Cultivation of Cotton in Egypt.—It is now over thirty years since Sir Samuel Baker, the great African traveller, wrote these words: "The Nile might be so controlled that the enormous volume of water that now rushes uselessly into the Mediterranean might be led through the deserts, to transform them into cotton fields that would render England independent of America."
The crop for the season 1900-01 was no less than 1,224,000 bales of 500 pounds each. Ten years ago only 868,000 acres were devoted to cotton cultivation as against 1,350,000 acres laid down to-day. Everything, then, points to Sir Samuel Baker's statement becoming an actual fact much sooner than the famous traveller himself anticipated.
Egypt enjoys many advantages over her competitors across the Atlantic. In the first place, she can get almost twice as much cotton from the acre, so productive is the soil. Labour is cheaper, and the plant itself when young is not subject to the devastating frosts so often met with in America.
Egypt is divided into three great areas:—Lower Egypt, which includes the whole of the Delta of the Nile; Upper Egypt; and Nubia. It is in the first-named district where the whole of Egyptian cotton is produced. At the present time immense sums are being spent on irrigation and drainage works, and as these are extended the areas devoted to cotton production will greatly increase.
At the present time five distinct varieties of cotton are cultivated—
| Mitafifi. | Bamia. | |
| Abbasi. | Gallini. | |
| Ashmouni-Hamouli. |
The latter variety was originally known by a different name, Mako Jumel. For a long time Ashmouni cotton was the principal fibre exported, but Mitafifi is now in the front of all the other Egyptian cottons. A noteworthy fact in connection with Ashmouni is, that its cultivation is on the decline.
Sea Islands Gallini—as it was sometimes called—has practically ceased to be cultivated. Of Mitafifi and Bamia fibres, Mr. Handy, U. S. A., says: "The Mitafifi was discovered by a Greek merchant in the village of that name. The seed has a bluish tuft at the extremity, which attracted the merchant's attention, and on planting it he found that it possessed decided advantage over the old Ashmouni. It is more hardy, and yields a greater proportion of lint to the seed. At first from 315 pounds of seed cotton, 112 pounds of lint was secured, and sometimes even more. It is now somewhat deteriorated, and rarely yields so much, averaging about 106 pounds of lint to 315 of seed cotton. The Mitafifi is a richer and darker brown than the Ashmouni. The fibre is long, very strong, and fine to the touch, and is in great demand. In fact, it controls the market.
"Next to Mitafifi, Bamia is perhaps the most extensively cultivated variety in Lower Egypt. It was discovered by a Copt in 1873. The plant is of large size and course growth. It is later and less hardy than Mitafifi, and the fibre is poor as compared with that of Mitafifi and Abbasi, light and brown in colour, and not very strong. In general, it may be said that this variety is inferior to Mitafifi in yield, hardiness and length and strength of fibre."
Other places where Cotton is grown.—In Africa, on the eastern and western coasts, large quantities of cotton are produced. The following countries are specially suitable to the growth of cotton: Soudan, Senegambia, Congo River, Free States, and Liberia. Possibly, when these districts are more opened up to outside trade, and European capital and labour are expended, abundant supplies of cotton fibre will be given.