the floor and pitching.* The openings are made 3 metres wide in every case. At the Barrage where the openings are 5 metres wide, the new gates are provided with two rollers each, in order to lessen the friction between the gate and the iron groove. The gates descend by their own weight. The original idea of rollers came from Mr. Stoney. At the Khatatbeh pumping station there are gates worked by travelling crabs, and at Sherbin by hydraulic machinery constructed by Messrs. Easton and Anderson; but while * The new regulators are provided with ashlar floors and a talus of pitching. 202 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. the corvée lasted in Egypt no serious attempt was made to construct gates worked by machinery, and yet possessing the advantages of the vertical needle system. In Mr. Stoney’s Patent sluice-gates on free rollers, the rollers are held together in frames and suspended in a chain loop. The gates press against the rollers on one side, on the other side the rollers press against rails formed on the groove. The slight leakage between the rollers and the groove is provided for according to requirements. The weight of the gates is counterbalanced by weights suspended from chains passing over pulleys. This system might certainly be adopted with advantage on the Barrage, or on any regulator where there is an ashlar floor and a good talus. On the mass of the regulators, however, where the floor is of inferior brick and there is no talus, this system of gate would not answer, owing to the severe action below the gate. For these re- gulators some system of vertical iron needles fixed in a frame, with another frame moving up-stream of it horizon- tally, on the hit-and-miss principle, would ensure the floor against severe action, and do simply by mechanical means, what the corvée do with the vertical needles. If three-fifths of the openings on any of the existing regulators -were closed the head of water would be hardly SSS [easy ala 25 centimetres, which is a matter of no SS IS A GugeZ AY LL | consequence; so that the frames might Se EROKRAHE be fixtures. Vertical openings break the force of the falling water better than hori- zontal openings. The author intends trying this system on some of the regulators. The new needle weirs constructed on the Seine, where the depth of water varies from 24 metres to 43 metres, ‘ClTY VY uW INV NYFILSIY 70D AP GINI/ISIC HYOMNOY/ SIYPL ee Joe wh YAOMGPOOM DP (U0AD ~ — SBAPPUL U2 KQUOSDUL So SUOVSUPULYT < *NOILOAS | HYYOMHIIYE OO EE sy sss vy MHYOMMUIIUG “NOILWAA14 MVIHS (i Mew oa UL ee awe aw ec ea fo. ee eee = ; = = fi aon sane | orn a om || mp ee won| Ph iz Spas aoa él = = : Seti = = ir eS | vr 19 oe ny ‘HOOT 1 — i oyTBaSg ‘YvVaD LAN ONITISAVHL ‘SOLVUVddV ONITW TOOTS “UXX ALWId “CITY 7 WW ONY NYAFLSFY 70) AP GINID/SIT MYOMNOL! SE ood alv) WOLLog UDTPIAP YT UIA’? f | Poel etnies 5 ee ee aren en eee eS SANIT AULNAS.NO NOILOAS i me es Ud ‘PD ua uorpog > al ____arhidlsng y SSS yogy OF | POAT Zoe 5201 ANT) eae) CAGE Wd AV Uo uorypag OW He Sa f Yt) *p-=+ Er —— — La Gai uomorwny = AND dOL si aon fp SOA Oe Hoe Ye SUL Te : s | © . BS CeCe " KE ROY ea Jor cee kina a eae oe cok ae eR EE Hs ; uy SUDATT of ath moadg Af PO UNO Dy ewoier IPE % doy, JO UsrIaS /x5fo, GUAM wae iB, 9-¥ 2% 9-H Rexd, mere tht Doe DADO UL )O] fj? UOVPONA) ONO. 4) U2MIUT JP UlTIAOS { ef AANA J HCE ess os er HOghoy J ‘VOoTT = #eTe0S SdA0OND GNV SALVD JO STIV.LAG (@) TKX MLV ‘SOLVUVddV ONLLV'DIOD Aa ENGINEERING DETAILS. 203 might be adopted with advantage in Egypt in similar situa- tions. Now that the corvée have been allowed to redeem themselves through the winter and summer, this question of regulation is assuming very great importance in Egypt. Cheap mechanical contrivances will be eagerly sought for by the Government. The depths of water vary from 9 metres to 1 metre, the heads from 4 metres to zero, and the widths from 6 metres to I°5 metres. On many of the works under construction, well founda- tions on the Indian principle have been introduced. Thus at the Rayah Tewfiki head the up- and down-stream curtains consist of rectangular wells 3°50 x 2°50 metres, the thickness of masonry being ‘45 metres and the depth of well 6 metres. All the piers and abutments rest on circular wells. Except on the railways, there are no permanent bridges, to speak of, which are not regulators. Communications across canals are kept up by means of ferries or temporary wooden bridges. The locks are provided with lift-bridges. The following table gives details of a number of Egyptian regulators on the deep summer canals. A great desideratum for executing repairs to the floors of regulators, which cannot be laid dry except at a very heavy expenditure, is a adiving-dell with a gutta-percha or elastic band round the bottom, so that the bell might be lowered on to the floor, weighted, and the air compressed to a degree of pressure exceeding the pressure of the water; by this means the cracked floor could be dried and repaired with the springs running backwards. Such a machine, if possible, would be invaluable. Navigation in Egypt is much discouraged by the Govern- ment, in order to compel traffic to move along the railways, * For specification, look further on in this chapter. ? Ol etl (SL ot | 09.e1| 00.9 1 08.64] O1.ce| Oz rOLOn a (G)0-| Cones) 0.8 | oon! 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One Ome: Ome, co Onmne Oy “@) © CH) 6S) 6 | | “Id}B A JO peoyy wnuirxeyy “100, 7 Joyeyy jo yideq umutrxeyy 0.8 0.6 5.9 0.6 0.8 0.9 oral 0.6 Om 0.8 aa One 0.6 Oo oF OO ~ ~~ © uo ‘panuyuoi— XXX AAV, COs crt LOav Qzao NOT, = One o-¢ Ohya ea Oe °o.V °.v Oil OOne Og ai n LOgkt Goes Ol. e OSs oSiv2 Go; & 00). 6 OOne |POOne C Zee OOS OL scaNieO Sian Ofne | 82.1 00..e | 00.¥. COnr. |nQ0.'y “apig. /tenuey ‘ssuluodgG JO WIPIM. L 11 OI OI Com oD UO OL Ee ty ON o ‘ssulusd¢Q jo ‘ON a a a RIDWIO(T eyUeS SIN TUvULILY ‘SOY Yrreuan a unISeg eqeppuyt YyeImerepoy yy peoy ieseNn peo] VIMeSIIC prox yrreuayy PHO PPSEot YWON sureyssig "* pesy viunurjyeg Peay LIV seqraqnys “10}2[NBOY jo owen 206 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. which are practically a Government monopoly. This is very detrimental to the interests of the country, since nearly all the cotton is grown along the deep navigable canals, while of necessity all the pumping stations requiring coal are on the canals. By means of heavy tolls at locks and other ob- structions, the traffic is moved out of its natural channels ; and the merchants rightly complain that their interests are sacrificed to an unwise policy. They argue that the Govern- ment wants, say, 1,000,000/. profit from railways, navigation dues, export duties, &c.; if traffic were free and unimpeded everywhere, produce would be transported from each place in the most convenient manner, and the Government might then raise the export dues from 1 per cent. to 2 or 3 per cent. on cotton (the principal paying crop in Egypt), and thus make good their 1,000,000/. without interfering with every detail of transport. The size of the Jocks on the different canals has been detailed in Chapters II. and III. Plate XXIII. gives details of the lock gates at the Melig regulator, and the opening and shutting apparatus. It will be noted that the hollow grooves and sills, which are fixtures, are of cast iron. The gates themselves are constructed of wrought iron. The valve- openings are large compared to the area of the gate, to allow of a considerable discharge during flood, and thus prevent silt deposits in the locks. The following table gives details of a number of cargo boats, steamers, &c., in Egypt. On the main lines of canal the locks should at least be large enough to pass boats of 1000 ‘‘ardebs,” and therefore have the following. dimensions: 30 metres x 8 metres x 2 metres. It has been decided to have locks of 50 metres x 8 metres xX 2 metres on the main lines in Lower Egypt. On the Ibrahimia and Ismailia Canals the locks are oY PLATE XXHL , MELIG x 4. GATE oot. ea U © jal oy = Ry, \ 5 W229 por “75-0 J Gua *K- s -- -Up 4-- Se L irons 3* r Se aan RE ey = ee 1 RS ~Sd se S =I > ath ee oS 8 8 ° o © jo i Ly gd ee +a RSS SST oo 1 & & = = | Bu 4s ° ay ee a 7 1 i ' ' i i ! ' 1 338 ae ae \LDons 3<3<56 \Lirons ¢ SECTION wat eS Dn Sieh Mg Ro LT Li 5 % Lirons 3» 3x pores eg es ey CC — : il eel Sheeting removed Ip ELEVATION 578 - HORIZONTAL SECTION Above Valve lve Va Through DESIGNED BY COL. WESTERN /RONWORK RE/D AND MB 4. ‘CY WY yW ONY NYFLSIY 109 AFT GINIISIAC AXOMNOL/ ‘QO NO NOILOIS YaHSVM 40 NOILVAS13 & ay “4 ~ ge | s 01-4 ge --p/Pif, fo SSPUYO TYE -—— -f, ‘4°94 NO NOILOAS umyy hurd Pea eS ieare of J? UMy) S09 -Luso7o WO Sime aia TST) SIU “ 9,01 ~--- 1 “jooy { a vA xTeVg . “11190 GNV SNIONO JO Sliviaa YWOOl SITAN (@) 1WIXX WIVTd fe “pa \nuads abumy doy, ) THO 4AO NV1d W190 40 NOILOSS 6/2 OY jo wry 9 el WA) a9 Jo rpbuaT SALMFUL f, YIO'T J? UIP NiOnO 4O liviaa @ Vv NO NoILOaS NOJLVAA13 = St “XO@ YSA110UY 4O STiviaa NOILVA314 DAY Y wW AF GINIISIG H9 4a NO Nvid NOIMWAI14a LNOYS YWve ONISOTD 4O NVid 2 | Beg UO JauMIYg YVE ONISOTO 430 NOILOAS IVWNIGNLISNOT saninnnn fh -- ARE a ee ay ees ae % STNIDS, 94 a ‘ NOILVA313 a \ NY 1 HY \\ \ SS | SAN 8. Seek GN 9) cen cesses EPS yaa | “dV NO NOILO3S WW ONILSVS 8 3LlW1d Y3110¥8 4O NVId JOOTT = 8 0[BROG “YVAN ONISOTO 8 ONINAdO ‘MOOT OTTHW (4) TXX SIV Ta ENGINEERING DETAILS. TABLE XXX.—DIMENSIONS OF NILE BOATS AND: STEAMERS. | | , | | Extreme Dimensions. | Draught. Description) Tonnage in | of Boat. | Ardebs. | | | | Height of Mast. Remarks. Length. | Breadth. | Empty.| Full. | metres | metres metres | metres metres ae Cargo 1300 20:06: 7260 F604 | 5220 i | Tonnage. is Pe sivent ss tn ardebs; 1 = L000 oley 4 ‘60 7OOul 200 | ardeb,.= r 300 Ibs. | | approxi- Tage | hon “GO Wre380 ‘go : | mately. 10502 445 20°00 | 4 -7-c0 SOO.) ssn TSO 907 2300! 16" 6% “80 "go Peat "46 | 70 "80 ‘60 681 | "80 | SG "80 "60 | “14 wis "40 "90 "70 "40 "60 "go ‘60 an 658 "00 600 | Se 556 | “80 s5° 49 500 “40 | 475 "80 455 | 67 eal “60 30 | "06 | “ae "20 | “70 | "47 “72 ‘60 7.0 ‘60 "34 “60 | 1:40 2 “80 "40 “26 “80 "40 SH FTA 8O "50 220 =76) “60 "00 One AO 103) ayo "20 "64 “76 On| 12 "40 ‘60 “131 Oml| eee On ane ol iin) Onc. Gil Gna Cn “7.0 "20 | ‘60 © WwW “76 "00 w 70 mere ‘60 “IO WwW W -60 "OO ‘60 -00 oN Ww W "40 "80 208 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. TABLE XXX.—DIMENSIONS OF NILE Boats AND STEAMERS—continued. Sn een e EEE SaEEEnnEaS SS Extreme Dimensions. Draught. Description} Tonnage in Height of We of Boat. Ardebs. | Mast. oa Length. | Breadth. | Empty. | Full. eS | metres metres metres | metres metres Cargo 55 S270.) 2°92 "40 70 5°70 D 32 meg) Bese) 35 | 7° sy 23 Teo ees 20> |=." 30 “60 5°00 a 15 G22 1°86 "30 | "50 Dahabias ? 35°40 5°70 27O, | 1700 14°20 ay Z 23:°5O 5°80 ‘60 “80 14°50 s 1280 30°60 5°80 7,0 | “80 EA*-5O | -s 1241 29°40 5°64 “470 | . +80 14°00 2 1106 2g'4o | 5°64 ‘go | 1°00 | 14°00 | ae 587 22°90 | 4°50 “60° |. “Fo 10°00 | > 30°00 4°70 “70 | 1°00 13°50 ees 4 ; 350 ardebs. a8 250 16°90 S220 "50 ‘60 TBO x 263 E7200 | =3°04 ‘Olas 700 8:00 Steamers | Nazaratia E3109) | 79°30 | 1°25 | 1730 es Nazi. ss 61°40 | 10°15 M745 eb 50 A Kenas ess) 72229) 12°90 1°25 | 1°40 Be Damietta 61°67 | 11°70==| 1°50 | 1°60 & ee Shibrakb&t | 49°20 | 10°38 | 1°45 | 1°50 Including paddle boxes. a 35 metres x 83 metres x 2 metres. For minor canals, where mj 250 ardeb boats only ply, the locks should be 20 metres X 6 metres x 1°25 metre (a width of 6 metres is necessary to pass boats laden with three bags of cotton laid crossways). In the Berriya, where no cotton is carried, but only rice, dates, melons, and fish ENGINEERING DETAILS. 209 have to be transported, locks of 2c metres x 4 metres x 1°25 metres will suffice for the traffic. On the Nile itself locks of 50 metres x 12 metres width are necessary for the large steamers, while locks of 15 metres in width alone can pass the double boats of wheat-straw, tied together. Previous to 1885, there were no zusfection houses in the country; the engineers having been accustomed to live in tents with the corvée, and at other times with the village headmen. A number of inspection houses are being built every year, and before long the country will be covered with them. They generally consist of a single storied building of sun-dried bricks, plastered and whitewashed, with two rooms 4 x 4m. each, a small hall, and a bath room. They suffice for all the baggage one is able to take about out in a country where there are practically no roads, and all transport is by pack animals. They cost £100 each, including furniture. The only wills worked by water power to be found in the country are in the Fayoum. These are small corn mills, exactly like the Indian “ panchakki,” from which they were copied. There are many regulators where a constant fall of water can be counted on, and which are near important towns, but the water power is not utilised. This is strange in a country where there are many windmills for grinding corn, and where coal is comparatively dear. A gueducts, syphons, and cross-drainage works are not common in the country. In Upper Egypt, on the syphon canals along the strip of high land bordering the Nile, syphons of the very boldest designs are constructed to carry high-level water from an upper basin series under the next basin canal. These syphons are of coarse masonry, and of slight section, it being always assumed that both canals will be full of water at the same time. Since these works act P 210 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. only in flood, this assumption is justified.* In Lower Egypt there are a few masonry syphons. Plate XVI. gives a plan of one recently constructed by Mr. Garstin. Since 1885, wrought-iron pipes, however, have nearly always been used both for aqueducts and syphons. They are generally con- structed of 1” sheet-iron, butt jointed, and_ stiffened with L irons at every alternate joint, if over 12 feet circumference 5 and lap jointed if under 12 feet. Since the sheets in the market are 8’ x 4' or 6’ x 3’, the pipes are always constructed with their circumference some multiple of the length or width, so that there might be no cutting of plates. The pipes are sometimes laid.on a bed of concrete, vaying from 1 metre to 25 centimetres in thickness, according to the quality of the soil, or they are laid on the hard clay soil, and well packed round with clay balls. Where the pipes are used as aque- ducts, they are generally supported on wooden trestles. The following table gives roughly the weight of these pipes per length of 10 metres, and also the velocity in metres per second and discharge in cubic metres per second, corresponding to different heads of water, using the formula v= 6 VA (v in feet, and % in feet), which answers very well as a rough approximation. The great advantage of using wrought iron pipes is that they can easily be transported ; they do not need expensive supervision during construction, and can be put together so rapidly, that the cost and trouble of a diversion for the canal during time of construction, is avoided. All discharges of rivers and canals are now calculated from Bazin’s coefficients. For discharge diagrams the calcula- tions are made from surface slope observations, checked by * Since writing the above the author has heard of the blowing up of a yery important syphon in Upper Egypt. \ 000. OF IDS jg DU0'T syeO LT MNVG@& L441 YNVG 44/797 | App wad > \ sa.c20ul? 921999 'S8E TRLOT, WE 650 8 “08: re: PLL LOT IGE. vl RUGS CONOES OY OF OY Oe 690-8 080-409 A Ob: 29" Oot '99L'99-08- “OLO-S 96L-06L GsIe Olt $9906 08 ONG GSC EGP : O99E FOC BE pop gee ne OCRREIG, 0G HIE aes G/L E8h SOI, BOD ‘EEE PEL OL - YT SOG & oS TeLpST(] ‘) £99L- the LEE) pee ae npr c e aee oeiaal cas LOEG Ga oe O08 BEL 1S vs: fe OA Nie as Me & GEE PAE == | L64 000 66% Tt OSs | aor 90: lt S SOIC BGC o = ee OES GOL EGL ie i =e PUO ULL ole ORS / : 4 d ; sar jbs SALPOUE ; by SINOY py tad satjaul;) DSUs {DS rae WN ADLIYISUT Ls mente ey ' 1 1 ' 1 ' Ape ea =5 p -------- -Q 2----+ OE Daa SILQUL UD LOYOM Jo Yyydap SOLIUL AD LAD JO Ya OL0-L $OP-G -==--~ i ' 1 ' I & ~ ond B69 SL -- 00 ===90L- 9 - == (Qt -------@ ~ ia N= =e aaah T 1 1 ' ' \ # oy Ss i \ 1 LSE - Lj ON ! 1 ' 1 ! ' 1 ! ' ! | | | =. wQ = LEST este feg-o1 edmey | y Tina nsumocy | puns tod SotpIUd PI9)2A DTNYING iy S 8k 28 5S | 009 wad sahapy APIA CNIS “€ so.nour -bs oFREe — very yez,O ibs sa Q.E79T — Beaty TPL §o..0Ul (bs FEBS WwW Yeo, "JOVYNVE MOTZG HONVYE VLIFIWVG J9YVHOSIG “AOVYNVA MOTSG HONVYS VLLASOY FDYVHOSIG ? Aa XY pure “AIXX GIVTd ENGINEERING DETAILS. Zeist surface velocity observations. Plate XXIV. gives cross sections and velocity observations of the Rosetta and Damietta branches in flood. The following method of taking discharges of the Nile has been followed in Egypt. A site is chosen where the river is fairly straight on a length of at least 2 kilo- TABLE XXXI.—}-INCH WROUGHT-IRON PIPES FOR SYPHONS, ene tn ee ee ee Velocity in Metres per Sec. ; and Discharge in Cubic Metres per Sec. Dia- : Weight Circum-| jn Tons meter in | ference per 10 Head Head Head Head Head Metres, | ™2 Feet.| Metres | ‘10 Metres. 50 Metres.| 1°o Metres. | 1°5 Metres. | 2°0 Metres. Length. Miso lie De | po Varsha) alee Vik iD: V. Dp: We ED “Ig 2 TSA) EO OSF 27342 O7se3 "093) 4°0 “113) 4°7 "133 "38 4 "68 | ro/ *13/2°3/ 311373] *44 [aco] +54 ]a-7] +63 738 8 1°40 |1°o| *48/2°3 |r- 10] 3°3| 1°58 | 4*0 1OF. | Acne 27245 1°16 12 2°20 | I°0 |t"06) 2°3 /2°43/3°3] 3°49 | 4°0| 4°23 AT LEGG 1755 | 16 | 3°10 | 1°o|r-86\2°3 4-341 3°35) 623 | 470) gecr |4-g | 8 en Se eee metres, the most uniform cross section of the river is found by taking a large number of rough cross sections. A peg is fixed in the bank opposite this section. In the accompanying peas ae i =e ee a — >= 3 plan, A is this fixed point. Through A, a line BAC is marked, exactly parallel to the direction of the river, making A Band A C each equal to about the observed width of the Eee 21.2 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. river. A theodolite or plane table is put up at A, and the point D across the river, on the line A D at right angles to BC, is fixed. Since A B and A C are both capable of being measured, they are measured, and with the aid of the theodo- lite or plane table the length A D is obtained In the line A D or its continuation, flags are put up at E and E’ to direct the man in the steamer on the Nile. The theodolite or plane table is now put up at B or C, and observations made on a steamer or boat in the Nile, which, as it gets on the line A D, throws out a signal and takes a sounding either with a line or sounding-rod. The boat or steamer traverses the whole section, and if any gaps are left without soundings, the plane table shows where they are, and they can be immediately filled in. While all this is going on, the nearest river gauge is being observed, and also a temporary gauge erected at the site of the discharge site. The two are afterwards connected by levelling. This completes the observations necessary for the cross section, which is now plotted: e. g. Fic. 58. The surface velocity observations are now made. Two lines, H J and K L, are fixed, the former 50 metres upstream of A D, and the latter 50 metres downstream. Between these lines the surface floats are observed. A theodo- lite or plane table is fixed at A, and the boat or steamer is sent upstream with the floats. An observer stands at H, and another at A. The boat drops a float into the stream at a distance of about 50 metres upstream of the line H J at a con- venient point, and the theodolite or plane table at A follows it ENGINEERING DETAILS. Dies until the man at H call out on its crossings the line HJ. It is then observed and recorded; this is repeated as the float crosses the line K L. The observers at H and K have noted Fic. 59. x? ANUS Lt HIT, the time. When a sufficient number of well-placed velocities over the half of the river near A are observed, observations are made for the other half from D. The field work is now over. On the cross section, the points E, F, G, and C, where the Ine, Ge. Lae VLG, Z 2 Y velocities were observed, are plotted, ‘The cross section is divided into a number of suitable sections, each ruled by one or more observed velocities. Each section is calculated separately, e. g. the section X Y Z W. Its area is SV ZW, its wetted perimeter is Y Z; its hydraulic mean depth is ee - and the rest follows from Bazin’s coefficients and tables.