Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/734

710 10 EGYPT [VEGETABLE HIODUCTS. a similar direction to that of the ancient canal which it has succeeded. It was dvig under Mehemet Ali ; and although not quite 50 miles in length, and not 100 feet broad, about 12,000 labourers are said to have died ia ten mouths while the work was in progress (English woman in Egypt, i. 47, 48). This is well known to be a tolerably accurate statement of the losses experienced by the unfortunate workmen, and is only one of the many instances which the history of our own times affords of that reckless disregard of human life, which is one of the worst traits of Turkish character. 1 Between the Rosetta and Damietta Branches are several canals, some of which are of importance, particularly the short canal of Manoof connecting the two branches not far from the point of the Delta. To the east of the Damietta Branch are others, of which the most remarkable occupy the beds of the Tanitic and Pelusiac Branches, which have been cleared to a sufficient extent to form canals. The former of these, which lies to the westward of the other, is called the Canal of El-Mo izz, the first Fatimee caliph who ruled in Egypt, having been dug by his orders, and the latter bears the name of the Canal of Abu-1-Munegga, a Jew who executed this work, under the caliph El- Amir, in order to water the province called the Sharkeeyeh. The last mentioned canal is connected with the remains of that which anciently joined the Nile and the Red Sea. Of this important work the greater part was destfoyed through neglect, but it has been restored, as the Sweet-Water Canal, in order to supply the establish ments on the Suez Canal with fresh water. It was of the Pharaonic times, having been begun by Ramses II., or Sesostris, continued by Neku II. and by Darius Hystaspis, and at length finished by Ptolemy Philadelphia. The extent and character of the great canal called the Bahr-Yoosuf, or River of Joseph, which runs parallel with the Nile on its western side, from a little below Cairo to near Farshoot, a distance by the river of about 350 miles, render it the most important work of the kind in Egypt. It is a continuous series of cana.ls rather than one canal. Although the Joseph whence it takes its name is the cele brated Saladin, or Salah-ed-deen, yet it is related that he merely repaired it, and it is not doubted to be of a much earlier period. Most probably it was executed under the Pharaohs. In the present day it is not navigable except during the season of the inundation, and at other times is dry in various places. Its restoration would not be a work of extreme difficulty, and would greatly benefit the commerce and agriculture of the country, perhaps more than any other undertaking of the kind. 1 A note from the eighth edition of this work is here reprinted in substance : Writers on the East have not generally been careful to distinguish the Turkish and Arab national character, and the former has thus had the advantage of the virtues of the latter, which has received in return the odium of the other s vices. The remarkable character istics of Arab character are high honour, generous hospitality, and humanity, coupled with much deceit in small matters not considered points of honour, carelessness as to religion, though not irreligion, and a love of plunder. The Turkish character is as strongly marked l&amp;gt;y treachery, often of the blackest kind, little hospitality, particularly to strangers, cruelty and disregard of human life, bigotry as to their religion, which is now giving way to deism, and the same love of plunder which is so common among the Arabs, as well as darker vices unknown to them, which have rendered the Turkish name a bye- word in the East, as well an in the West. The conquests of the Arabs were not marked by desolation ; their rule preserved the philosophy of Greece, which was welcome at the court of Baghdad when unknown in Europe. Arab art was due to them, and though long maintained under Turkish rule, at last perished through it. The rule of the Turks is traced by ruined cities, and whole provinces laid waste ; literature has forsaken its most famous seats, Constantinople, Athens, Alexandria, and Antioch ; the arts have decayed. Until they held Egypt and Mosoootamfa, these wore the richest countries of the world, r.ow ttay are half deserts. All these are facts which can be proved. Vegetable Products. Egypt differs from most other countries in having neither woods nor forests. Besides the palm groves, we rarely see even a grove of trees, except in Lower Egypt. The largest common trees are acacias, sycamore-fig-trees, and mulberry-trees, all of which are fre quently planted on each side of the great roads near Cairo ; and the most beautiful trees are the date-palm and the banana. The beauty of the palm is, however, in a great measure owing to art, for its lowest branches are annually cut, which causes it to grow high, and renders its head of elegant form. When wild, this tree has a far inferior appearance, being low, and having long ragged branches reaching to the ground ; and its dr.tes are small and poor in flavour. The Theban or dom-palm is a very different tree, having two great branches, each of which divides into two other branches, a subdivision which continues still farther. The weeping-willow, myrtle, elm, and cypress are found in the gardens and plantations, with various trees bearing the fruits to be next mentioned; and the tamarisk is to be seen everywhere. The most common of the fruits are dates of various kinds, which are sold half-ripe, ripe, dried, and pressed in their fresh moist state in mats or skins. Many different sorts are enumerated as knovm in Egypt. The dependencies, however, and not Egypt, produce the finest of these dates. The hotter and drier climates of the Oases and Lower Nubia best suit the date-palm ; and the pressed dates of Seewah, the ancient Oasis of Jupiter Ammon, are among the most esteemed. The grape is a common fruit, but wine is not made from it on account of the prohibi tion of Mohammad. The Feiyoom is celebrated for its grapes, and chiefly supplies the market of Cairo. The most common grape is white, of which there is a small kind far superior to the ordinary sort. The black grapes are large, but comparatively tasteless. The vines are trailed on trelliswork, and form agreeable avenues in the gardens of Cairo ; but little attention is paid to their culture, the common fault of Egyptian agriculture and gardening, due to the generosity of nature and the indolence of the inhabitants. The best known fruits, besides dates and grapes, are figs, sycamore-figs, and pomegranates, apricots and peaches, oranges and citrons, lemons and limes, bananas, which are believed to be of the fruits of Paradise (being always in season), different kinds of melons (including some of aromatic flavour, and the refreshing water-melon), mul berries, Indian figs or pr ckly pears, the fruit of the lotus, and olives. Many of these are excellent, especially the figs and melons. The trees and plants which produce most of them are chiefly confined to the gardens, The cactus bearing the Indian fig i.s extremely common, and forms the hedges of gardens and plantations. The general plan of an Egyptian garden has been already described. Although seldom in good order, such a garden is often picturesque, having a few date-palms and bananas, and perhaps overlooked by one of those houses of the old style of architecture which are rapidly disappearing. No great variety of flowers is cultivated. Among the more usual are the rose (which has ever been a favourite among the Arabs), the jasmine, narcissus, lily, oleander, chrysan themum, convolvulus, geranium, dahlia, basil, the hinne plant ( Lmvsonia alba, or Egyptian privet, which is said to be a flower of Paradise), the helianthus, and the violet. The vegetables, &c., are very common and of various kinds, so that we cannot wonder that the Children of Israel longed for them in the desert. The principal are beans, pease, vetches, lentils (of which a pottage is made, which is the common food of the Nile boatmen), lupins, chick-pease, ths loobiyeh (Dolichos lubia), fenugreek, mal lows, the bamiyeh (Hibiscus esculentus), spinach, purslain,