-- 79 --The Association was in four Directorates in Lower Egypt and one in Upper Egypt. Two new branches were established this year, one in Lower Egypt and the other in Upper Egypt. The expansion of the Association was not as rapid as it could have been due to the lack of Egyptian personnel possessing the necessary qualifications. The Association, from the outset, refrained from appointing anyone to the Directorate committees other than young Egyptians who had obtained a certificate from the School of Agriculture and had spent a period under the supervision of the Association in its administration or branches. Among the important works of the Association was the distribution of chemical fertilizers in the first year of distribution, which was 1901. The value of the fertilizers it distributed amounted to six thousand pounds. In the last season, the value of what it distributed reached 135 thousand pounds. The result of the farmers' use of fertilizers has been very good. Indeed, it can be said that there is no country in the world where the results have been better than in Egypt. These fertilizers have been widely used in grain cultivation, increasing the yield per feddan from three to four pounds with fertilization, at a cost of one to one and a quarter pounds for the fertilizers. Last year was the first year that attention was directed to the 'Omra crop. It received great attention, and the 'Omra crop is of great importance to the farmer, so it is necessary for the Association to pay great attention to it. It has now become an established fact that lands in Egypt benefit from chemical fertilizers. There is no doubt that the matter is of great importance to the country and the farmers are very interested in it. The supply of natural fertilizers, which they used in the past, has greatly diminished, and circumstances require action. Although the farmer has benefited from the use of chemical fertilizers, the matter is still in its infancy, and its benefits are not fully known in many areas where the Association has recently established committees, let alone in Directorates where there are no committees. There is no doubt that the use of artificial fertilizers is increasing rapidly with the increase in the number of Association users. The government loaned the Association one hundred thousand pounds last year at an annual interest of 2% to carry out the work. It delivered these funds from September to December, and the Association used them all, then returned them to the government. Since the amounts needed in the future are substantial, the government has indicated that it cannot provide further funds. Therefore, the matter has become a normal commercial transaction. Since the government was lending it funds at a low interest rate and distributing fertilizers at only 2%, it was natural for merchants to consider it. In the future, the Association will not be able to undertake the distribution of all that is necessary as it did in the past. It is hoped that merchants will gradually replace it and sell at low prices, making it easier for farmers to obtain.