* As an example of a river discharge so taken, Plate * Kutter’s, or any other, formula may be used ; but where calculations have to be very frequently made, Bazin’s formule are very convenient. The coefficients for depths over 3 metres might be raised. 214 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. XXV. gives the discharges of the Rosetta and Damietta branches, made by Col. J. Western. Referring to the lower plan, the thick firm line is the line on which the cross section of the river was taken, and the crosses the points where soundings were taken.. The dotted lines give the paths followed by the floats. Referring to the upper figure, which is a section along the middle line, the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, &c., show the sub- sections ; while the firm vertical lines show the boundaries of these sub-sections; and the fine vertical lines, the points where the floats crossed the line of section. The observed surface velocity in metres per second is written opposite each float, while below the section are written the areas in square metres, the hydraulic mean depths, the constants for multi- plying the surface velocities to reduce them to mean velocities, and the discharges of the subsections in cubic metres per twenty-four hours. The addition of these latter makes up the total discharge of the river. Above the section is written the total surface width in metres, and the total area in square metres ; the Barrage downstream gauge of the day is written on the right hand. Plate X. gives discharge and velocity diagrams of the Rosetta and Damietta branches at the bifurcation. The diagram is thus made:—A very careful cross-section of the river is taken, as before, on a straight reach of some 3 or 4 kilometres, and at a point where the cross-section is fairly uniform, showing that the river here is flowing normally. A section in winter is more exact than in flood. There is enough of water for the river to preserve its normal slope of water- surface, and not enough to render the taking of soundings difficult. Its water-surface is compared with the nearest fixed gauge +h of the river. The section is very carefully plotted, and ENGINEERING DETAILS. 215 the water-surface is drawn on it, with the meee gauge- reading written against it. Horizontal lines 1 metre or } metre apart are then plotted on the section, Se to the Fic. 6x. EES Gi Pauger downstreare of Barrage —— aia oo Wi SS en ts ee eS : Ly “iy, 7 MMM 7 1 Li, UMM MEE, Yf different gauge-readings. The cross-sections and hydraulic mean depths are now calculated for each gauge-reading, e.g., II, I1*50,' 12°0, 12°50, 13-6, cc, er the slope ot etae river, a long reach of 50 kilometres is taken, as the chances of error are much less than they would be if 3 or 4 kilometres were taken. This is very easily done on the Nile, as there are carefully levelled gauges about 50 kilometres apart, in Lower Egypt. The mean slope on this reach of 50 kilo- metres is taken as the slope for calculating the discharges. Of course on curves the slope varies; but since the cross-section has been taken in a carefully chosen normal site, the mean slope will refer to it. From the calculated velocities and dis- charges the discharge and velocity diagram is made. This diagram is checked frequently by surface velocity observations. Similar discharge diagrams are made for the more important canals, the area of country commanded by them is obtained from the maps, while the approximate areas of the different crops on each canal separately, are yearly obtained. By this means the discharges of the canals can be made pro- portionate to the area commanded, or the area actually irrigated, according to the requirements of the different seasons. If the supply of water is insufficient for the demand, it is always easier to distribute fairly what there is by completely shutting off a certain number of canals by 216 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. rotation and sending the whole supply down the rest than by sending a reduced supply down all the canals at the same time. When water is sufficient for the demand it is a great advantage to the agricultural community to have flush irriga- tion occasionally, and this can always be arranged by closing and opening the regulators in rotation, and by flushing one canal while the others are closed in rotation. Plate XVa. gives type cross-sections of the canals in Lower Egypt, and Plate XV. gives a longitudinal section of the Rayah Menoufieh and Bahr Shebin down the middle of the Delta. The Bahr Shebin, with a maximum depth of water of 6 metres, has a mean bed width of 50 metres; but owing to flood slopes of from 3535, to resulting slow velocities, any depth of water can be put into a canal without damaging it; canals with bed widths of 6 metres Tun G-metres deep.in flood.. In Chapter III. are given details of the velocities at which silt deposits take place. Szt clearances by hand are generally performed by men with spades and baskets, as in India. Where the canals have to be dredged, three kinds of dredgers are used—bucket dredgers, sand pumps, and grab dredgers. Details of two fairly good old bucket dredgers are given in Appendix H; these details have been obtained from Mr. W. Duport, M.1.C.E., who is one of the managing directors of a dredging 1 soeun and the company working in Egypt. It will be seen that on these (Ibrahimia Canal) dredgers 13 tons of coal are used to dredge from 430 to 700 cubic metres. The author has had little experience of dredging, owing to very few of his canals needing over 35,000 cubic metres of silt clearance per annum. Mr. Garstin, however, has had considerable experience, and has kindly supplied the following information. The bucket dredgers work well in hard sand, soft mud, and ENGINEERING DETAILS. 27, anything except stiff clay. The ordinary out-turn is 600 to 800 cubic metres per day.* In any canal, with fairly straight reaches and up to a 6 metres lift, where these dredgers can work, they are the best, both as regards speed and duty. The first cost is high, but they are tough and seldom out of order. Mr. Foster, however, prefers the sand pumps in shallow water. The graé dredger can work in stiff clay, and is useful for deepening or widening canals in original soil under water. It takes up little room, and can follow a winding canal. Out- turn 200 to 300 cubic metres per day.* Valuable for heavy weed clearing. This dredger is necessarily slow, while the wear and tear is excessive. In canals with a lift of over 4 metres or a distant berm, the long radius and leverage of the arm jar and shake the machine and make work very slow. This dredger works well in soft and stiff clay and soft sand, but cannot work in stiff sand, and cannot dredge slopes. The sand pump can work well in soft mud or silt, or sand deposited within the previous two years, but for desert sand under water it is useless. This dredger needs very careful looking after, so as to manipulate the nozzle and prevent only water coming up the pump. The water is generally five times the silt in quantity. The average lift on these pumps is from 3 to 4 metres in winter and from 5 to 6 metres in summer ; a 12-inch pump driven by a 8 or 10 h.-p. engine (6 h.-p. have been proved too small) delivers about 400 to 500 cubic metres per day in winter.” In the first kilometre of a canal it pays to dredge the silt into hopper barges and drag them out into the Nile and there discharge the material. Elsewhere a long couloir * The dredgers are necessarily of a size which can work in canals of from 8 to 12 metres bed width. 218 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. deposits the material into slurry pits, dug annually on the berm. In some cases, where the berm is far off, the bucket dredgers lift the silt into barges, from which it is pumped over the banks by sand pumps. The grab dredgers deposit into the slurry pits on the berm. With the sand pump long trenches are dug on the berm, and the silt and water combined is pumped into them; as the water moves along it Fic. 62. leaves all the silt behind, and the water is eventually taken back into the canal through a pipe at the end of the trench. These trenches should be about 500 metres long each, and well retired from the edge, or the percolation and infiltration of the water make the berm slip into the canal. The water should always return to the canal in front of, and not behind, the dredging. The quantity of material dredged from the canals in Egypt in 1887 was 1,500,000 cubic metres ; in 1888 it is likely to be 1,800,000 cubic metres, as dredgers are gradually replacing hand-labour in all the difficult canals. The rates for dredging are as follows :— Upper Egypt.—Government supplying the plant—repairs at the charge of the contractors—two years’ contract—annual payment 5000/. For 300,000 cubic metres and under *o2o/. per cubic metre. If over 300,000 cubic metres, *035/. per cubic metre. Behéra Province.—Government plant, eight years’ contract —600,000 cubic metres per annum—°*0375/. per cubic metre. PLATE, XSxWile PLAN OF PROPOSED WADI RYAN RESERVOIR. “1 Sebah sah Scale 506 G00 AW RLS wy metres. Desert. Fayoum 1+ 30-00 gy Beni Souef S v in x BIBA F pROPOSED HEAD I OF CANAL ENGINEERING DETAILS. 219 Eastern Provinces.—Contractors supply plant and every- thing; ‘03652. per cubic metre for three years, and *0348/. per cubic metre for the next five years; and for special canals ‘o4/. per cubic metre for eight years. (First three years 1,000,000 cubic metres per annum, for the next five years 500,000 cubic metres per annum). In the whole irrigation administration of the country there is nothing so bad as the water distribution between the dif- ferent proprietors. There are no culverts (kulabas), and no means of measuring water or preventing waste. Time has been so much taken up with other matters of greater urgency, that this important branch of irrigation work has as yet received no attention whatever. The more important points in a number of speczficatzons are given ‘here for reference, Lock GATES. Wrought Ironwork. To be of dimensions figured on the drawings. All angles of girders to be of best girder angles, of single lengths, without joints. All plates of girders to be of the longest lengths obtainable, and no single plate to be less than 10' = 3'048 metres long. Where joints in webs are needed, such joints to be double covered with cover plates of 3; inch iron, with two rows of rivets 3” = °076 metre pitch on each side of joint. Rivet holes to be truly set out and cleanly punched, All rivets in welts of heel-post, along heel-post vertical girder, and along bottom girder of each gate, to be countersunk and flush-headed on outer face, so as to permit of the sheeting of the gate lying in close contact with the cill and quoin everywhere. All other rivets to be snap headed, and no flawed, cracked, or split rivets to be allowed to remain in the gate. All cranking of angles to be well and truly forged, and no cracked or reedy angles to be put into the works. The sheeting of the gates and the webs of the girders to be of the best girder plates. The sluices on the gates to fit truly and well on to cast-iron fitting strips, planed on face, and attached to the gate by 220 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. countersunk bolts nutted up from the inside. All rivets of sluices to be flush on the face next the gate. The heel and baling pins to be of Bessemer steel, turned and wrought to the dimensions shown on the drawings. The heel-pin to be shaped to the curve known as the “ Equitangential tractrix.” Length of generating tangent to be 4 inches, and pivot to be 7 inches long, curve commencing 1 inch from the apex. The bearing blocks of both pins to be cast to their true shape and chilled on their bearing surfaces, the pins being then wrought to fit them an easy sliding fit, and tempered to medium hardness. The sluice lifting gear to be as shown on drawings, to be well made, and to work easily and smoothly, without backlash or play, other than the fair clearance of teeth. The blocks holding the lifting rods to be bored to fit the rod, and to be attached to the gate with their centres in a truly straight line. The whole gate to be built in a good, workmanlike manner, of good material, well put together, with all joints butting closely and evenly. Woodwork. All woodwork to be of teak, sound and well seasoned, no scarf to be less than 1 metre in length in the mitre post, and single lengths to be used for bottom and tops of lock gates. Cast Ironwork. Quoins, Cills, Grooves, &c.—All cast ironwork to be of best grey iron, soft, clean, and free from blow-holes, cracks, warps, or other blemish. The faces of the cills, where the gates bear against them, to be planed for a depth of 8” = +203 metre from their upper faces ; the ends of the cills where they meet the quoins to be also planed to make a true joint. The upper faces to be planed on a width of 4 inch so that a water-level may be moved along the cill to test its being truly horizontal when in position, The quoins where they bear against the cills to be planed, as also the chipping strips on which the gates bear when closed. The latter (chipping strips) to be scored down their entire length with one line each; such lines to be truly parallel to the axis of the quoin, and exactly at one quadrant’s distance from one another. ‘The blocks carrying the pivot and baling pin to be faced to the curvature of the quoins, the quoins themselves being also truly faced where the blocks bear. The ends of each piece eee ENGINEERING DETAILS. 22% of the quoins to be planed truly square to its length, so that the complete quoin shall be truly straight without the employment of packing of any kind. All bolt-holes to be truly placed, so that no difficulty may arise in erecting. Gearing. The opening and closing gear for the lock gate to be as shown by the drawings. The winches to be well made and to work smoothly in all their parts. The roller boxes for the opening chains to be as shown on the drawings, and to have each roller capable of being taken out and replaced without disturbing the box. All spindles of rollers to be of steel hard tempered on their wearing surfaces. Bearings of rollers in boxes to be chilled. All bearings in winches to be bushed with phosphor bronze bushes %-inch thick, and all shafts to be =of steel. All necessary chains to be supplied and fitted, and to be of best- best, tested, close link, crane chain. WELL-SINKING. Before commencing work, lining out pillars should be built for at least two faces at right angles to one another, and from these lines all measurements throughout progress of work should be made. Curbs for blocks should be laid at lowest possible level and sunk into soil at least 20 centimetres before brickwork steining is built upon them. The whole of the brickwork, permanent and temporary, necessary for the sinking of a block, should if possible be built before sinking is commenced. Blocks should be left to set for one week after com- pletion of last course of permanent brickwork, before the dredger is allowed to be put down. The exterior of blocks should be smooth and true, the interior as rough as it is possible to make it. In sinking a line of blocks, alternate blocks to be sunk together. When these have been sunk to a depth of 25 centimetres delow the required depth, the remaining blocks to be sunk and to be taken down to 2§ centimetres above the required depth. On the completion of sinking of each individual block, a plug of 223 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. 75 centimetres of cement concrete and then 75 centimetres of ordinary concrete to be lowered into the well. This plug should be allowed to set for 10 days, and then water carefully baled out and the well filled with concrete to the necessary height by layers. No bank or spoil should be allowed nearer to the blocks at level at which curbs are placed than 2 metres at a minimum. On completion of sinking of three adjoining blocks, the space between the two farthest from sinking in progress to be piled up and down stream, joint cleared of sand to level of curb by means of long handled small-pattern “phaorahs” * or scoops, and space filled with concrete. It is almost impossible in most cases to lay this dry, and had best not be attempted. The pump for drying concreting area should be placed in one of the foundation blocks in a side wall—not in one of the up or down stream curtains. This pump-well must have a good solid plug at its bottom, so that all water pumped may be from concreting area. To admit the water to the pump, the wall of block may be cut through, and when work is completed and pump withdrawn, the block and wall knocked down and filled with concrete in the usual manner. The excavation for talus under this system, must be done whilst pump is working for the concreting area. The concreting must be commenced from the end of work farthest from pump, and should work in layers towards it. No spring whatever is admissible through the concrete or its joints, and if such appear the work should be taken up and redone. For the better checking of depths in well sinking, it is usual to make a plaster gauge on one face of a block, marked by crosscuts at every half metre. By mere reading of these gauges the relative position of all wells can be easily ascertained, when water level or top * Indian term, ENGINEERING DETAILS. 223 of one well only has been levelled. It is also usual to number all wells, and to record the depths sunk daily or weekly by the numbering. In making curbs the maximum slope possible should be given to the underside so as to make as good an outside cutting edge as possible. The following “Instructions for Bidders,” “Form of Tender,” and “Specification” for the Zargoun syphon are good specimens of the recent practice of the Ministry of Public Works :— MAHMUDIA CANAL.—ZARGOUN SYPHON. INSTRUCTIONS FOR BIDDERS. Adjudication on Wednesday the 18th Fanuary, 1888. MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WoRKS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF WORKS, 1. All tenders must be made in duplicate on government stamped paper, in accordance with the annexed form of tender, enclosed within two envelopes. The outer will be addressed to the Director-General of Works, and on the inner will be inscribed : “ Tender for the works of the Zargoun Syphon—Mahmudia Canal.” 2. To the tender will be attached a certificate of a deposit of 100/. (one hundred pounds Egyptian) for the complete works in accordance with Art. 4 of the general clauses and conditions. 3. The prices will be written in letters and in figures. 4. The general conditions of the contract will be those in use at the Ministry of Public Works. 