— 35 — till the land by ensuring their getting a ready market and equally prompt pajTnent at the current ruling corn exchange rates, less rail carriage for their grain ; and they assisted in various other ways."

"The main functions of the elevator are the expediting and cheapening of handling and the preservation of the grain crop from damage ; and in these respects the saving to the country must be absolute irrespective of movements of the market."* The holding of grain in safe storage to meet and control the recurrent rise in prices is in the Sudan a hardly less important, though different, fimction, and a study of the annual range in figures would point to such an undertaking as a means of covering a large proportion of operating costs, and returning an adequate interest on capital expenditure.

Dura as an Irrigation Crop.—Whether in existing circumstances the growth of dura under pump or sakia irrigation should be encouraged is largely a question of the probable future course of price. It has been noted that normal European values oscillate round a mean price of £E.5.500 per ton ; that normal prices at centres of production served by the railway, excluding the incidence of famine values, can be taken as £E.2.100 to £E.2.200 per ton, and cost of shipment as £E.3.000 to £E.3.250. It will thus appear that a downward trend in local values will be checked more or less effectively by the organisation of export, when market values approach £E.2 a ton. As this ton weight, however, represents a bumper yield from the feddan unit, and convention demands the surrender of half the crop as pajonent for land and water, dura will only be grown under irrigation for domestic supplies, or as a purely speculative effort to obtain abnormal prices during seasons of deficient rainfall. And it is to be noted that every improvement in transport facilities and commercial organisation should lead to the maintenance of values at an export level, and a further limitation of the irrigated area planted to dura.

Substitution of Wheat for Dura.—Happily, however, this staple is not essential to a satisfactory rotation of irrigation crops, and' the substitution of wheat as the " grain course " has much to recommend it. From the agricultural standpoint, the white straw crop is far less " punishing " to the ground, and as a winter " stand " has nothing to fear from rain-land competition. Commercially, its position is even stronger, for the Sudan continues to import large quantities of wheat and flour even in favourable seasons, and a preference for white meal bread and a consequent increase in consumption of the cereal is being everywhere manifested, and is reflected by the following customs returns : * F. Noel-Paton : " Indian Wheat and Grain Elevators.''