rolled 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