5. The contractor will be fined 2/ (two Egyptian pounds) for each day of delay after the date agreed upon in the contract for the com- pletion of the work. 6. Specimens of the materials to be employed must be submitted to the Director General of Works within five days of the acceptance of the tender, and before the signature of the contract. 7. After the signature of the contract, the contractor will not be permitted to take a partner without the permission of the Ministry. 8. The Ministry of Public Works reserves to itself to reject any or all the tenders, without having to give any reasons for its decision. 224 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. 9. Payments will be made monthly, and as soon as possible after the first day of the month. 10. Bidders are invited to attend at the opening of the tenders. FORM OF TENDER. Adjudication of the 18th Fanuary, 1888. The undersigned —_-7)-—=——— subject, Tesident~ at —, engages himself to the Minister of Public Works to supply all the materials and execute all the works for the syphon and the diversion near Zargoum, in accordance with the designs, specifications, and other pieces of the project, of which he acknowledges having taken full and complete cognisance, at the prices entered below :— Syphon and Diversion. Rate in Piastres Tarif. In Letters. In Figures, Excavation and filling (lump sum) of diversion per metre cube Concrete per metre cube &c. The undersigned binds himself to commence the works on the outside within ——-— days of the signature of the contract, and to complete them within ——-— months of the same date. Cairo, the ——— SPECIFICATION.* Description of Works.—The works to be executed consist of a syphon provided with two wrought-iron pipes of 1°56 metres dia- meter, with stiffeners, and the earthwork of the diversion, and the up and down stream approaches. * All the original documents are in French, and as they have been translated by the author, he is responsible for any errors, ENGINEERING DETAILS. 225 General—The work to be constructed and completed in accord- ance with the rules of art, in conformity with the drawings, and in accordance with the instructions of the Director-General of Works. The axes of the work will be traced on the ground by the engineer delegated by the Ministry to superintend the work, and a bench mark will be fixed by him to serve as a basis for determining levels of foundations, floors, &c. The contractor to furnish the workmen, materials, and instruments necessary for the engineer in charge to check the levels, widths, &c., of the work, whenever he may judge necessary. The contractor to make all arrangements at his own cost for the land needed for the execution of the work, and he will be responsible for all or any accidents which may happen during the execution of the work. The sheet-piling or other protective works which may be necessary will be equally at the charge of the contractor. None of the foundation works in concrete, masonry, or pitching, to be commenced without the permission in writing of the engineer in charge ; and in order to obtain this permission the contractor must give eight days’ notice before the probable date on which he will commence his work. ELarthwork.—All the earthwork necessary for the execution of the masonry works will be paid for by a lump sum, and to include excavation and filling, as well as the transport and the levelling of excess earth, up to a maximum distance of 100 mettes from the centre line of the work, in conformity with drawings and written instructions of the engineer in charge. Will be considered as earthwork necessary for the masonry work, and included within the lump sum, all the earthwork between the outer edges of the pitching of the up and down stream approaches. The amount of earthwork at a lump-sum contract is approximative, and must be verified and accepted by the contractor at his risk and peril. The earthwork of the diversion and its banks will be paid for by the metre cube, and in order to facilitate the measurement, sections of the natural ground will be left at the points indicated by the engineer in charge. The bottom of the excavation for foundations to be dressed off horizontally, in accordance with the plans ; all excavation in excess to be refilled with brick masonry or concrete at the contractor’s cost. The filling in behind the masonry work will be carefully made in successive layers of *50 metres, watered and rammed. They will be raised in the same measure as the masonry, and must never be more Q 226 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. than 2 metres below the level of the masonry. All the earth in excess will be placed according to the plans and the written orders of the engineer in charge, and carefully dressed. Ordinary Concrete-—The ordinary concrete used in the foundations of the masonry work and for the syphon will be composed of I part mortar and 2 parts ballast, measured dry. The ballast will consist of hard stone or well-burnt brick; 80 per cent. must be able to pass through a ring -025 metres diameter, and the rest, or 20 per eet, through a ring ‘o15 metre diameter. The ballast must be well washed, and must be soaked in clean water for at least twelve hours immediately before it is used. The mortar will be composed of I part of freshly burnt and slaked lime and of 1} parts of pounded bricks passed through a sieve of ‘oor metre. The ballast will be evenly spread over a clean area; to the ballast will be added in the prescribed proportion the mortar, previously mixed dry. The whole will be turned at least twice over by a shovel whilst the necessary water is added. After this mixture the concrete will be immediately used, and for no reason will a delay of more than two hours be permitted between the times of mixing and employing. Each layer of concrete must not exceed “15 of a metre, and it must be rammed with iron rammers until it attains a thickness of "11 of a metre. All surfaces must be clean and constantly watered. Before spreading a fresh layer the preceding one must be scrabbled. Brick Masonry.—The bricks to be of good quality, with regular faces, and well burnt ; when immersed in water for twelve hours the weight of water absorbed must not exceed one-eighth of the weight of the brick when dry. The bricks to be immersed in clean water for at least twelve hours immediately before being used. A sample of these bricks must be deposited at the office of the Director-General of Works. They will be set in mortar composed of 1 part of freshly burnt and slaked lime and 14 parts of pounded brick, or “ humra.” All “humra” employed on the works will be composed solely of clay balls or bricks well burnt,* so that after twelve hours of immersion in water they do not absorb more water than one-eighth of their own weight when dry. The mortar will be mixed in a mortar-mixing machine with the necessary quantity of water. On no account will any but recently made mortar be used. Neither brickbats nor * Ordinarily underburnt bricks are used, though well-burnt bricks are specified, as it is dangerous to specify underburnt bricks, ENGINEERING DETAILS. 227 cracked bricks must be used for filling without the written permission of the engineer in charge. All the courses must be perfectly level. Bricks of +11 metre x ‘05 metre x *22 metre will be used by preference, and in such a manner that I metre in height will contain 18 courses. The dimensions of the bricks, however, may be changed with the written permission of the Director-General of Works. English bond will be used whenever possible. Each brick will be placed on a bed of mortar and pressed home so that all the joints are filled, and.on no account will the mortar be introduced afterwards. No part of the masonry must be more than 2 metres higher than the neighbouring parts, and the connecting slopes must be 2 to 1. Brick Floor.—The part of the floor in brickwork will be set in mortar composed of 1 part of Portland cement (English) and 2 parts of coarse sand, angular and washed, unable to pass through a sieve of ‘oor metre meshes. The sand to be clean and to contain no foreign matters. The Portland cement to be of a good mark, and to resist a tension of 30 kilogrammes per (‘oI metre x 0*1 metre) square centimetre after seven days’ immersion.* A shlar-—The ashlar in the top courses of the walls to be of the best quality of Tourah or Abassiah stone, of an exact height, with well-dressed faces. Their cubic contents not to be less than ‘90 metre x ‘60 metre X ‘40 metre. The thickness of the joints not to be over ‘O15 metre or less than ‘007 metre. The mortar to be composed of 1 part of cement and 2 parts of sand. Pointing.—All exposed faces of walls to be pointed with Portland cement mortar composed of 1 part of cement and 2 parts of coarse sand, angular and washed ; before pointing, the joints to be raked out to a depth of *o2 metre and well washed. The pointing to keep pace with the masonry, and to be done while the mortar in the joints is still fresh and has not set. The cost of the pointing to be included in the cost of the brick masonry and the ashlar work. Pitching.—The rubble pitching to be obtained from the Tourah or Abassiah quarries, and the blocks to weigh 50 kilogrammes each as a mean, no block to weigh less than 30 kilogrammes. The face stones will be carefully placed by hand, and the interstices filled with splinters or small pieces of stone. * This answers for small quantities of cement. Where it is used on a large scale, Mr. Grant’s specification is used. C2 : Zz 228 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. General.—The faces of the masonry to be carefully built, and kept clean, and the unfinished parts to be constantly watered. The iron pipes not to be put in position except in the presence of the engineer in charge. The contractor to inform the engineer in charge before- hand of the date on which he will be ready to put each pipe in place. No complaint will be entertained of a delay to the work owing to the inability of the engineer to assist immediately. No extra payment will be made for the putting in position and fixing of the iron pipes. The lime to be made of Tourah stone, and to be burnt and slaked on the works. Wrought-iron Pipes.—Al\l ironwork to be of the best quality, and of the dimensions figured on the drawings. All plates, angles, and _ cover plates to be of single lengths. All joints in the plates to be alternately on the right and left of the pipes, exactly opposite each other on the same plane. The joints in the cover plates to fulfil the same conditions on a plane perpendicular to the last. All joints to be single covered on their outer surface, with cover plates of the same thickness as the plates, i.e. } inch, on a width of 6 inches. The diameter of rivets to be 2 inch, and pitch 3 inches. The | -iron stiffeners to be 4 inches x 2 inches x $ inch, with rivets } inch diameter, and 3 inches pitch. Rivet holes to be truly set out and cleanly punched. The rivets are to be snap headed, and no flawed, cracked, or split rivets to be allowed to remain in the pipes. The contact between the plates and cover plates, or plates and stiffeners, to be perfect. All the angle irons to be well and carefully forged, and no cracked or reedy angles to be put into the work. The whole pipe to be built in a good, workmanlike manner, of good material, well put together, with all joints butting closely and evenly. The inner and outer surface of the pipes to be painted with two coats of tar before leaving the shops, but not before they have been inspected by the engineer in charge, or some other person delegated by him for this purpose. DREDGING. In contracts for dredging there are certain pvints which cannot escape observation, but there are others also which by experience have been found to be of extreme importance, and which should always be entered in the contract. The following come within the first category :—Length of contract ; means of execution, whether by ENGINEERING DETAILS. 229 existing Government plant or by plant to be purchased by the con- tractor. If the former, terms of maintenance. How the dredged material is to be disposed of. How the work is to be measured : ordinarily by soundings in front of and behind the dredger ; with the maximum and minimum intervals of time between which the two measurements are to be made. If Government dredgers, Government employés in the service of the contractor. Deposit. Mode of execu- cution. Contractor not to be asked to dredge less than 50 centimetres in depth. Maximum and minimum quantities of work. Service orders may be changed by giving three weeks’ notice. Action of Government in case of failure of contractor to do the requisite quantity of work within the requisite time. Price per cubic metre if below minimum, above maximum, and within the minimum and maximum. How payments are to be made. Maximum height of spoil banks and berms. Minimum width of opening in bridges. Times within which dredging is to be done. Short curves on canals. Trees. Persian wheels on banks. Navigation. Landslips. Tolls on canals. Minimum and maximum widths of canals and_depths of water. Date on which Government to inform contracter of the probable work to be done in coming year. “ Force majeure.” The points, however, which should never be omitted in a contract are the following :—(1) A very exact definition of the expression, “failure of contract.” (2) Liberty for the Government to dispense with dredging in any or all the canals in case of extraordinary deposits, or necessity to clear quickly by hand labour ; a good plan is to agree to pay the contractor a fixed sum annually by monthly instalments, and a low rate for work done below a certain fixed quantity ; if the work exceeds this quantity, the full rate to be paid: e.g. a yearly clearance of 500,000 cubic metres is anticipated at *o4/. per cubic metre, the fixed sum to be paid annually would be 10,000/ the price per cubic metre under 500,000 cubic metres would be ‘02/. pet cubic metre ; and above 500,000 cubic metres, ‘o4/, per metre. The contractor on his part would supply the material necessary to dredge a certain quantity per month, and keep it in perfect order, ready to work. This would eliminate many difficulties. (3) If Government plant is supplied, it should be carefully specified beforehand as to how the terms of the contract are modified, or not modified, by the inability of the dredgers to do some kinds of work which become necessary, owing to excess of berm in places, or shortness of 2.30 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. couloir, &c. (4) It should also be specified that the material excavated belongs to Government, and must be placed where required by Government. Owing to want of some term like this, the contractors on some canals sell the materials excavated, while the berms which need improving or the canals which need contracting cannot be improved. Earthwork by Hand. In work of this kind, on canals which are closed for a fixed time for clearance, and on whose prompt clearance and reopening the existence of expensive crops depends, it is always necessary to adda clause to the effect that if at any stage of the work the engineer in charge considers that the contractor is not working sufficiently fast to finish the work within the specified time, he may take away from the contractor the whole or part of the work, and give it to another con- tractor, or do it by hand labour, on certain conditions ; without appeal on the part of the contractor. Rates of Work. The following are the rates of material at the Barrage :— @onerete metal 6. «|. per cubic metre Desert sand .. °128 an Lime Y "420 - Pounded brick “410 - Tourah ashlar 3°500 3 ‘Erieste 2. 5s Mrs sani > G00 35 Rubble stone Pine: Stee S330 st @om(isss) =. «. 4-: .. 1°450-per ton. Saekofomeatth .. =. -- “025 each. Conte 4. 933 per barrel (11-barrels = 1 cubic metre.) Panhwork. 6. =. -«: .:. *023 to £°045 per cubic metre, Filling, sewing, and throwing sacks mioplace., 0 ¢. «. t+ -©12§ each. The ordinary prices of labour are :— 4 & NOW isc as + |. SOA per day. Italian mason .. 125 tO "40 ENGINEERING DETAILS. 231 ie s Egyptian mason). |. . ¢....-..7 1) OE te 218 per day: Ttaliam: carpenter. cc <6 (sta 925) “HORS Egyptian ,, ish Fat © hee WOO ema) Game oe European blacksmith: <2: .. -“20",, “404-3, Egyptian - oe bal Comma. 2Ona aa European moulder (1st class)... *50 ,, ‘60 _,, ” ” (200 5 Vn 225) atone, Native 5 ie ema aa Aa arr, fie adie European fitter (1st class) -.. -40,, *60 ,, MS ye (2 Ce ae hae Seton airs Native 5a) Ata aot We a cE cece mle es Pattern®maker 5% cer) oo) 7. ee ees Onna ames Buropéan turers ©. 710. se @ eA Oe SO rs, Native _ Sei ae ees eon Huropean boiter-makers..2 = 993005. 5On ne Native boiler-maker BA bere Mire (eo) ace io ae Native riveters wig! hd) eens Dens 2 Ogee The mean prices of work are as follows :-- & & Dredging from =. 7. =:),)=) 7035'to, -o7o per Cubic mette: Wet clearance by hand from ‘or2 ,, :o60 _ Dry earthwork 5 “ “OLE... “O40 ie Brick masonry in lime .. 1°15 per cubic metre. A incement i: . £°50 5 (mortar, 2 sand, and 1 cement.) Lime’ concrete. eae a2C Cement concrete ee 2s EO 5 (5 metal, 2 sand, I cement.) Torah ashlart (-25 2. er eS 4 Trieste; oe eno - Teak wood\.. “2. 33) se.) soo pen -cubie-foot (as) 1m) pated.) Wrought iron. 2 ye2ae= | per ton, (lock gates.) Cast iron, 425° ee eee », (lock cills and quoins.) Rolled beams> 7.94520) sae O 250s, Cast-iron grooves in quanti- ticS*.. 7) aS eee eeu 232 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. In making estimates of lock gates and regulating gates, the fol- lowing prices may be roughly taken per square metre of opening :— & Two pairs of lock gates (including iron eh 22 per square metre quoins, &c.) of opening.* Regulating gates (including grooves, lifting eat, C1) a 2 ee es 9 : eS Piles 6 metres long and 12 in. by 5 in. in section cost... °42 Cost of dtiyme(ameing engine) .. .. .. -. ‘°25 Rega sm Ominous ee pe . O03 EL 7o. per pile. Guide piles 12 in. by 12 in. section, put in at every 12 ft. say cost £1°35, so that roo metres in length of 6 metre long piling would cost £250. Well sinking costs 5é. per metre, measured vertically on the well. TIMBER, FREE ON TRUCKS AT ALEXANDRIA. White Fir. s Muarionoee. ae. toes KS Se 3 .. 7°350 per standard. Piglet ecenmMern. M2. O13 x 3" xs, 4. 7 "400 5a Sentii@ee. 4c. ee TR OX Bla" P25 O a iBaike(no tomGuione) Gs <-6h, oF X114"- g* Too as Sodisee ee ens 635 too, diam, 6''to 16" 25° 000 = Boards eee eS 168 G2" 5-16? 860 is ovr co... £3), 24" “50 Boerner te oreye, a Swedish Deals and Boards. Length Be ss LOSS 0. at ee ERAT SO y Beech. Seamnmaceeasee) 6 tO 742° Xai"... -12* 700 . Adriatic oak balks 13’ to 18', 6"/10" x 6"/10" 20°000 a 2» ea Pio tore45 ir /16 <1 s/ 18" 27-000 ‘9 * Square metre of opening is obtained by multiplying width of lock by height of lock wall above floor. The price per square metre of gate (including cills, quoins, gearing, &c.) is £11 or L105. ENGINEERING DETAILS. 233 3 & Adriatic elm logs 10! to 24', 10"/22" X 10"'/22" 23*000 per standard. Teak logs .. .. 15'to 25’, 13"/23" x 13/23" 70°000 5 Mahogany .. B % " 55°000 5 Asia Minor Pine. Cuttle nescir -— . 13/10. £5522" to 22" 5 gio a ae . 19! to 2r', aah x ag” to gl ” Camar Kamil 20.10° 335 8 [Tt 5661/85 et eco Tultai Kamar —22' to 25', 7"/10" x 4"/6" .. 17°00 3 Nusf Kamar .. 15’ to 17', 7"/10" x 5"/51" .. 13°00 S Sleepers." 2... “8, 8/10" ayo" ia" oo, Hee soe 5 I St. Petersburg standard = 165 cubic feet English. The system of public works accounts is the same as in India. The rules were drawn up by Mr. Westland, when Accountant-General, on Indian lines; but everything was simplified very considerably. They work admirably. 