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Countries of the World: Egyptians

AGRICULTURE. - Under the Pharaohs Egypt was an agricultural country, a pretty clear idea of which is formed from the sculptures and paintings of the tombs .

The agriculture of modern Egyptians differs little from that of the old inhabitants. In one respect it is the converse: the ancients knew nothing of the present methods of raising water, but excelled in the management of dykes and dams. After the Nile inundation has subsided, the land is broken with the hoe, and sown. The lands arti- . The lands artificially irrigated are made to produce three crops. In a large portion of Upper Egypt sugar-cane is cultivated, and rice in the low lands near the Mediterranean. The chief . The chief field products are wheat, barley, rice, oats, clover, sugar-cane, roses, tobacco, and cotton. There is much attention paid to the cane, and excellent sugar is made from it. There are fields of roses in Fayoom, which supply the market with rose water.

The tobacco is coarse and strong. Hemp and flax are grown largely. From the former the intoxicating hasheesh is produced.