84 Cultivation in the Dongola, ami Berber Provinces.

Cultivation.

Dates.

Dom ptilms.

Other trees.

Senna.

Fmit. Tnuie.

The natives of Mahas and Sukkot lag behind, the fault being entirely their own ; they are of an extremely indolent nature, perpetually quarrelling amongst themselves over questions as to ownersliip of land and date trees, and do little or nothing towards bettering themselves.

There is naturally a certain proportion of poor in the province, but agricultural labour being in demand, employment is always to be obtained by persons not too lazy to work. The cereals mostly cultivated on the river bank are dura, barley and wheat. Cotton has hitherto been grown to a limited extent for local use only. On the completion of the Nile-Red Sea Railway a great increase in cotton culture is expected. A large amount of land, admirably suited to the cultivation of this valuable commodity, is available, and very large issues of Egyptian cotton seed have this year (1904) been made by the Government.

In the Berber Province the wheat and barley grown are of good quality, but both are expensive to cultivate.

Average yield per feddan (Berber), barley 5 ardebs, average price per ardeb, PT.45 to PT.55. „ „ wheat, 3 „ „ „ PT.75.

dura, 5 „ „ „ PT.35 to PT.80.

In the Dongola Province the crops are as follows : — Crop.

Mouths when planted. Months when cut. No. of cro))s yearly. Average yield per croj) )er feddan of Pr. 40 hiiK .

Dura Dura Shanii Wheat Bariey Simsim June and September June December Decemlier September August and December August March Ft4)ruary, end of ...

October, end of, or November, beginning of 2\ 1 r n 1/ 1 3 to 4 ardebs.

2 to .3 ardebs.

N.B. — The majority of the land will give three crops yearly, viz., twice dura and once wheat or barley. The number of sagias in the Dongola Province in December, 1902, was 3,462, besides 77 shadufs and two pumps. There are now (1904), nearly 4 000.

Iron sagias, though tried, have been pronounced unsuitable as they are difficult to repair. Iron fittings for the old wooden sagias have, however, proved a decided success. European ploughs are not popular on account of their weight.

The chief requirement of all the riverain Provinces is agricultural labour, men of the fellahin type, who would teach the inhabitants how to till and tend the soil, and thus produce crops in proportion to the value of the land.

The local breed of cattle is fair, and moderately numerous, but might be improved in both respects. The date tax (PT.2 per tree) is one of the principal items of revenue in Dongola. There are also a considerable number of trees in the Berber Province. It is hoped that the new railway will enable dates to be much more largely exported,* and thus materially increase the revenue of these Provinces. At present the freights are almost prohibitive. Date harvest, October and November. Quality in Dongola excellent, and ripen before those from Egypt, Tunis or Tripoli. In Berber the dates are not so good.

The dom palm furnishes a means of livelihood to many of the riverain inhabitants in the Berber Province. The leaf is made into mats, sandals, and baskets. Coir (lif) is largely exported to Omdurman, where it is made into rope.

Besides the -ibc ve, there are sunt trees mostly used for sagia building, and selem, talh, samr, and heglig mostly on the back ».ids, with hara? and the dwarf tarfa on the river bank. Tamarind trees are being introduced and are doing well.

A certain amount of senna grows wild in the Berber and Dongola Provinces. It is gathered by the Arabs, who transport it to Kordofan, and Aswan, where it fetches about £E.2J per camel load.

Melons and lemons are plentiful in the spring and autumn. People are commencing to cultivate the vine. The import trade of the Dongola Province consists chiefly of cotton goods and such luxuries as sugar, tea, coffee, perfumery, etc., and of the export of cereals and dates. Business, however, is not brisk. The chief obstacle to the development of the import trade is the want of enterprise on the part of traders. There are excellent openings for merchants. The people are well off and willing to buy, especially such goods as cutlery, crockery, soap, agricultural implements, hardware, and such sundry merchandise, but at present (1904) there is not a single well-to-do trader in the Province.

* In 1904 about :}(t,000 kautars of dates were exjioi ted fioiu longola, the average price jjer kautar cost of freight per kantar from, say, Meiowe to Umdurman is about 75T.P.

about 22P.T. The