234 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. OMAPLER-VIIT. DUTY OF WATER, AND AGRICULTURAL. Duty of Water in Summer, Winter, and Flood—Drains—Duty of Centrifugal Pumps, Persian Wheels, and other Methods of raising Water—Cost of raising Water—Cost of Engines and Pumps—Cost of raising Crops and Yield of Crops per Acre—Rotation of Crops, Rental and Value of Land —Cotton—Manure—Size of Beds—Rotation of Crops—Systems of Letting Land—State Domains and Daira Sania in Lower Egypt—Land Tenure, Kharaji and Ushfiri—The Cotton Worm and Methods of Fighting against it—Sugar Cane—Agricultural Almanac of Lower Egypt—Upper Egypt one month earlier. Tue duty of water varies according to the seasons and crops to be irrigated. In winter the average depth of water a field receives when it is irrigated is 10 centimetres, and the fields are irrigated once in forty days. An Egyptian acre is equal 4200 square metres. A canal during winter, therefore, should discharge i SEO -) =~: — 11 cubic metres per da er 100 AO : ae acre of land to be irrigated. In other words, a discharge of 1,000,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours in. winter will 1,000,000 suffice for ( a, ) =90,oooacres. And since the whole | Bal area needs irrigation during the winter, a tract of 10,000 acres will need 110,000 cubic metres of discharge per twenty-four hours in winter. In the northern parts of the Delta, however, where lands under clover are washed during the winter, a considerably larger discharge of water is necessary. If flush DUTY OF WATER, AND AGRICULTURAL. 235 irrigation is possible, the amount of water consumed may be put down at 22 cubic metres per twenty-four hours per acre. In summer the first watering (known as paléo in Upper India) has an average depth of 11°5 centimetres, or 480 cubic metres to an acre ; all subsequent waterings have an average depth of 82 centimetres, or 350 cubic metres to an acre. Cotton needs irrigation once in twenty days, and rice once in ten days. During summer there is a considerable amount of loss from the canals and water courses owing to percolation and evaporation ; and it will be found that 5 cubic metres per acre per twenty-four hours is not too great a quantity to allow for waste. A canal in summer, therefore, should dis- charge (352 + 5) = 22 cubic metres per twenty-four hours 2 per acre of cotton to be irrigated, and (352 +5 ) = 40 cubic metres per twenty-four hours per acre of rice to be irrigated. In other words, a discharge of 1,000,000 cubic metres per ; ; 1,000,000 twenty-four hours in summer will suffice for (22a | Ze 1,000,000 40 rice. Since one-third the area commanded is ordinarily, and 45,000 acres of cotton, or for ( ) = 25,000 acres of should always be irrigated during summer, a tract of 10,000 10,000 acres will need ( ~ 22 | = 72,000 Cubic metres per 9 J 10,000 twenty-four hours if the crop is cotton, and ( x 40 ) = 133,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours if the crop is rice. At the beginning of the flood, the land to be put under flood irrigation needs a depth of 11°5 centimetres, which means 480 cubic metres per acre. Since two-thirds the area commanded by each canal is on an average being put under 236 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. flood irrigation at the same time; and as the earlier the Indian corn is sown the more it yields, and consequently every cultivator is straining his utmost to irrigate his field as quickly as possible ; the demand for water at the beginning of the flood is unlimited, and canals can carry any supply and yet be short of water. As soon as the whole area has received its first irrigation, and the flood crop is sown, the second and subsequent waterings are given every fifteen days. These waterings have the same depth as in summer, viz. Be sceltinetres, «and therefore: a discharge of (352 )= 23 cubic metres per twenty-four hours suffices for each acre of land. During flood, the evaporation is the same as in summer, but the canals are full of water and very deep, and the evaporation therefore bears a very small proportion to the amount carried and may be neglected. The percolation also is inconsiderable after the first three weeks of heavy demand, owing to the Nile itself being in flood and supplying the springs, and the whole country having just been very heavily irrigated. In flood, therefore, the losses by percolation and evaporation may be neglected after the first watering. In other words, at the beginning of the flood a canal can carry any supply one chooses to send down, while during the flood a discharge of 1,000,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours 1,000,000 suffices for (#:200:000 ) = 44,000 acres of Indian corn and 23 cotton. In flood, therefore, when every acre is irrigated, a tract of 10,000 acres requires a discharge of 230,000 cubic metres per twenty-four hours, provided there is no land under rice. The rice lands during flood receive flush irrigation, and have every cubic metre put on them that the drains can possibly carry away. DUTY OF WATER, AND AGRICULTURAL. 23:7, The carrying capacities of canals and escapes for the basins of Upper Egypt are detailed in Chapter II. For basin irrigation in Lower Egypt, if thoroughly carried out with efficient drains, a depth of 60 centimetres should be changed every fifteen days. An acre needs, therefore, (eax x a = 170 cubic metres per day ; or 1,000,000 100 15 cubic metres per day will suffice for the irrigation of 5800 acres. A tract of 10,000 acres, therefore, of which one-fourth the area should be treated every year, will require a discharge of (221209 x 170 ) = 425,000 cubic metres per day. The dis- charging drain should be capable of carrying off this water ; this means (222) = 42 cubic metres per acre per twenty-four hours. This can seldom be obtained. The minimum amount of water needed for basin irrigation is 60 centimetres changed every thirty days, or a discharge of 85 cubic metres per day per acre. If one-quarter the area is put under basin irrigation yearly, the drain will need to discharge 21 cubic metres per twenty-four hours per acre. Less than this will mean very inefficient irrigation. For drainage cuts, to drain the water off rice fields, there are no theoretical calculations. Provided the drain will flow, the irrigation will be made to suit it. If 12 cubic metres per twenty-four hours per acre can be discharged, it will be as much as is ever necessary; this figure, however, is seldom reached. Since the infiltrations are generally between 1 and 3 (say, 2 millimetres) per twenty-four hours over the whole area under water, the drain should certainly discharge more 2 : than (4200 X2 | = $+5 GUDIC Metres per-acre per twenty. 1000 four hours, or the land will be more or less water-lagged in 238 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. winter. Drains should be deep rather than broad, owing to the inability of weeds to grow in very deep water. During flood the irrigation is practically “flush” every- where; during winter it is “flush” in many localities by rotation, while during summer it is nearly everywhere “lift.” To prevent excessive infiltrations, in all but rice lands, it is better to keep the water-surface low, and lift the water during summer. The water is lifted on to the fields by any of the following methods :— 1. Engines and pumps; 2, Sakyas, taboots, screws, &c., worked by oxen ; 3. Shadoofs, worked by men ; 4. Natdalis, worked by men. 1. Asa tule, portable engines and centrifugal pumps are used, owing to their great convenience and power to resist wear and tear. The 8-H.P. engine and the 8-in. pump are the machines most commonly used. The engine is placed on a plot of level ground, and the pump supported on a wooden trestle, or fixed inside a cheap masonry well. Where capital is available and the estate a large one, a stationary engine and pump are of course preferred. Where the lift is above 3 metres, centrifugal pumps are almost always preferred ; where the lift is under 3 metres, water-wheels of different kinds are also employed. The fuel used is, ordinarily, coal, though, occasionally, one sees cotton and bean -stalk. In Upper Egypt, where coal is dear, wheat straw is generally used. The engines are generally worked for 12 hours per day. 2. “Sakyas” (or Persian wheels) are used where the lift is over 3°5 metres, and “taboots” (or wheels delivering water at the periphery) when the lift is under 3 metres. They are driven by a single animal, or a pair; cows and female ‘buffalos are generally employed. It is not an DUTY OF WATER, AND AGRICULTURAL. 239 uncommon sight to see the wheel replaced by an archimedean screw driven by oxen when the lift is about 1 metre or 14 metres. They lift the water to the required height, and not from 1 metre to 14 metres higher than necessary, as is done by the taboots and sakyas. 3. “Shadoofs,” or poles with bucket and counterpoise, are used where the irrigation is temporary, or where the men cannot afford a “Sakya.” Where the lift is only 1 metre they are often replaced by archimedean screws worked by hand. 4. “Natalis” (Indian békas), or buckets worked by strings, are used where the lift is under 1 metre, and where, owing to the fluctuating supply, flush irrigation is frequent. The cost of new portable engines in the interior of Egypt is, roughly, as follows :— S|WATE Ts exe NO XG LL ———— e——eee 4 H.P.| 6 H.P.| 8 H.P. |10 H.P.| 12 H.P.| 14 H.P.| 16 H.P.| 20 Ee sf & & se & & & & Cost of engine | 160 190 230 265 325 375 425 500 Cost of hut, &c. IO IO IO IO 15 15 20 20 Weight in tons'| 2°5 | 4°9 | 5°5 | 6°5 | 7-0 i a The cost of fixed condensing engines and boilers is, roughly, as follows :— TABEE XOCKIL rr 12 HP. 14 BPs |) 16, Po | 200. | 25 H1.P- & | & £ | & & Cost of engmere ear Ayo" \ 2 850 650 750 860 Cost of building, erec- CIOs CLC. oe se 32° gee a ace as ig a 240 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. Centrifugal pumps cost as follows :— UAB EP XOXO CL, | Size of Pumps. 6 Inches. | 8 Inches. | 10 Inches. | 12 Inches. | 15 Inches. | 18 Inches. | £ £ £ BE £ Coste la. Uke 32 40 55 aS Too =| 150 Cost oferection| 10 12 EZ emi (a5 rae | 20 | | | The cost of transport of engines and pumps varies from 10/. to 40/. for portable engines, and from 30/. to 100/. for fixed engines. These prices will cover any locality, however much it may be out of the way. The sizes of pumps recommended /ractically for different sized engines and different lifts are detailed below :— APBD ROOD. Portable Hneine| 4 1.P. | 6. HP, | $ H.P. |10 H.P. \12 H.P..|14 H.P.| 16 H.P. | 20 H.P. | 25 H.P. | | inches | inches | inches | inches | inches | inches | inches | inches | inches 1 metre lift 6 8 10 CARs hi O 18 ZO. | 324 30 2 metres lift in 8 IO 12 | 18 16 Te yisee 30 Bie des - 5 8 10 Le ahs 16 18 | 22 30 etal a 4 6 IO 12 14 16 4) 5206 24 Rear rs, 4 6 8 eps HE SS ee 14 16 20 24 The ordinary rule is to make the pump the same number of inches as the engine has H.P., but this means waste of power in low lifts. Portable engines consume roughly 100 lbs. of coal per H.P. per 12 hours. A good engine well looked after will consume much less, but the above is the DUTY OF WATER, AND AGRICULTURAL. 241 average. Up to a lift of 4 metres there is not considered to be any difference in the amount of water raised, be the lift I metre or 4 metres; the difference lies in the amount of coal consumed. The cost of working a 10-H.P. engine in the interior may be estimated as follows :— 4 1.,: Driver and stokemper days: ap se gs Ae aL 2 OI CC, ser ayn a ta eet ee ee ee "05 3. Coal per day (away from navigable canals)... 1 Cee 4. s¢5 of 10 per cent. per annum on cost of engine for depreciation, repairs, &c. .. IO otal aac 20 The number of acres of cotton irrigated in 12 hours is 15; ah ae HAsO therefore the cost of irrigating an acre once is ca = OO Since cotton receives a watering every 20 days on an average between March 15th and August 15th, the number of 150 waterings is ee = 74; and consequently the cost of irri- 2 gating an acre of cotton through the summer is (74 x 9) = °68/. The above applies to all localities in Lower Egypt where the lift is under 4 metres, above that the cost is slightly increased. Since pump owners charge the fellaheen from ‘252. to °45/. per acre per watering, they ought to make a very handsome profit out of the business. The low price of cattle is bringing Persian wheels into competition, and will help to lower these ridiculously high prices. Ordinarily an 8-H.P, engine and 8-in. pump, with a 4-metre lift, irrigate in twelve hours eleven acres of cotton, sugar, or rice. A 10-H.P. engine and 10-in. pump irrigate in twelve hours R 242 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. fifteen acres. In the twelve hours the engine runs about eleven hours. Since rice needs water more frequently than cotton, a rice engine works much more steadily than a cotton one. An 8-H.P. engine and 8-in. pump are considered capable of irrigating 120 acres of cotton, or 100 acres of rite ; while a 10-H.P. engine and ro-in. pump irrigate 180 acres of cotton, or 140 acres of rice. The following table gives the advertised working powers of engines and pumps :— AARi Ee XOXO VY ADVERTISED DUTY OF Pumps. nS : . : Discharge per ie ne Nominal H.P. of Engine required. H.P. per 12 : ischarge | Discharge Hours for a Ee in Gallons | in Cubic 4 Metre Lift, in hae pet Metres per in Cubic Metres. Minute. | 12 Hours.| 3 Metres | 4 Metres | 5 Metres | .6 Metres (Column 3 Lift. Lift. Lift. Lift. divided by Column 5.) 3 100 330 I°O I°5 2 2 220 4 200 660 | I°5 255 3 3 260 5 35° 1,150 2°0 3 4 4 380 6 500 1,640 oor Ale 5 5 410 7 750 2,450 370 4 5 6 610 8 1000 Bn270 4°90 6 a 8 610 IO 1500 4,900 6°90 8 9 10" 610 : 12 2300. T5520 80 Io 12 14 750 14 2800 Ont60 ~TO"O 12 14 16 760 15 3400 II, 400 1270 15 18 20 760 18 6000 | 19,600 | 200 - 25 30 35 790 These H.P.’s are considerably lower than the ordinary practice in Egypt, or than those recommended in Table XXIX. Taking 4 metres as the mean lift in Egypt, and 8 DUTY OF WATER, AND AGRICCLT URAL. 243 as the mean H.P. of portable engines, the discharge, accord- ing to Table XX XV., should be 610 cubic metres per H.P. per twelve hours; but since pump-owners ordinarily employ an 8-in. pump for an 8-H.P. engine, this discharge is never obtained, Taking the mean of some sixty observations care- fully made in the Delta and Upper Egypt, the actual discharge obtained in Egypt is 480 cubic metres per H.P. per twelve hours, with the 8-H.P. engine as standard. With large engines the two best discharges obtained were—(1) from a 20-H.P. stationary engine, working a 9-metre diameter scoop-wheel with a 3°50 metre lift, and discharging 1014 cubic metres per H.P. per twelve hours; (2) from a 16-H.P. portable, driving an 18-in. centrifugal pump with a 2‘o-metre lift, and discharg- ing 920 cubic metres per H.P. per hour. A discharge of 480 cubic metres per nominal HP. per twelve hours ts the mean mn Egypt. An 8-H.P. engine and 8-in. pump, actually discharging 3800 cubic metres in twelve hours, irrigate eleven acres of cotton, giving a watering of 350 cubic metres per acre. This quantity has been confirmed by over a hundred observations on pumps, Persian wheels, &c. Since an acre is 4200 square metres, this means a depth of 8°5 centimetres per watering. Allowing 8°5 centimetres in depth and a watering every SOUS x 4200) = 20 a twenty days, cotton requires a discharge of ( 17 cubic metres per twenty-four hours per acre at the field. At the head of the canal this figure should be increased to 22 cubic metres per acre per twenty-four hours to allow for evaporation, percolation, loss, &c. A “Sakya” or “ Taboot” worked by two oxen in alternate spells of two hours through the twelve hours has the duty detailed in the following table. Reva 244 ‘EGVPTIAN IRRIGATION. TABLE XXXVI,—DISCHARGES OF “ Saxyas” AND ‘¢ TABOOTS.” peepee nee ee Proportion Number Discharge | of Practical) Acres of Acres Liftin| in Cubic | H.P. of | Irrigated | capable of | R k Metres. | Metres in | 480 Cubic in being Irri- a 12 Hours. | Metres per| 12 Hours.| gated in 12 Hours. Summer. tO 2ocu\00 HP. "80 a | 480 cubic metres raised in we ea hee ae 12 hours is taken as unit of 3 04 so 7 5 7 HPs 1 ‘cubic metre :,of 5 to 6 Teal Wea ao) [32 5 water weighs 1 ton. Se If the oxen are hired, the cost for a pair of oxen will be -2a/. per twelve hours. The cost of irrigating with “ Sakyas,” therefore, up to a 3-metre lift, is *30/. per watering per acre ; from 3 to 4 metre lift is ‘50/. per watering per acre; from 5 to 6 metre lift is -70l. per watering per acre. If the oxen are home stock, needed for ploughing, threshing, &c., the cost will be one half the above. A “Shadoof” worked by two men in alternate spells of one hour gives the following duty :— TasLE XXXVII.—DIscHARGE OF “‘ SHADOOFS.” nn nnn UEttEtdaIEn dE Sanna P ‘ f Number Discharge |, eoRer aS Acres of Acres Lift in | in Cubic ee hin’| lttigated | capable of Metres. | Metres in eat oes in being Irri- Remarks. 12 Hours.| ~ ae per | 12 Hours.| gated in peo eT OMS. Summer. o to 2 100 e20.tter. 120 4 As in Table XXXVI. 2 to 3 66 BL 255 720 2°50 a nn LEE EEE If labour is taken as ‘o4/. per man per twelve hours, the cost of irrigating with “Shadoofs” is, for less than a 2-metre lift, +282. per acre, and with a 3-metre lift, *4o/. per acre per watering. DUTY OF WATER, AND AGRICULTURAL. 245 With home labour, employed at spare intervals, the price is less, of course. Summing up the above information, the results may be tabulated as follows :— TABLE XXXVIII.—Duty or Pumps, “SAKYAS” AND ‘‘SHADOOFS.” Lift from 3 to 4 Metres. Cost per Acre per Cost | Cost per Season. per 12 | Acre per Hours. | Watering. Discharge Acres of Remarks. N Method of in Cubic Cotton a Irrigation. Metres per | Irrigated in 12 Hours. | 12 Hours. Winter. |-Summer. pate se & 4 ES .P-engine : : 1 aed Se 3800 Tyla OO E705 2e 40 70 2 | Sakya se 285 "80 "50 ‘60 2°AOs |S s50 *Eiitezat 3. | Shadool*® -3 66 120 "08 "40 P6012 86 } a ae 5 If home stock is used for the “‘Sakya,” the cost is halved. Pumpowners charge the fellaheen from *25/. to *454 per acre per watering, though it costs them on the outside *10l. only. With a “ Natalie,” four men working in relays of two men can irrigate one acre in twelve hours with a ‘25-metre lift, ‘75 of an acre with a ‘50-metre lift, and ‘50 of an acre with a metre lift. The cost of irrigating an acre being °16/., *22/,, and °*39/, as= the lii@ism 2-metre,, 50 metre, Ov lImetre respectively, provided hired labour is employed. It will have been noticed that the nominal H.P. of the engine has been considered in all the calculations, and not the indicated H.P. This has been done because the vast majority of engines are portable ones, and well known by their nominal H.P. In the opinion of the author 1 nominal H.P. = 1°4 indicated H.P., with the pressure and speed at which these engines are ordinarily worked in the country. 246 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. Taking, then, as the average engine of the country, the 8-H.P., with an 8-in. pump and a 12-feet lift, the following duties result :— Indicated H.P., IL.H.P., 8x 1°4=11°'2. eat, aeteet. Discharge, 3800 cubic metres = 3800 tons per 12 hours. __ 3800 X 2240 X 12 Mean effective H.P., W.H.P. = = A>. 