the fellahin in having a much
larger mixture of Arab blood, and are at once keener witted and more
conservative than the peasantry. The Arabic spoken by the middle and higher
classes is generally inferior in grammatical correctness and pronunciation
to that of the Bedouins of Arabia, but is purer than that of Syria or the
dialect spoken by the Western Arabs. Besides the Cairenes proper, who are
largely engaged in trade or handicrafts, the inhabitants include Arabs,
numbers of Nubians and Negroes--mostly labourers or domestics in nominal
slavery--and many Levantines, there being considerable colonies of Syrians
and Armenians. The higher classes of native society are largely of Turkish
or semi-Turkish descent. Of other races the most numerous are Greeks,
Italians, British, French and Jews. Bedouins from the desert frequent the
bazaars.

At the beginning of the 19th century the population was estimated at about
200,000, made up of 120,000 Moslems, 60,000 Copts, 4000 Jews and 16,000
Greeks, Armenians and "Franks." In 1882 the population had risen to
374,000, in 1897 to 570,062, and in 1907, including Helwan and Mataria, the
total population was 654,476, of whom 46,507 were Europeans.

_Climate and Health._--In consequence of its insanitary condition, Cairo
used to have a heavy death-rate. Since the British occupation in 1882 much
has been done to better this state of things, notably by a good
water-supply and a proper system of drainage. The death-rate of the native
population is about 35 per 1000. The climate of the city is generally
healthy, with a mean temperature of about 68 deg. F. Though rain seldom falls,
exhalations from the river, especially when the flood has begun to subside,
render the districts near the Nile damp during September, October and
November, and in winter early morning fogs are not uncommon. The prevalent
north wind and the rise of the water tend to keep the air cool in summer.

_Commerce._--The commerce of Cairo, of considerable extent and variety,
consists mainly in the transit of goods. Gum, ivory, hides, and ostrich
feathers from the Sudan, cotton and sugar from Upper Egypt, indigo and
shawls from India and Persia, sheep and tobacco from Asiatic Turkey, and
European manufactures, such as machinery, hardware, cutlery, glass, and
cotton and woollen goods, are the more important articles. The traffic in
slaves ceased in 1877. In Bulak are several factories founded by Mehemet
Ali for spinning, weav