12 X 60 X 33,000 Coal consumed per 12 hours, 800 Ib. 8 Coal consumed per hour per W.H.P. = — x = = 1575 LD. 800 I Coal consumed per hour per IL.H.P. = a re 6 lb. = VS Wilder, 4°3 ; ey PEER. eter 2.4: 385- These duties are very low; but when it is considered that many of the engines are completely buried under water every flood, while the pumps receive still rougher treatment, it is not extraordinary that the duty is bad. Repairs are scarcely ever executed until they are almost too late, the engine drivers and stokers are inexperienced fellaheen in most cases, and carelessness is the main characteristic of the people. Indeed, if it were not that the quality of the English engines is so high, and the Gwynne’s pumps themselves nearly in- destructible, pumping machinery would have succumbed to the Persian wheels. There are, of course, many large pumps in the country, with a competent staff to work them, which do not enter in the above category ; but of the 2200 portable engines scattered over the country, the vast majority answer the above description. The author had the pleasure of witnessing the trial of the 48-in. “ Invincible” pumps erected at the Abukir reclamation works by Messrs. T. & H. Gwynne, and described in Chapter IV., where the outturn corresponded with what one would expect more than the above figures, but DUTY OF WATER, AND AGRICULTURAL. 247 these and similar machines must be left out of the calculation in a general survey of the Egyptian pumping machinery as it actually exists. The four tables (pp. 248-251) give the cost fer acre of raising the different crops, and their yield, in Upper Egypt, in the southern half of Lower Egypt, in superior land in the northern half of Lower Egypt, and in inferior land in the northern half of Lower Egypt. It will be noticed that the cost of raising crops on an acre of land in the basins is insignificant. It is owing to the absence of field labour over large tracts in Upper Egypt that the Saidis or inhabitants of Upper Egypt are enabled to flock down into Lower Egypt and undertake half the contract works, making large profits; in which profits the inhabitants of Lower Egypt, with their superior crops, their ploughing and irrigation labours, and perpetual field operations, barely participate. This all goes to swell the profits on the lands irrigated by basin irrigation. Sugar-cane and fruit gardens are naturally restricted. The kulkds is a kind of yam much appreciated by Turks ; it is grown in Menoufieh, in rich sandy soil, and needs perpetual waterings and attention ; where the holdings are very small, a large family may depend on an acre of this crop. The ordinary rotation in the southern half of Lower Egypt is as follows :— Net Summer and Net Cente Net | Profit | Flood. Profit. Winter. Profit. | Per Annum. & & ist year .. | Cottom ~.. < ©) | 724 Beans and clover. | 3 °6 II and year.. | Indiancorn .. | 3°4 | Wheat and clover 4°6 8 3rd year... | Indiancorn .. | 3°4 ! Clover or fallow .. | 1°6 5 Net profitin 3 years .. |£24 Net profit perannum .. 8 enn Deere ee a og.h |oo.S “g Oz. nrg ca fi on, So. fe) JOAOTD ‘suiseg {|o0.$ |06.G joo.1 g 06.4} L 06. ei sh eater 5 eee eee Nos "+ suvog Of, ISL. Om OS Of las eaoal ae SOu Tah emacs o:. a! c. ueOr “* yeouM F 2) xipuvd 00 Ot aaa ee ee ee oe ee oe oe oe ee oe oe SOTqe1999 A -dy oos ,,sqopie,, : rs DUE. Gieineo,, Jom 1Gc).6° \Os.9 jon. OL ei OO,aNowOT. Git tcl St OF a cogs Stl wieOr. "* S}OTTMAL S ‘QIN Ievou spurl ysEyZ |SE.S joS.9g jos. OO7 OM OL te GT to toatl re Ob. \)05G SI. | 0%. | Woo uvIpuyT . ‘SIOEL) VII CIGT i 9.c)u| e290 a ead 8 Onan Ottis conan Bie a G. Ve "* 4eOUM S ee ee Gy OL Ta eOn cibn leon aa 9 sae ns SSC clean et cet c. cr. Z| oes OBO Si MONeSII JouUNS | O.vI | O.vzZ | 0.7% | 009 3 a ODOT a oS. 5S. | 6.2 oS -< | o8- 1 | ouronivanc . F x A *s1eyued v7, ‘sqopie 7 oe $ F $ o x eset eee fo el a Aa SE Same a em ee x Gel ioe I Se) Gos Oe A eee oh ies ry — Ay a pay = psy) aw oO ie oO Mo Q [TRIO], - : = : ao 5 ia de Fe "WWoig 3 » ‘doz syre usd y a ‘o1q1I 10 “paeg pur = Au Bo 2 Sa | Meg JO PATA | Ulery) Jo ppora FH | @. | PRPIA 39 SMI A “BUISTZY JO SOD | 00. ‘IKdAOQ Uidd~Q NI FAOV Aid AIAIA ANV SdOUD ONISIVY JO ISOD—'XIXXKX WAV], N See eee 249 DUTY OF WATER, AND AGRICULTURAL. Se a Sea SS GSSaSSSSSESISLaSuSSSItsooasspemiomemeies oes oesee ease mame me *poyestIIIU () *poyestiI] ‘9XN] Op SopIy “oUlIJeO IO "u09 TeIpu. 0} Jey pur U0}}09 0} podyIqep sI INULU JO SOO OU} JPET. “SIVUIDY 0.v On5 Ou Ow 9.V Vite 00.92 00,.z1 00.0£ 0g.0€ Soak “VYO1g TROL +. ov THoL aad 2g One 8 Oud Ona 9 O.z Or "ons 9 spoos | 0.9 oI P99 jal pos See Os AS oF *s1BjUvd Wi ‘sqopie < O < O 5 5 e 5 8 e 8 = 2 a ‘OIqIT 10 ‘pass pue MENS JO PPA | UleID Jo pporA 0.22 00.¢ 00.01 oz.6 S1.9 THIOL | 00.72) O72. XQ JOYIV I 0} BSvILIVD oe 00,1 can NOORaal| OG oI Cai || oS: On 1) OOmia 00.2) 00.V | 00.9 00. 00. Of.t OS. woort OO); 1 | Os talons ae ye uy = — Ble | é Ss Be 2 o 'O.3 is * 509 8 0a » . ° ps Qu oS. oS, oo. OS, OS. Oz. 00.S 00.2 cr. Poe Sale PIPIA JO nye, “SUISILYT JO JSOD OG O¢c.I 2 SUIMOS pue surysno[g SUOTUQ IAOTD IOAOTD Aapregq suvog TeouM. UIOD ULIPUT «Sean s91qvja39 A WMI guvo resns 103907) ‘dorg jo oweyy OMe pet, oe ech oo. ae Eee X FAV, IdADY YAMOT AO JIVE NYGHLNOS AHL NI aANOY wad aTHIx AGNV sdouy ONISIVY AO LSO®) Sai ‘yyoueq IIAO[D a]OyM oy} AjIvou Agreed. sjos U0 UPvIp yeouM. -UJ oy, . ‘wI09 SO[qeIOSI A uvIpu, 0} Jey uIOO UPIPUT puev uojyoo 0} JOLI POOL] poyiqop stoinuvul 901 1UB}[NS jo jsoo oY} J[PH v oe a ; : : : ; ; oe Fo MOOS) XQ *SIvJUVI “sqopie = c N NX S we S N x : Sy 8S Q Ayuend -Ayquend UOC] “suldvay pue SuIpss THIOL pue Surysnolg ‘SYIVUIOY ‘oIqty 10 Peo S PUL MI}S JO PJPIA | UleID JO PlPIA ‘JOYIV][ 0} oSviied *PISTA JO OBIE A SuISIeyY JO {SOD LL eee _—__——_———— ‘LdADW UXddy JO AIVEYE NUAHLAON NI ANV’'T WOIMAdNS dO AAOY Add A14IA GNV sdouy) ONISIVY AO SOO} De CMe AIL 251 DUTY OF WATER, AND VAGRICOLTURAT. io) xipueddy 9e¢ ‘Ajavou spoysnq S = gopre ove SCOOT ye att s[vo190 JO ppt ‘yore, “Gp: Cor Gor Sieymes ,,.ul SI U0}O9 JO PITA ‘oInNUvUI ON *SYIVUIO YY 0S .z GL.1 Go.z cv... ‘O10 V jod Wold WN ‘TRIOL 0.z On ce Caz Sie i iene io : sqopie 0. Zz wa SIv]UBO WP fh < O < O 2 g g, g 8 a @ = 2 2 ‘OIqI J 10 *‘poog pue MIS JO PPA UIeI) JO PlIA “2 TRIOL ‘JOYIVI[ 0} oseIVs, ‘oINUv AT ‘suideoyy pUe SUIPId A IIAOQTD Ve es ce RASC Cae le PE OMAN v. ** UIOD UIPUT dO poopy 90 1uvzNS Ce se UOITOS) *doi9 jo ouleNy SUIMOG pue surysnolg ‘PISTA JO OnleA, 3 ¥ SUISIVY JO ISOD ‘LdADY UIMO'T JO JIVE] NUAHLAON NI GNW] UWOIMAIN] AO AMOY Add A1AIA ANV SdOUD ONISIVY JO LSOQ—]ITX Avy], 252 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. This is sometimes reduced by an extraordinary plague of cotton worms, by failure of water supply, by floods, and by cattle disease. Out of this profit has to be paid the land tax, which is 1°64/. per acre if ‘“ Kharaji,” and *80/. if “Ushtri.” Allowing for all contingencies, and for land tax, the net mean profit for land in the southern half of Lower Egypt may be taken as 4°5/. per annum ; with a maximum of 8/. per acre and a minimum of 2/. per acre. The selling price of land varies from 25/. to 70/. per acre, with a mean of 454. per acre. In the superior land in the northern half of Lower Egypt, cotton is the best paying crop, there is a complete absence of the crops “de luxe”; small holdings are rare, and rack renting is not uncommon. The ordinary rotation is as follows :— ; Net Winter. ee. Summer. Bere pe : Annum. & & & ist year .. | Clover 2:50 | Cotton <+ 5°3 8°38 and year.. | Barley 2°6 | Indian corm.. 2°9 5°5 ard year ... | Clover 25 s\elndian corm |. 2°9 5 Net profit in 3 years [fags Net profit per annum 6°6 The net profit per annum is 6/. 6s. for superior land. Cotton worms here are very troublesome and frequent ; and drainage inefficient. ‘Vnaraj sand Go per acre if.‘* Ushdri.” @he land “tax. “is: 1:20/. per acre if thing into consideration, after paying the land tax, the net Taking every- DUTY OF WATER, AND AGRICULTCRATL, 253 yearly profit per acre per annum may be put down as 4/. per annum, but the land is deteriorating owing to over cropping, and insufficiency of manure, and long neglect of drainage. In the inferior land in the northern half of Upper Egypt the ordinary rotation is the same as above, though the yield is different. Net Profit. ust year, clover-and cotton J: “24 @a {Aveo andtyear, CloMer amd: nee! jan) eee 4°50 srdsyear, Warleyi. = ; 9 br | @ 5 VI S br | @ oI v1 suidoq oe @ 4saarey uioo | S Tlie v et b ote 6 C1 uvIput ‘ysoA | p ZI S ZI £ zi g a -IvY ddl tue} pe [NG “soarey e us g we oe Bur | @ it L Pa som tureqes | © Or i Or S[OlG, WOOD) 1 Or 9 or ‘spuo sur | I 6 of 6 9 Ed 6 ‘suid | GS 6 -yotd 103109] of Q 6z g ¢ 3 | 8 “oq surmos | p g 6z hi Qz Ly 7 dQ L taquimono ¢ L Q ° puz ‘durmos BC 9 fz 1.3/9 £ B 9 woo ueip | & 9 Lz om 5 gz 9a S ‘spua ‘Surmos | 2 5 S -uy ‘sutmos | I . OC Apa ev. SiCmert a ev uiod uvrpuy | I : v oot Tureqes | of v Ces io vz ¢ ‘sort tureqeg | of | = | © 6z Ee ¢ vz z fz Z 6z pa | z eo [ol 2 fz I ZZ I OC pus it Lz I *SYIVULDY ‘odoy |‘uetosern] ‘syrewo yy ‘oydod $= jueosoig| ‘syreuroyy ‘oydog |‘uenodery| ‘syreuo yy ‘oryydod | “UBLIODIIL) ‘dOOTY ‘“IdADY YAMOT YOA AVANATIVD TVAINLTINIMOY— ]TITTX Wavy, EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION, 266 *suIdOq SUIMOS U0}}0D ‘spuo osyed u0z09 ‘qyoynousy Ul spua JaA0]o poyesriiu *SHIVUIOYT Vz z rad we Oz 61 QI Lt gl G1 VI om zi II ol “‘JeyUUeIEE an oO w7mMO ro I of 6z Qe ne gz Gz Vz “IIPOWY ‘ordod Ino reco OO naananaamnm ‘) EOC Oe OME ING eee Anan OHA MO TMO Sse SS SS SS “YOIC TN, lo») HA MAT MO r-CO ‘UvIIOSOIN) ‘undoq (uMOS aq 0} SI 103309 a1ayM Spur] 0} UdATd SUT -Ioyem 10} -vivdard sv) oaped 030) *SyIVUIOY, z oo IZ OZ QI Lt gI C1 VI Cr el Il OL ‘ITOUY NM FmMmO r~C = of 6z Qz EG gz Gz ‘eqno J, ‘oydog OnA DOHA MATMO RO DW a CCG CCUG! OUCH eClETG ORRE Qe COEs 1 | “Areniqoq a eA MOAT MO r~O "UWeIIOSII4) "OTN -AI9A9 Spud SSurmos Agpreq pue 7eoyM *S3[IVULO YY ORNMAMO rODAIOHA MT Bee Re eee eee IVAN ANn AN ‘eqno JT, OV ean mayrmo reo oO oD 6z Qz Lz Qz Gz Vz er ‘orydog Tie og of Zz 6z ie QZ oz Le 61 Qz QI Sz Ey Vz QI fz St aa, VI LZ el A O7% git SS (ep. 61 rr | ee I ol ie ‘S 6 gree 8 or a l Viale 9 CF S ZI v II ¢ or Z 6 I 8 of i 6z Qz g Le e v g@.-f-2 e "suIsoq Goats Zz Surmos Aopreq | Vz I pue jeoum| fz "UvLIOSIIL) “STC ‘orydo-) Dorawmtmo ~o ao # Hoa nwanaaaaqaaaa MM OHA MTINOG HOO Feel en sd bend tet eat td tt ‘Ioquis.e(] OV HAN MTN CO "UBIIOSO14) ee HLNIA\ ‘9NU14U0I—LdAO'Y ATMO'T AOd UVANAIVD IAALTINOMOY—'TIITX FAV L 267 DUTY OF WATER, AND AGRICULTURAL. ee “SUIdOq u0yJ0d S(O} suuoyem yy *suIdOq SUIMOS UIO9 uvipuy Apieq ‘suIdoq u01j09 ~—«O} SuLioyeM 9 “SSAC WLOYT gz cz Vz fz Zz Iz Oz 61 QI a QI GI VI £1 al II OL BREAN MTFMO wO OD “qiqyv oO ise) 6z QZ Lz gz “eunoeg ‘odo “Aqn{ eNO DTINO W~C ‘URIIOSOIN) *suLsOq u0}j09 («OO Suueyem yyS “spud SUTMOS 9011 1ue}[NG *SYIVULO YY Gz Vz lz Zz Iz OZ 61 QI Lt gi G1 VI SA zi II or eNO AFMNOO wWO OO “euUnOe oO Oo mC OD NaN aA AN ‘suvYseg ‘odod of QZ EG gz Gz Vz £z ZZ Iz Oz 61 QI Lt QI GI VI Cr zi II oI aD eA MA MO XC ‘UvIIOS *suIdoq 110}}09 0} SuLIyeM YW ‘SUIS -9q ysoarey Jaquinons ‘spud 4S9A -Iey JOU AA ‘oun [ *suILdOq u0#}09 (OY Suliayem pit ‘suid -9q sulMmos 901k Tuey[NG ‘spuo uor}esd “IMI. IOAOTD a oI} ‘syreureyy Gz Vz z ZZ TZ Oz 61 QI Lt QI Gr VI er zi II OL N OO FmMmO RO OO “SUBYSC & of 6z Qe ig, gz Gz “CPNULLe odoa ta = 99 i ULIIO SOIL) *suIdoq m0}]}09 (OY SULIO}VM PUT *suUIdOq SOA -rey Aopreq pure joy Ar *spua SUTMOS 101309) ‘suidoq m0}}09 oO} SUIIOIVM 4ST ‘suisoq “out -MOS SvOTNY ‘SUIMOS 9UBO Iedns ‘SurMos qoquinons *SYIVWO YT AAWNAS ‘panuyuo7—LaAOY YAMOT AOI UVAGNAIVD IWANALINOIAY— TI]1TX FIV] Vz OZ, ZZ ig Oz 61 QI La gI GI au Cr cl ie “epnwirg ~ Q “‘yeyureleEd ‘ondog DOH AMAMORDA DOH AMATMO FO DO BAH ARH Re ee UN HUN ANAANAKNAAAN Y udy HA MPMO ro ‘UVIIOSOIN) EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. 268 The foregoing agricultural calendar of Lower Egypt gives The dates for Upper Egypt may be taken generally as one month oS Sugar-cane is sown in March, and is not off the ground till late in winter. the dates of most agricultural operations of any interest. in advance of Lower Egypt. (269").) CHAPTER. IX: ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAL. The Establishment — Budget of Annual Expenditure —The Corvée — Its History—The Work of the Corvée—The Abuses—Decree of the 25th January, 1881—Subsequent Decrees and Ministerial Orders—Further Abuses—The Corvée Relief—Great part of the Work done by the Corvée to be Performed by Contract—Sir Colin Moncrieff’s idea of the Corvée Redemption Bill—Agricultural Councils—Corvée on Maintenance and on Nile Protection—Penalties and Decrees—The Practical Working of the Corvée—Matters Legal—Practically no Canal Law—Abuses—Remissions of Land Revenue, Compensations for Damages—Places where Irrigation Matters are referred to in the Existing Laws—New Canal Law urgently needed—Appropriation of Private Property for Works of Public Utility— Laws about Water-lifting Machinery—The Decree of the 8th March, 1881, about Engines and Pumps—The Ministerial Order after the above Decree—The Establishment employed on the Works of Construction debited to the 41,000,000 Loan. Tue Public Works of the country, consisting of canals, roads, and buildings, are administered as follows :— ESTABLISHMENT. Central Administration. aE ae cae Secretary of State for Public Works aly aed 62-000 Under Secretary * y Sd i Sa ne tee 2,400 General: Secretary: ieee ete gees 1,500 Inspector-General of Irrigation Aedes ts * var sh yet OO Inspector-General of Roads and Buildings .. .. 1,200 Service technique. Per Annum. i Chief =~...) 252 penta ee eo 2 Inspectors: i, fie a ees 1,000 to Executive: Hngincersme 5a ee 2,600 Carned forwards) =a lan ate eet A OO 1G), 000 2709 EGYPTIAN [RRIGATION. Service techniqgue—continued. ne ee See a ve Brought forward ee ie 4,400 9,600 24 Assistant > Regs bh, hoa 3,800 32 Minor officials PEN Sele = aes 2,600 (AMO lciccame remeron 6 8s. 2.24, T2000 EOmeetty ectaDishment ic.) as, ss |e 3,500 Reserve Fund le ee ey 2,500 28,000 ~ 38,400 Irrigation Department. 5 Superintending Engineers (Inspectors) .. 5,000 5 Personal Assistants (Assistant Inspectors) 2,500 19 Executive Engineers (Chief Engineers) 5,700 130 Assistant . (District Engineers) 16,500 GorClerkcame sens ea Gee Yoke txes bone 6,500 20 Minor officials Spee inte Sis 800 Goo Petty establishment” 2 «5 :.. ., 11,500 ; 48,500 Roads and Buildings. 5 Superintending Engineers .. .. .. £2,600 PommxcCCUtiye FNOINCEIS 2.9 1, so os 5,500 ROreAsciscamt ememerts |G «. «. ss 15,500 DemOterKctett li fee oes as ke es 6,000 3 Minor officials Reet S05 3% 800 Momectiyscctablismment .. «. 4... 3,000 33,400 General Expenses. Travelling allowance, office rent, &c. .. 11,000 INGlessteaINGhs Mae iss -- fa ee 7,000 18,000 SramemOlal ga. aa tae eee sy ae 135,300 The amount entered annually in the budget of expen- diture for Works is as follows :— ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAL. 271 Original Works (Regulators, Locks, &c.) L a Irrigation Department. “<2. 24 fe. 2.9) 40,000 Roads and buildings Sou. ce! Sea ate OCG 73,000 Repairs (Masonry works, &c.) Irrigation, Department. 2) > 22) 3.) 2-9 08.000 Roads and buildings Sx, Mc nee ee Ree TOLOOO ‘ 138,000 Water Supply from Pumps. Irigation Department . sty. eee 50,000 Tools and Plant. Irrigation, Department. 2.) 21 ee 2,000 Roads and buildings Sat Sete ee ee 1,500 3,500 Maintenance and Earthwork. Irrigation Department (Dredging) .. .. 26,000 5 . (Corvée relief) .. 250,006 276,000 Grand total Je GRxS Ds) Ee eR AOOCO The Budget provides altogether 678,300/. towards the expenditure of the Public Works Department. The remain- ing charge for maintenance of earthwork, amounting to some 200,000/. per annum, is met by forced labour gangs, known as ‘‘corvée,” or by the redemption money paid by the corvée. As far as the irrigation service is concerned, therefore, the annual expenditure on work may thus be classified — & Original works reat ne. 48,000 Repairs to masonry works and Nile spurs .. .. 68,000 Water supply from pumps ee wets ee Gian: aa. 50,000 ‘Tools andspiint 7a ore eye 2,000 Earthwork maintenance (Budget) .. .. 276,000 - s (Corvée) ~.. *; 2: 200,000 — 476,000 Grand total ee Rie | om toe O44. 000 272 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. The sum allowed for original works permits of a few new regulators being constructed annually, while the masonry works themselves are generally in such a state of disrepair that three times the sum allotted might be swallowed yearly and scarcely felt. The great part of the repairs allotment is spent on Nile protective works. The province of Behéra is supplied with 4,250,000 cubic metres of water per day throughout the summer, by pumps at Khatatbeh and Atfeh, and for this supply the state pays annually some 50,000/. Previous to 1886, the only provision made in the Budget for earthenwork maintenance was 56,oo0/. for dredging the Ibrahimia, Ismailia, and Mahmudia Canals. Since 1886, however, a sum of 26,000/, is entered for dredging the Ibrahimia and Mahmudia Canals, while 250,o00/. are entered as “corvée relief.” This latter sum is spent in canal and drain clearances, and in the strengthening of banks, part of the work being done by dredging, and part by hand labour. The remaining sum of 200,000/. represents the work done by the corvee. . The corvée is the name given to the forced labour which, from time immemorial, has been annually employed to clear the canals and strengthen the dykes of the basins during winter and summer, and to guard the banks during flood. While there was nothing but basin irrigation in Egypt, the system was not a bad one, as during the working months there was absolutely nothing else for the agricultural popula- tion to do, except repair the dykes, clear the canals, or protect the banks. The whole community was interested in the canals supplying plenty of water to the basins, and the burden of insuring this fell properly on all. With the introduction of summer canals and summer irrigation, in the time of Mehemet Ali Pasha, abuses began to creep in. The whole agricultural ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAT. 273 population was employed to clear the deep summer canals, though only a limited number were interested in them. Then also began the pernicious habit of moving the corvée from province to province, and keeping them at work through the whole of the summer, while at the same time the presence of water in the deep canals made the absence of the peasantry from their fields doubly trying tothem. Said Pasha employed the corvée on the Suez Canal, while Ismail Pasha used contingents of corvée from all the provinces of Egypt to dig the Ibrahimia summer canal in Upper Egypt—a canal con- structed almost entirely for the benefit of the Khedivial private estates. The programme of work sketched out yearly for the corvée was so extensive that they never completed a fraction of the works before the arrival of the flood made them hurry off to guard the banks. There was no dif- ference made between maintenance and original works. These public abuses, though great, were exceeded by the private abuses, unsanctioned by the State. As the summer irrigation increased and the value of the cotton crop began to be appreciated, the presence of the men in their own fields began to be more valued ; advantage was taken of this by the larger proprietors to keep all their own tenants at home and make the poorer peasantry, known locally as fellaheen, do all the work; while ministers and high officials not only sent none of their own tenants to the corvée, but employed, each of them, some 200 or 300 of the. regular corvée to work on their private estates. The fellaheen were thus not only com- pelled to work throughout half the year at canal clearances, but were not allowed to reap any of the fruits of their labours. The corvée were expected to work about nine months per annum: for the six months from the 15th January to the rsth July they worked at canal clearances and repairs of banks, T 274 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. for the three months from the rst of August to the rst of November they guarded the Nile banks. They had to supply their own tools, such as spades and baskets ; they had to provide their own commissariat ; and during the winter and summer they had to sleep on the ground, moving from encampment to encampment without any shelter, except that provided by trees and shrubs. During the flood they built booths for themselves on the Nile banks, and had to provide at their own cost lanterns at intervals of 50 metres along the whole length of the Nile, on both banks. The official basis of all calculation of corvée was the census of the male agricultural population between the ages of fifteen and fifty, which Mehemet Ali took in 1847. The basis now is a certain proportion of the male agricultural population according to the census of 1832. In Mehemet Ali’s time, one-fourth of the number were called out every 4s days through the summer, so that the whole corviable population worked on the canals during the 180 days that the works lasted. This proportion was gradually reduced as the Government officials became more lax, until in 1881 about one-eighth of the whole number were called out to work every 45 days. The balance represented the large number of men who had freed themselves from corvée; and the Khedivial Decree of the 25th January, 1881, laid down the terms on which certain privileged classes could redeem their tenants from the corvée. Since the decree laid down no penalties for those who neither sent men to the corvée nor paid their redemption money, the natural result was that scarcely any- body paid any redemption money, except the State Domains Administration. The Khedivial Decree of the 25th January, 1881, is the first official document relating to the corvée, and is given here in full :— ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAT. NO “WI On Decree of 25th January, 1881, Regulating the Works on the Nile and 2ts Canals. We, Khedive of Egypt,— Having considered the report of our Minister of Public Works of 24th January, 1881 (23 Safar, 1298), on the proposals of our Ministers of the Interior and of Public Works, drawn out in conformity with deliberation of our Council of Ministers. We decree, ARTICLE I.—The public works enumerated below are, and will remain, at the charge of the State. (2) The masonry werks, which are of benefit to one or more provinces, existing or to be made, on the Nile and its branches, on its banks, on the principal canals, on the banks of the basins of Upper Egypt, and other banks of general interest. (2) Dredging, comprising all charges of purchase, maintenance, and working of the plant. (¢) The furnishing and transport of materials, such as stones, wood, sacks, necessary for the public interest, whether for the conservation of banks and regulators or for the closure of dams and regulators and canal sluices, II.—The quantity and the cost of the works and materials, which shall be at the charge of the State, shall be determined each year in conformity with the rules and regulations established or about to be established concerning them. The total amount and cost shall be entered in the budget of the Public Works Ministry. But always in whatever concerns the works of the Ibrahimiydh Canal, the proprietors of the lands affected shall, until the completion of the cadastral survey, remain liable to repay the Treasury the sum which it has advanced for these works. I1J.—The maintenance or construction of masonry works made or about to be made on the canals or banks, and benefiting either several villages or one or more districts, or one village, or one private property, falls on the proprietors of the lands benefiting by their use or construction. : 1V.—The following works are constructed and maintained at the cost of the general public. (2) The earthwork, whether of excavation or embanking, and the ee 276 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. the clearance by hand, whether they affect one or more provinces, or the villages of one or more districts, or a single village or a private property. (6) The watching of the banks and other works during the period of the Nile flood. (c) The handling and working of materials destined for the pre- servation of banks, and works, and regulation. The Public Works Councils class these works as follows :— Works of general benefit ; works of restricted benefit (Mushtarak) ; works of private benefit; and divide them between the inhabitants of the provinces and districts. The works of general and restricted interest are those for which corvée ransom may be paid. V.—The corvée ransom is due from all male inhabitants of the country, of sound health, between the ages of fifteen years and fifty years, with the exception of those indicated as exempt in the next article. VL—The following are exempt from corvée ransom :— 1. The Ulemas (persons learned in the Quran). Frikis (those who recite the Quran). Persons engaged in teaching. Students in the mosques and schools. Persons attached to charitable institutions, Takiyahs (shrines), convents, and hospitals. 2, Persons in the service of the mosques ; tombs and holy places possessing regular titles. 3, Priests, monks ; rabbis, persons attached to the service of the churches, temples, cemeteries of the various sects, furnished with regular titles, similarly. 4. People having professions or trades who pay professional taxes, and who exercise their calling ; also fishermen and boatmen. 5. The watchmen of the villages and hamlets, &c., recognised by the Midir of the province. VIl.—Every individual liable to forced labour (prestation) can free himself by furnishing a substitute. The following can free themselves by paying a cash ransom :— (a) In the hamlets or settlements (Esbahs) which have always existed as isolated, without being a part of any of the neighbouring villages, the inhabitants not reckoned in the census of the villages. (0) Landowning Bedouins and cultivating Bedouins heretofore >xempt from the forced labour works. ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAL. 277 (¢) The inhabitants of the villages working on the lands of the State Domains and Daira Sanieh in Lower Egypt, in the villages where these Administrations have more than 100 acres, on condition that the lands are not let, and under the reserve that the number of men ransomed out of each village shall be limited to those required for cultivation. For the villages in which rice is the predominating crop, and those which have been, like the rice villages, the objects of a special measure as regards the adjustment of the land tax, the forced labour is obligatory ; but, in the annual division of work among the inhabi- tants of the provinces, there will be imposed on each man of these villages only the half of the quantity imposed on a man of other villages, VIII.—The cash payment of the ransom in the cases in which it is allowed, is fixed in 1881 at 120 * (one hundred and twenty) piastres per man in the provinces of Lower Egypt, and at eighty (80) f piastres in those of Upper Egypt. After the year 1882 the amount of ransom per man shall be fixed annually, and notified to the Midiriyahs by the Minister of Public Works, one month before the commencement of the works. It shall be fixed after consideration of the nature and quantity of work to be done, and the time during which they are required to be executed. IX.—The Minister of Public Works can suspend, for any reasons he judges to be of general benefit to the works, the permission to ransom granted in Art. 7; he can equally, in the case when he judges it possible to substitute forced labour, mechanical labour, or labour by contract, authorise in a general manner the cash payment of ransom in one or more Provinces. X.—The sums received in each Midiriyah as corvée ransom, will be entered in a special register and deposited in the Treasury of the Midiriyah and held at the disposal of the Minister of Public Works. These sums can only be spent on works which have for their aim the reduction or the suppression of forced labour. XI.—It devolves on the Minister of the Interior to summon and keep on the works those subjected to forced labour. aia t Z° 8e. 278 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. XIIl.—Our Ministers of the Interior and Public Works are charged, in so far as it concerns each one, with the execution of the present decree. Done at the Palace of Abdin, 24 Safar, 1290 (25 January, 1881). (Szgned) MEHEMET TEWFIK. By the Khedive, The President of the Council of Ministers. (ZS) RIAZ. Minister of the Intertor. CS) ALY MOUBARAK. The Minister of Public Works. A Khedivial decree dated 12th March, 1882, issued under the influence of Araby Pasha, allowed Arab settlers in Egypt to redeem themselves like the inhabitants of the hamlets (Ezbahs), while the Bedouins were exempted altogether from the corvée. It was also decreed that a commission should be appointed to lay down rules as to how the redemption money to be paid by the hamlets was to be calculated. A committee was appointed under the presidency of Ismael Pasha Yusri * which recommended that every hundred acres of land attached to the hamlets (Ezbahs) should pay for eight persons. This would have meant 9°6/. per hundred acres in 1881. This recommendation would probably have been embodied in a decree, had not the troubles of 18382 begun, and the chances of the democratic party been lost. This principle of the corvée tax being on the land, and not on the individual, came to the front the moment the democratic party were in power. Since the return: to power of the Ministers who represent the large landholders, the opposite * Tsmail Pasha Yusri received his education in England. ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAL. 279 principle of the tax being on the individual, and not on the land, has been stoutly maintained. ‘These latter assert that it is not fair to put the corvée tax on the land because the land tax includes a small irrigation tax. Considering that the land tax contains an irrigation tax which is insufficient, it appears to the author more reasonable to raise it slightly, say 3 or 4 per cent., than to make a poll-tax of the balance of it. If the poor refused to work, and there were no means of com- pelling them, they would lose next to nothing, while the rich pump owners and landholders would suffer heavily. Taking advantage of the decree of 1881 every man of any position freed himself from corvée without taking the trouble to pay the redemption tax, while the whole of the corvée fell on the poorest classes. Indeed, no man who owned more than five acres of land went to the corvée. Early in 1885, the fellaheen of Markas Kafr Sheikh appealed for an inquiry into the corvée of their district, and on the Government making the inquiry, it was found that although the cultivated and revenue paying area of the district was 145,000 acres, the owners of 33,000 acres supplied the whole of the corvee. The State Domains, who owned 53,000 acres, paid redemp- tion money for half their tenants, while the larger proprietors, who owned 59,000 acres, paid nothing. Legally the fellaheen ought to have supplied 438 men for 90 days: they were called on to supply 1091 men for 180 days; and actually supplied 800 men. | The first tangible relief to the corvée came in 1885 when the Irrigation Department exerted itself to reduce the work to a minimum both by holding up the water in the Nile to a higher level in summer, and by working to levels. In the provinces of Menoufieh and Garbieh, the Government made thee experiment of clearing all the canals by contract to see if it 280 EGYPTIAN [RRIGATION. were possible to do away with the corvée altogether. The experiment proved that hand labour by contract could replace corvée on all dry work, and on all summer canals, needing less than 35,000 cubic metres of clearance each.* For these latter, dredgers would be necessary. The public department tendered for contracts for dredging the deep summer canals, and gave the work to three companies ; 250,000/.f were pro- vided in the Budget of 1886 to relieve the corvée, and the work of the corvée was very appreciably reduced. The corvée during 1883 amounted to 20,539,567 men working one day, representing 814,382/., while in 1886 it only amounted to 9,427,246 men working one day, representing 377,089/. The number of corvée in 1886 would have been considerably less, had it not been necessary to spend a large part of the corvée grant in thoroughly clearing the drainage cuts, a work which the corvée had never been able to take up before, as they never got free from the canal clearances. A Ministerial order of the 1st March, 1887, allowed the tenants of the Pashas the privilege of redeeming themselves. A decree of the Council of Ministers of the - 29th January, 1888, allowed the fellaheen of certain provinces in Upper and Lower Egypt to redeem themselves at a rate of ‘40/, per man. The fellaheen are eagerly paying up the tax, while the larger landholders are neither paying nor supplying corvée. With respect to this last decree, Sir Colin Moncrieff very rightly remarks, ‘‘ Any tax in lieu of the corvée ought to be on the land, and not on the peasant. It cannot be just * Hand labour by contract has so improved that 100,000 cubic metres of clearance can now be performed by contract in place of 35,000. t Egypt owes a debt of gratitude to Sir E. Baring for the skill and perseverance with which he carried this relief measure in the teeth of much European opposition. ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAL. 281 that the wealthy owner of 1000 acres, and with only one son, should pay *4o/. for all the benefits of canal and drainage maintenance, while his poor neighbour with io acres and five sons has to pay 24. Were there any chance of having this charge transferred to the land, I would be no consenting party to the poll tax. The tax is not a just one, however ; it is only a less injustice than the corvée.’* Sir Colin might have said “the poor neighbour with four acres,” &c., and been nearer the true proportion. The author was appealed to by two brothers who own } of an acre between them, and who had to pay *80/. towards the tax, while their neighbour who owns 4000 acres was paying nothing. All officials, Egyptian and European, are agreed that the tax should be either so much per acre, or a percentage on the land tax; this reform, how- ever, must await a popular Ministry. The Khedive is not averse to the measure, as the Act and Commission of 1882 prove. The corvéable population, according to the Government returns, is 733,000, or 12 per cent. out of a total agricultural population of 6,070,988. In some provinces the Mddirs or civil governors divide these figures by 2, in others by 3, while in some the whole number is taken. Some ruling is clearly needed. Referring to Appendix B it will be seen that the cost of maintenance of earthwork in 1886 was 639,604/., of which corvée labour represented 377,080/., and the corvée relief grant 262,515/7. If the corvée were done away with, the maintenance charges would fall to 450,o00/. per annum. * In 1888 the fellaheen of Menoufieh redeemed 50,649 men, at a rate of 17 men per 100 acres; the rich Ezba owners redeemed 728 men, at a rate of 2 men per 100 acres. In Garbieh the fellaheen redeemed 18,377 men, ata rate of 7 men per too acres ; while the Ezba owners redeemed 451 men, at a rate of $ of a man per 100 acres, 282 DG VETIAN TRRIGATION. Lhe quantity of work to be performed annually is deter- mined as follows. Immediately after the flood, the assistant engineers sound all the canals, and estimate the quantity of earthwork necessary in the summer and flood canals separately, and in the banks and drains. These estimates are generally completed by the 15thof December. They are sub- mitted to Councils of Agriculture,* composed of the Midirs, the irrigation officers, and the village notables in each province. The councils meet in the first week of January, discuss the estimates and pass them. The estimates are then submitted to the Ministry of Public Works, which decides the proportion that shall be performed by contract out of the corvée relief grant, and the proportion to be per- formed by the corvée or corvée ransom fund. These meetings are far too late, as December is a very valuable month for clearances, and many of the canals are cleared before the councils sit down to discuss them. Two councils, one late in November, and the other in January, would be more practical. These councils are a valuable check on rash proceedings, as they are very conservative. Up to the present, the corvée on the earthwork mainte- nance have only been considered, we now come to the fvo- tection of the Nile banks in flood. The Khedivial decree of the 6th August, 1885, contains the regulations on this subject. ‘“KHEDIVIAL DECREE OF THE 6TH AUGUST, 1885. “All those inhabitants who are bound to supply corvée by the decree of the 25th January, 1881, are equally bound to protect the banks of the Nile in flood. * These Councils of Agriculture were instituted in 1871. The two Khedivial decrees which refer to them are dated December 31st, 1871, and February 6th, 1874, respectively. ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAL. 283 “On the 1st of July the Minister of Public Works will point out the points which ought to be protected and watched, and the number of men to be supplied. ‘On the 15th July an assembly will meet in each province, presided over by the Mddir of the province, and having as inembers the village notables and assistant-engineers and executive engineer of the province. The President will com- municate to the assembly the instructions received from the Ministry of Public Works relatively to the number of watchmen to be provided, and the assembly will divide them among the districts and villages. “Fach village headman must forward to the Mddir of the province, before the 25th July, a nominal roll of all the men his village has to supply, divided into two lists. “The men in the first list will be at their posts on the rst of August, and those of the second list by the 1st September. The posts are not to be left by the watchmen, except ona special order of the Minister of Public Works. “The assembly of each province will select four notables, who, presided over by the executive engineer of the district, will form a commission for judging delays and contraventions on the part of the village headmen or the corvée. “Any head of a village or district, or any notable who neglects to supply the number of men required for his section, or who is absent from his post, or who quits it without per- mission, is within the twenty-four hours to be judged by the commission, and condemned to an imprisonment of not less than twenty days or over three months, and to a fine of not less than 2/, or over 20/, The man found guilty may be definitely dismissed from his post, if the commission considers it necessary, without prejudicing any damages which may be claimed from him, if damages have occurred owing to his 284 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. absence or carelessness. If dismissed, he is to be immediately replaced by another notable. ‘““Tf acorvée man fails to be present at his post, he shall be immediately judged by the commission, and condemned to an imprisonment of between twenty days and three months, and to a fine of from 1/7. to ro/. In this case the village headman must immediately produce another man.” By a ministerial order of August, 1887, the date for the first section of the corvée to turn out has been changed from August ist to August 15th. This was owing to representa- tions made by the Ministry of Public Works that there was never any danger between the 1st and 15th of August; while this fortnight was specially valuable to the fellaheen, as the time of putting in the Indian corn crop. The Khedivial decree of the 25th January, 1886, lays down the punishments to be inflicted on the corvée who are _ absent from their work during ¢he canal clearances. The commissions appointed by the decree of the 6th August, 1885, are also called on to judge these cases. Any village headman or notable who neglects to furnish the number of men due for his section, or who is not present at his post to supervise his work, or who leaves his post without permission, is to be judged by the commission within the twenty-four hours, and condemned to an imprisonment of from ten to thirty days, or to a fine of from 2/. to 5/. He may not be dismissed from his post of village headman. Any corvée man who fails to be present, or who deserts his post, is to be immediately judged by the commission, and condemned to a fine of *5/. to 12, and to the performance of the work due from him. If he cannot pay the sum due from him, he must perform an amount of work represented by the fine. These two last decrees are the outcome of the abolition ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAL. 285 of the kurbash.* In the old kurbdsh days the corvée used to be flogged, now they have to be tried and punished in other ways. Reading the above decrees, one might assume that these popular assemblies and popular tribunals would work well. When it is considered, however, that the men to be condemned to punishment are the village headmen and the fellaheen, while the real culprits are the large proprietors, who live in Cairo and Alexandria, and their tenants, it will readily be understood that the wrong men are always punished. “The assemblies would never dare to punish the tenant of a large proprietor, or to report the delinquency of the proprietor himself. The author has seen the village headmen go to prison sooner. The author, in a communication to the Institute of Civil Engineers (‘ Minute of Proceedings,’ vol. xc. Session 1886-87, Part IV.), thus described the working of the corvée in practice :—- “The province of Garbieh would do for an example :— Men liable to forced labour. . The lands held by the fellahs represented .. .. 99,463 . Turkish Pashas aig Pee Bu Kevtag aoe. te eee ey ROR s DtateGOMams. ae. .a ea” aa" oak) oy ee ee OO . Europeans, Beye Crs & ita, oS ae a5) ROSS « Lharge:towiis fog ae Ee ease ts 2 oe ee SOTO . Arabs Sis Rs pease Ma yas 8 ih (Bret oes «Pi 450 ‘“The classes from (2) to (6) were legally exempted from forced labour (being allowed to redeem themselves) during the time of canal clearances. They neither paid their redemption money } nor did they work at the clearances. Following their * Kurbash, the Egyptian “ cat-o’-nine-tails.” Clifford Lloyd’s name will always be associated with the abolition of the kurbash for all civil offences, + The State Domains Administration redeemed about half the number of their tenants. 286 EGYPTIAN [RRIGATION. example, the influential fellah landowners exempted them- selves, others bribed themselves off, until the helpless owners of five acres of land and under were reached, who would willingly bribe anybody to let them off, but could not, because some one must turn out to clear the canals. During flood- time no one was legally allowed to redeem himself, but the same wretched owners of five acres and under were again turned out. It meant to many of them a tax of 3/. per acre per annum. Over and above this a law had been recently passed, which allowed the Mfdir or civil governor to take 1/. from every man who exempted himself without leave ; and if a man’s cotton crop wanted picking, and he ran off for a few days to pick it, he was fined, though he might have served twice his legal time on the bank. The tenants of the wealthy proprietors were never present on forced labour, and were never fined. There was no law by which they could be fined. The upper classes would never see how useless was the large amount of forced labour levied, and how detrimental to the petty landholders just when their fields needed all their attention, until they began to senda few men from their estates, which legally they ought to do, and which theoretically they have done for many years. A so-called “corvée re- d demption” was carried out every year in Egypt, when the privileged classes paid a certain sum of money to redeem their agricultural population from work. In Garbieh, during 1886, the privileged classes paid 430/. for their share of the work, while the fellahs did earthwork representing 26,000/., and guarded the Nile banks, representing another 21,000/. The Government grant for forced labour relief amounted to 25,000/, These were the abuses which Colonel Moncrieff had set his heart on abolishing. Some of the speakers seemed to think that the forced labour had been abolished. Forced ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAL. 287 labour for canal clearances still existed, and it would be years after it had ceased to exist that it would be possible to begin with it on the Nile banks during flood. The abolition of forced labour on canal clearance was promised for 1888, Sir E. Baring had strengthened Colonel Scott Moncrieff’s hands by insisting that no land-improvement works were to be charged to the forced labour fund ; this was the first prac- tical step towards the abolition of the forced labour. While there was no limit to the work, there was no limit to forced labour. A limit to the one implied a limit to the other. The petty landholders who supplied forced labour were crying out to be allowed to pay up to 4s. per acre, or a capitation tax of 8s. per man liable. The Government had only to consent to take the money from them, and compel the tenants of the influential proprietors to pay, and the question would be settled. If it was only a question of taking the money from the fellahs, it would be settled to-morrow ; but the tenants of the larger proprietors paying either a capitation tax of 8s., or a tax of 2s. per acre for forced labour relief, meant so much off the rent-roll, and it was there that the shoe pinched. Compassion for poor fellahs was a catchword. The fellahs were neither poor nor heavily taxed, while they were direct tenants of the State. If others were poor, it was not because the State land-tax was high, but because some of the estates were rack-rented. Hundreds of thousands of acres could be rented at from 5/. to 6/. per annum, and paid a land-tax of 12, 135. if “ Khardji,” or 15s. if “ Ushtri,” which was light compared with the burdens on land in India and England. If forced labour redemption were seriously taken up, forced labour relief might be dispensed with in the richer provinces, unless land reclamation was to be included in the programme of work. The fellahs when working by contract could do 288 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. double and treble the work they did by forced labour, which was a great gain to the agricultural community, as more time could be devoted to the fields.” Mons. J. Barois, in his book ‘L’Irrigation en Egypte,’ remarks that, “though the ancient Egyptians were skilful engineers and wise legislators, and though they have left countless records of their manners, customs, and laws, they have not left a single record of their canal laws or regula- tions.” Their descendants do not differ much from them. The Public Works Department has been trying these four years to get some kind of canal Jaw passed, but has not succeeded.’ The rich and the powerful are so interested in the present chaos being conserved, that they stoutly oppose any change. Possibly it was so in ancient Egypt. If any fellaheen monuments existed they might have told of injustice and oppression in water distribution. Considering that the whole country depends on irrigation, and that there is no rainfall of any kind to bring relief, one would think that the preservation of the existing water-courses would be a sacred obligation on the Government. It is not so. Owing to the costliness of the tribunals, and the unlimited power of appeal, a poor man who has his water-course obliterated by his rich neighbour, has nothing to do but submit to the best terms he can obtain—i.e. either sell his land for half its value, or buy his water in future. Many estates are nicely rounded off in this way in Egypt. It is not only the poor who suffer while this undefined state of affairs exists: the State itself is help- less. It is a common opinion in the country that the Govern- ment can never win a case in the tribunals. If a spur is thrown up on one bank of the Nile to protect an engine, the other bank prosecutes the Government ; if the engine is not protected, the owner of the engine prosecutes. If the Nile ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAL. 289 is low, and a canal runs dry from natural causes, the Govern- ment is prosecuted. Ifacanal is too full, owing to a lack of regulators, the Government is prosecuted. And this, not in a country where the Government sells the water, but where the Government performs functions which the atmosphere does in other countries. However, things have become so bad now that something must be done. Previous to 1882 the Madirs or Civil Governors protected the poor as a rule from Jews and Christians ; while the State was strong enough to hold its own. Now the tribunals dominate the State, and are unable to aid the poor. With this preface, the author will proceed to describe the administrative side of the irrigation system. In the basins of Upper Egypt the immemorial custom of remitting revenue only on land not covered by the flood prevails, and answers well. In Lower Egypt, where the basin system has been abandoned, and a totally different system (as described in Chapter III.) has been substituted, the same law prevails, and naturally does not answer. It will have been noticed that the summer crop is a very valuable one, and depends chiefly on a supply of water in the summer canals from April to August; the flood crop depends on a supply of flush irrigation from August to November; while the winter crop depends on a thorough irrigation of the country during flood. According to the existing laws, remissions of revenue are granted on land incapable of being sown with the winter crop,* while there is no provision made for crops destroyed by floods during the inundations, or by drought in summer. While the Government was strong, it could afford to do without any other law on the subject. Now, however, that * Flood crops which are irrigated by lift are expected to pay the full land tax. U 290 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. the tribunals have begun to entertain cases against the Government, not only for remission of revenue, but also for compensation, it is time the Government exerted itself and made some laws. This is all the more necessary, as the summer supply of the Nile only suffices for one-third the area of Lower Egypt in May and June, while in March and April, when the crops are sown, there is 50 per cent. more water, and it is easy to sow a far larger area than can possibly be matured. Without any laws on the subject, and an executive at the mercy of the judicature, the duties of the irrigation officers are becoming well-nigh impossible. In old days the canal engineers had gangs of from 10,000 to 20,000 men moving about the country in each province, and were able to keep the demands of the powerful supplied ; now the water is fairly distributed, and the corvée is dying out, with the result that the Government does not favour the wealthy, and indeed could only do it with extreme difficulty. Prosecu- tions therefore are common, and if there were the least negli- gence or carelessness on the part of the executive during the present legal chaos, the Government would be in a very difficult position. A canal running 500,000 cubic metres per day irrigates 20,000 acres of cotton; on which the compensa- tion would be 200,000/. in the present undefined state of affairs, if the canal supply were to fail, and the whole crop to be destroyed. The tribunals are free to act as they please while no laws exist. There is no separate canal law, but irrigation matters are referred to in a few articles of the codes applic- able to the native and mixed tribunals. The following are from the native tribunal codes; those in the mixed tribunal codes are practically the same: Ps * From M. J. Barois’ ‘ L’Irrigation en Egypte.’ ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAT. 291 tr. The court of summary justice decides finally all cases of less than 10/., while all cases exceeding this sum, however great the urgency may be, are subject to appeal, . . . for damage to fields, fruit, and produce, whether caused by men or animals.—| Art, 26. Code de Procedure.| 2. The right to use the water of the canals constructed by the State is proportional to the lands to be irrigated, except in so far as is provided for in the special laws, decrees, and rules.—[Arz. 31. Code Civil.) 3. Any one who has constructed a canal has the sole right to use this canal, or to sell it—[A7z. 32. Code Civil.] 4. Every one is held liable to. provide on his estate a passage for the water necessary for the lands furthest removed from the head of the water-course. The courts will first decide the amount of indemnity due; and in case of dispute the works necessary to be carried out, so that the water may be conducted through the estate with the least possible damage. 5. The proprietor who irrigates his lands by means of machinery or of canals cannot compel the lower lands to receive the water from his estate.—[Art. 33. Code Civil. 6. The public domains are unchangeable, and cannot be seized or alienated. The Government alone can dispose of them by law and decree. Theycomprise . . . the rivers navi- gable by boats or rafts, and the canals of which the mainte- nance is at the charge of the State—{Art. 9. Code Civil. | 7. Form equally a part of the public domains the “servi- tudes ” of water-courses, of public works, and more generally all the active “servitudes” of common right attached to the property of the public domains, or which can result from the laws or decrees passed in the public interest.—[Avz. to. Code Civil. | 292 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. 8. He who, by breaching the banks, or in any other manner, shall have caused mechanically an inundation, will be, according to the gravity of the offence, condemned to hard labour for a certain time or for life—[Art. 334. Code Penal. | g. Whoever will have voluntarily destroyed, or over- thrown, or damaged, by any means whatever, entirely or in part, bridges, aqueducts, banks . . . belonging to another, _ will be condemned to an imprisonment of from three months to two years, and to a fine equal to a quarter of the cost of restitution.—[A7z. 336. Code Penal.] 10. Will be punished by a fine of from MOST OW On). those who will not have conformed to an administrative order, when this order shall not have determined beforehand the punishments to be inflicted for infractions.—|A7¢. 341. Code Penal. | 11. Will be punished by a fine of from °5/. to 1°o/., and to six days’ imprisonment, those who will have injured. . . the public roads . . . or other places of public utility, or those who will have encroached on them.—[ A774. 347. Code Penal. | One has only to read these articles and compare them with the “ Northern India Canal and Navigation Act” to see how unworkable they are in most cases. Summary justice is needed, not for cases under or over 10/, but for all cases affecting the standing crop, which can be ruined by delay. A law is needed preventing the obliteration of existing watercourses without Government permission ; while the law courts are settling as to whom the obliterated watercourse really belongs, the poor cultivators are well-nigh ruined, and generally accept any terms. Laws also are needed defining the rights to usage of water at the different seasons ; the penalties to be inflicted on those who erect pumping stations without ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAL. 293 permission ; penalties to be inflicted on those taking water through the canal banks without making any bridge provision ; increasing the maximum penalty from °*25/. to 252. for those who break departmental regulations and dry up the crops at the tails of the canals, for which Government afterwards pays compensation, &c. The canal law drafted by the Ministry of Public Works has been before the Ministry of Justice a full year. It was stated on page 259 that all land in Egypt was in theory the property of the State. The State has therefore the right to expropriate land for works of public utility. This is how matters are generally arranged. For works passed by the annual agricultural councils mentioned on page 282, the declaration of public utility is assumed, and the land is taken up, and the works carried out. The standing crop is some- times paid for, and the land revenue is remitted for the future. For works of greater magnitude, which are approved of by the council of ministers, and which do not go before the agricultural councils—such works as those debited to the Million loan—a decree of the Khedive is taken as a declaration of public utility. The Mddir, and certain Sheikhs named by him, meet and value the land; which value has up to the present been always accepted by the owners. The State then pays this sum to the owner of the land. The low lands in the bed of the Nile itself, which are continually changing their position, are measured annually, and pay tax on the area cultivated. All lands between the Nile dykes are considered as under the control of the Ministry of Public Works, which can prevent the construction of any kind of building on this area. Art. 60 of the “ Code Civil” has reference to the deposits of land in the river bed on foreshores, but, owing to its vagueness, disputes are always settled by local usage and traditions. 294 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. Every one has the right to erect a Persian wheel, or sakia, on the banks of the Nile or the canals without authorisation. Every one also has the right to take flush irrigation where and how he likes, in spite of the fact that such severe penalties are designed for those cutting public banks, &c. The Nile dykes alone in the dangerous part of the Delta are considered sacred, not on account of the Government regula- tions, but because every one is afraid of the Nile in flood. The pumping engines on the Nile and the canals are subject to a special law; but in spite of the law 90 per cent. of the existing engines and pumps have been erected without permission, and cannot be removed. The decree of the 8th March, 1881, runs as follows :— Decree and Regulation for Water-vaising Machines, 8th March, 1881. We, Khedive of Egypt,—On the proposal of our Minister of Public Works, drawn out in conformity with the deliberation of our Council of Ministers, Decree. ARTICLE I.—It is, and remains forbidden to establish engines to lift water for irrigation or drainage, whether fixed or movable, whether their motive power be steam, water power, or wind, without having previously obtained an authorisation of the Ministry or of the Public Works services.. This authorisation does not give to the person benefiting by the use of the engine any right of property, zz any limit whatever in the public or. private State Lands occupied or traversed by the pipes, conduits or aqueducts of the sluice and place of intake. The Government does not concern itself in any relations between the person benefiting from the use of the engine, and other parties ; it lays on the Licensee the responsibility for all hurtful acts or other injuries caused by erection of the engine or otherwise. II.—The establishment of stationary water-lifting engines will not be allowed except on the banks of the Nile: but the Ministry of Public Works may in exceptional cases authorise their erection on certain canals. The Ministry alone is the judge of the suitability of the erection, ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAL. 295 and reserves to itself the free liberty to impose (in considering the special case) any obligations and conditions it considers necessary. Ill.—Every water-lifting engine, whether stationary or movable, is under the common obligation to leave completely free the circula- tion on the banks and canals; to respect all the “servitudes” in force ; to hinder in no way the necessary works for the maintenance of these banks and canals, and for the defence of the country against inundation. IV.—The failure to comply with every or any condition or obliga- tion imposed by the License to establish a water-lifting engine, will give Government the full right to cancel the License, without in any way waiving rights which the Government possesses and reserves to itself of carrying out the necessary repairs and reimbursing to itself the cost of the repairs. V.—An engine licensed for a given place cannot be displaced with- out the issue of a new License ; no new License fees will be payable. VI.—The Government reserves to itself the right by reason of public utility (construction of public works; danger to the banks, masonry works, &c.), to displace any licensed engine. VIl—The license to erect an engine (whether stationary or movable) to raise water, does not grant the right for the licensee to set up a machine to take water from the Nile or a canal. . It does not lay the Government under any obligation to maintain a continuous supply of water to the engine. For the passage of water raised by the engine the licensee must arrange with his partners or other parties whose lands it is necessary to cross, without any intervention of any sort on the part of Government. For the passage of water across the waste lands or other lands of Government, the licensee must obtain a special permission. It is forbidden to make water courses for the passage of the water raised by the engines, either along the banks of the Nile or the canals, or along the berms or bank-slopes of the Nile or canals. VIII.—The water courses or conduits to take the water to the fields will be established in such a manner as will not impede either the traffic on the banks, whether of men or beasts, or the circulation of drainage or irrigation water. The licensee alone shall remain respon- sible for all the rights of other parties for the passage of traffic or drainage or irrigation water. The Government will decide on all the works that the licensee must construct, necessary for the passage of 296 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. his water under the road and banks, and above and below the canals crossed by the water course. IX.—By reason of public utility, in case of an exceptionally low summer supply, or when the discharge of a canal becomes notoriously insufficient for the demands of the cultivation on it, the public works services can, by a measure applicable to a whole canal, or one reach only of acanal, order a temporary stoppage of engines for raising water, or may order a reduction in their speed and discharge, in taking into account, if necessary, the relative importance of the machines and of the lands they irrigate. Inthese and similar cases the Govern- ment does not incur any responsibility for damages caused to crops. X.—In suspension of Article VIL. the Ministry of Public Works can, as an exception, authorise the use of a public Nili canal (a Nili canal is that which flows only during the Nile flood) to conduct the water raised by the engine to the lands it is destined to irrigate, and this authorisation is granted under the following reserves :— 1. The permission is only granted for one summer season, which ends when the Nile water enters the canal by natural flow. 2. The permission is only granted if the proprietors of the lands irrigated naturally by the canal have given their unanimous consent to this permission. 3. If it has been found necessary to make dams in the Nilf canal to hold up the water, the dams must be of earth, and must be cleared away by the proprietor of the engine before the Nile water flows naturally into the canal. In the case of his not doing so the Govern- ment will remove the dams at the cost, risk, and peril of the engine proprietor before the Nile water rises naturally into the canal. 4. Finally the proprietor of the machine is alone responsible to other parties for all damages done by breaches in the banks ; perco- lation and delay in the raising of the banks during the time of supply of water from the engine, XI.—Every person who, contrary to the rules in force previous to the present decree, shall have erected a stationary or movable engine without license, must before the 31st August, 1881, apply for a license under the conditions imposed by the present decree and its regulations. All persons possessing a license issued before the coming into force of the present decree must, before the same date, provide himself with a new license under the same condition, and he shall not be liable to pay new license fees. 'ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAL. 297 XII.—After the 31st August, 1881, every engine established in Opposition to the conditions of Article II. above noted, shall be stopped from working. XIII.—The proprietors of engines are responsible for the damages or accidents occasioned by their engines ; the Government, however, reserves to itself the right, in the public interest, of inspection of these engines without relieving the proprietors of the responsibility under which they lie. XIV.—Regulations for putting in force this decree, and to the observance of which those interested are bound, shall be framed by the Ministry of Public Works. XV.—Our Minister of Public Works is charged with the execution of the present degree. Given at the Abdin Palace, 82 March, 1881 (8 Rabi el Akhir, 1298). (Szgned) MEHEMET TEWFIK. (Szgned) RIAZ. For the Khedive, The President of the Council of Ministers. (Szgned) ALY PASHA: The Minister of Public Works. MINISTERIAL ORDER. Regulations applicable to Water-raising Engines. The Minister of Public Works, in conformity with Article 14 of the decree of the 8th March, 1881, concerning engines for raising water, ORDERS— ARTICLE I.—Every application for the licensing of a movable engine for raising water shall be made on stamped paper, and addressed to the Mddiriyah, or the local Governor's office, in the circonscription in which it is desired to erect the engine. The application must contain the following information :— (1) The class of engine and its pump, with details of the horse- power and principal dimensions. (2) The site of erection, with a plan. . (3) The work which the engine is required to do: irrigation or drainage. 298 EGYPTIAN [RRIGATION. (4) The names in full, professions, nationalities, residences of the proprietors of the land it is proposed to irrigate or drain. (5) The period for which the license is required. IIl—The application for license, registered in a special register in the Mddiriyah or local Governor’s office, will be numbered in sequence after payment of a fixed fee of 100 piastres * to cover cost of examination. It is then transmitted for examination to the engineer in chief of the circle in which the Midiriyah or local Governor’s office exists. III.—The engineer-in-chief of the circle accepts the license if he thinks fit, and signs the license, which should contain :— 1. The agreement of the engine proprietor to conform to the present regulations and to all future legislative enactments or future regulations. 2. The exact description of the site of the engine, with a sketch illustrating it, if he thinks fit. 3. The special conditions of the engine, notably those relative to the culvert under the bank of the canal at the head sluice; its mode of closure, &c. The license not being necessary for the public benefit, it is to be well understood that private persons are free to demand compensa- tion from the proprietor of the engine for any rights, &c., they enjoy in the lands where the engine is to be erected, or to oppose its erection in a legal way. IV.—The license sent by the circonscription engineer to the MAdiriyah or the local Governor’s office, is to be signed by the circon- scription engineer (Inspector +} of Irrigation) and sent by the Midir or Governor to the engine proprietor, in order to obtain his signature to a duplicate copy of the license, which is transcribed on the register itself of applications; and on payment of a fee of 50 piastres f per horse-power. This tax, however, shall never be lower than 500 piastres, or 5°O/. V.—AIll applications for a license for the erection of a stationary engine must be addressed on a stamped paper to the Ministry of Public Works, which grants directly the licenses, if it thinks it. The application shall always be accompanied by the whole site of the proposed erection of the engine and its sluice, and in default of a AEE a OO: + Superintending Engineer. eee 5c: ADMINISTRATIVE, AND LEGAL. 299 plan of the machinery, a detailed description of the machinery shall be sent in. VI.—The licenses for the erection of a stationary engine are taxed on the same scale of fees for examination and license as for movable engines, These fees are payable at the Treasury of the Public Works Ministry. VII.—On no pretext whatever can the applicant for a license put in hand the works necessary for the erection of plant or engine before he receives the license. VIII.—No engine for raising water may be established on the head sluice, regulators, weirs, or other masonry works of public interest, or near these works, without the distance being fixed in each case by the Ministry of Public Works. IX.—The license indicated in Article 5 of the Decree of the 8th March, 1881, shall be given by the engineer-in-chief of the circonscrip- tion, who will notify to the Midiriyah or the local Governor's office the site which he has authorised. X.—The displacement of engines indicated by Article 6 of the Decree of the 8th March 1881, cannot be ordered, except by the Ministry of Public Works. The displacement shall be carried out at the cost of the proprietor. XI.—AlIl regulations and rules heretofore in force are cancelled, as far as concerns the present regulations. (Signed) ALY PASHA, The Minister of Public Works. CAIRO, 6¢h April, 1881. At the beginning of this chapter the author omitted to state that, besides the establishment paid for from the revenues of the couutry, there was a large staff of officers employed temporarily on the works being constructed out of the 1,000,000/, loan contracted in 1886. The establishment consists of a Director General of Works, two Directors of Works, and a large number of assistant engineers. It is expected that the 1,000,000/. will be spent by the end of 1890. 300 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. CEUAPIEE RX. PROJECTS. Reclamation of Waste Lands by Reservoirs in the Waste Lands themselves— The Wady Rayén Scheme—Kom Umbos Scheme. Ir will have been noticed that there are extensive tracts in the north of Egypt which are lying in a state of swamp, or as dry salted plains. These lands cover altogether about 1,300,000 acres,* and in whatever state they are, they are capable of reclamation. The carbonates and sulphates of soda (known in India as “reh”), which are destructive of all vegetable life, are present only in very small quantities indeed, and however slow reclamation may be at the worst places, it is nevertheless ‘certain. It will readily be under- stood that since Nile mud is the detritus of volcanic rocks, while the two salts above mentioned come principally from metamorphic and Plutonic rocks, the salts cannot exist in any quantity in Egypt. If the ancient basin system could be reintroduced into Lower Egypt the whole of this land might be reclaimed, and the area of Egypt might be increased again to what it was in Roman times. This, however, which might have been accomplished by Mehemet Ali, must wait till Egypt has been completely exhausted by the present system of summer irrigation ; and then in despair the population will return periodically to the old healthy system, by which the land is washed, manured, and limed annually by the Nile * This area is exclusive of the lakes bordering the Mediterranean. PROJECTS. 301 itself without any other agency. This will not be in this generation, however; and since summer irrigation does quickly though indifferently what basin irrigation * does slowly but thoroughly, it is necessary to consider the projects for obtaining the supply of water needed in summer to reclaim the low lands, or Berea, as they are called in Egypt. In Chapter IV. the author elaborated a project by which the Nile in flood should be employed to wash certain lands, while all the surplus water in winter (which at present harms the low lands) should be stored in certain basins, and employed to reclaim the land by rice culture in summer. The project is a feasible one, and one which would answer the require- ments of the case. There is no necessity for a very heavy outlay, and the risks run would be trifling, as the basins would be independent of one another. The scheme, however, appears too simple to the public, which refuses to believe in anything except some striking engineering work, especially when there is on the horizon an enterprise which professes to bring back the prosperous times of one of the great Pharaohs of the XIIth Dynasty, who lived in B.c. 2500. The cultivated area of Egypt is 4,955,000 acres, and the land capable of reclamation in Lower Egypt is 1,260,000 acres. If one-third of the cultivated land and the whole of the land to be reclaimed were to be irrigated in summer, there would be required a summer supply of , (joe y, 26) + (1,260,000 X 40) = 93,000,000 cubic metres per day, of which the lands to be reclaimed would alone require 50,000,000 cubic metres per day. The mean summer discharge of the Nile is 42,000,000 cubic metres per day at Assudn, while there are years when it falls to * Basin irrigation corresponds to “ warping” in the Fens. 302 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. 24,000,000 cubic metres per day, and hence the impossibility of doing any reclamation by summer cultivation on a large scale without storing water somewhere. The best known scheme before the public is that of Mr. Cope Whitehouse for storing water in a reservoir to the south-west of the Fayoum. This reservoir would be fed by a canal from the Nile in flood, and discharge back into the Nile in summer. The time during which the reservoir would be drawn upon would be from the 15th April to the 25th July, when the Nile is at its lowest. The elements of the problem are therefore the following :— ist: A reservoir of a fixed area, capable of being utilised between certain levels, i.e. roughly between the flood and summer water surface of the Nile at the take-off of the canal. ond. A canal of acertain length and section, capable of taking a certain quantity of water into the reservoir; if the canal is only large enough to fill the reservoir after it has been brought up to the summer level of the Nile, it will take many years to raise the water surface of the reservoir to that level, since the bottom of the depression is over 40 metres below the Mediterranean ; if the canal is of a large section it will quickly fill the reservoir, and be able to relieve the Nile when in high flood, and ward off danger from the country. 3rd. The maximum, minimum, and mean water-surface levels of the Nile at. the take-off of the canal, during flood and summer, with the discharges corresponding to the different levels. 4th. The level below which the Nile in flood must not be allowed to fall, so as to allow of a healthy flood irrigation to the north of the take-off; consequently the guantety of water the reservoir may drain off. PROJECTS. 303 5th. The masonry works needed on the reservoir or its canal, for the requirements of regulation. 6th. Zhe works needed for the passage of the existing canals, drains, and railway across the reservoir canal in the valley of the Nile, and the embankments needed to protect the low-lying province of the Fayoum from the high-level reservoir, in case the reservoir canal enters the Fayoum. Lotal cost of work, excluding interest. 7th. The quantity of water capable of being utilised for 100 days, after losses by evaporation and absorption have been eliminated. Time of filling reservoir. 8th. Effect of this storage of water (going on for years before the reservoir is filled sufficiently to flow back in summer) on the water of the reservoir itself, in a tendency to make it brackish. oth. Effect of the water from the reservoir, on the Nile water in summer, as far as affects the health of the towns depending for their water supply on the Nile. 10th. Passage of the water from the reservoir in summer through the existing canals in Lower Egypt, on the top of the ordinary summer supply, in order to reach the lands near the sea. 11th. The necessary preparation of the /ands to be re- claimed so that the water may be utilised when it is obtainable. 12th. Zhe cost of the undertaking, the necessary capital, and the means of paying interest on the capital. Granting the great advantages to be reaped from an increase to the summer irrigation of Egypt, and the necessity of this increase if the resources of the country are to be fully developed, there is no schéme more likely to attain this end than Mr. Cope Whitehouse’s project for a reservoir in the 304 EGYPTIAN IRRIGATION. eee ee eee FE Wady Ray4n, south west of the Fayoum., At no other place in Egypt can a reservoir be obtained without first building a dam across the Nile. There is no doubt that the Wady RayAn is either the Lake Mceris of King Amenemhat IIL, or it is very near it. Unlessa better line can be found across the desert hills, the canal to feed the reservoir must run on much the same ground as the ancient canal. Plate X XVI. gives a plan of the reservoir and the country to be traversed by the canal. This plan has been reduced from the original plan prepared by a staff of engineers working under the orders of Col. Western, Director-General of Works. The Ministry of Public Works is examining the project in a very thorough manner; Major Ross, Inspector-General of Irrigation, ex- amining the irrigation side of the question, and Col. Western the constructive. Given the reservoir, the longitudinal section of the canal, the water level in the Nile, and the other factors in the question, it is a question of permutations and combinations as to which is the best method of carrying out the project. A small canal will cost little; but it will take many years to fill the lake, the interest charges will run up, and the water of the lake will possibly become brackish. A large canal will cost much; but it will soon fill the lake, the interest charges will not mount up, and the water of the lake will possibly not be brackish. A large canal will also be of use in reducing appreciably the water level of the Nile during a very high flood.