and consecutive history of Egypt farther back than that of any other country, and Egypt is consequently generally considered the birth place of irrigation. But the exact date has never been fixed upon. And so long as the leading Egyptologists disagree on the question of dates among themselves, sometimes by more than a thousand years, it is in vain to attempt to fix the origin of regulated irrigation; but we may be sure that at least 2000 years before Christ it was quite extensively practiced in Egypt. In tracing back the history of the most ancient nations, however, we find that what is true as to other countries, is more especially so of Egypt. At the very earliest date to which historians have been able to trace them, their arts and industrial pursuits were as perfect and elaborate, and carried to as high a state of perfection as at the later periods, and almost inestimably higher than the civilization of the degenerate races of people who roam over these same lands to-day. In Egypt those public works for irrigation which have been decided the earliest are on a much greater scale and more perfect in details than the later ones, and as compared with those of to-day may be truly classed, with its ancient civilization and literature, amongst the lost arts of that country. From ancient writings recently discovered, and from recent examinations of the condition of the Nile above Cairo by scientists and explorers, the conclusion has been reached that the six cataracts from Assouan to near Kartoum, in the river Nile, were not, as has been supposed for ages, the work of Nature but of ancient and scientific engineering for the purposes of both irrigation and navigation. Engineering at once bold in its conception and colossal in its execution. That it had also been most successful in its results was evident from the remains of irrigating canals still stretching over many degrees of longitude on both sides of the river, as well as by the ancient records of flourishing cities, where now only barren wastes are to be found, inhabited by roving tribes of Arabs. These canals and these ruins are by no means confined to the valley of the Nile proper, but they reach to the very confines of the Great Desert. Gordon speaks of the ancient irrigation canals as pervading the whole Soudan, as

well as what is now desert, on the northern side of the Nile from the Mediterranean to latitude 15° north, if not further, and many degrees of longitude west, as well as east of the Nile valley proper. Scientists were led to this belief that the cataracts were not the work of Nature by the fact that they were very nearly equidistant from each other along the course of the river. The total distance from the first cataract at Assouan to Khartoum is seven hundred and twenty miles, and the division of this space by six cataracts will give one hundred and twenty miles between each, which is almost the exact distance between any two cataracts. The fall of the river being eight inches to the mile would give a needed height to each dam of eighty feet, exactly, in short, the calculation which would now be made, primarily, by any irrigation engineer. Last, but not least, the great square granite blocks, composed of a formation that cannot be found. in any other parts of the Nile except at the cataracts or rapids, stretching out for over two thousand yards across the river are still visible at very low Nile. From these facts modern scientists and engineers have come to the conclusion that the cataracts or rapids were not the work of Nature, but were enormous dams constructed by man, for the purposes above described. But the proof of the dams having existed where the cataracts or rapids now are does not rest simply on the inference of experts upon the appearance of the river. Quite recently there have been found ancient writings which speak of this fact; and among the various inscriptions found is one found at Sikilis to the effect that the Nile watered vast regions above Semnah, but that the rock gave way, and that ever after the river ceased to water the region above.

§ 11. Same.-Art in Egypt Continued.-It is not our intention in this work to go into the history in detail of the art of irrigation in all the ancient countries of the world, but only so far as it is necessary to show that it was known ages before the Christian era, and was practiced in those hot arid countries upon a colossal scale. Our record of the history of irrigation in ancient Egypt would not be complete without giving a sketch of that

country as written by Plato, a Grecian who received his information from the writings and sayings of one of his ancestors, Solon, the great law giver of Athens, six hundred years before Christ. According to ancient history, Solon visited Egypt and spent ten years there studying the philosophy and early history of that country. Here Plato relates that he learned from the high priest of Sais, at the delta of the Nile, the history and description of Atlantis, and became convinced that the Egyptians constituted one of the earliest and largest colonies which had gone out from the land of the Atlantidae. Now as to the ancient art of irrigation, let us quote from the record that Plato has left us: "And beginning from the sea, they dug a canal three hundred feet in width and one hundred feet in depth, and fifty stadia in length, which they carried through the outermost zone, making a passage from the sea up to this, which became a harbor, and leaving an opening sufficient to enable the largest vessels to find egress. Moreover, they divided the zones of land which parted the zones of sea, constructing bridges of such width as to leave a passage for a trireme to pass out of one into another, and roofed over them; and there was a way underneath for the ships, for the banks of the zones were raised considerably above the water. the next place they used fountains both of cold and hot springs. They constructed buildings about them and planted suitable trees; also cisterns, some open to heaven, others roofed over. *** The water which ran off they carried some to the grove of Poseidon, where were growing all manner of trees of wonderful height and beauty, owing to the excellence of the soil; the remainder was conveyed by aqueducts which passed over the bridges to the outer circles. I will describe the plain, which has been cultivated during many ages, by many generations of kings. It was rectangular, and for the most part, straight and oblong; and what it wanted of the straight line followed the line of the circular ditch. The depth and width and length of this ditch were incredible, and gave the impression that such a work in addition to so many other works, could hardly have been wrought by the hand of man. But I must say what I have heard. It was

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excavated to the depth of a hundred feet, and its width was a stadium everywhere; it was carried around the whole of the plain, and was ten thousand stadia in length, It received the streams which came down from the mountains, and winding round plains, touching cities at various points, was there let off into the sea. From above likewise, straight canals of a hundred feet in width were in the plain, and again let off into the ditch, toward the sea; these canals were at intervals of an hundred stadia, and by them brought down wood from the mountains to the city, and conveyed the fruits of the earth in ships, cutting transverse passage from one canal to another, and to the city. Twice in the year they gathered the fruits of the earth, in winter, having the benefits of the rains, and in summer introducing the waters of the canals." From the foregoing it can be readily seen that irrigation was not only known and practiced at a very early date by the Egyptians, but also was at least known by the Grecians; that the ancient nations constructed underground conduits for bringing water from the heights which they allowed to gush forth at suitable points for irrigating purposes and for domestic use; that they built immense dams, canals, reservoirs and aqueducts for the same purpose; and that whether the story of Plato of the lost Atlantis and its people is true or not we are sure that, long prior to the time Plato wrote, these stupendous feats had been accomplished and were not then considered beyond the possibility of human skill and engineering.

$12. Other Ancient Countries of the Old World Acquainted with the Art.-It is not the purpose of this volume to go into a lengthy discussion of the ancient history of this art, but we will briefly mention a few of the nations which were acquainted with the workings of the application of water, by artificial means, for the purpose of irrigating lands. To Egypt, as has been seen, is attributed the first knowledge and practice of the art of irrigation, and it is claimed by some authorities that it was the annual overflow of the river Nile which gave the inspiration and taught its value to that people. It is more than probable that Egypt, in her turn, taught irrigation to the people of

Assyria, Babylonia, Carthage, to the Phoenicians and to the inhabitants of Italy. At any rate, at a later date we find records of these nations having knowledge of and practicing irrigation very extensively. A great many of the ancient writers of those countries speak of the canals and aqueducts. Cato and Calumella, amongst the Romans, speak of the formation and management of watered gardens. The Lombard Kings, at a still later date, undoubtedly following the Roman practice, encouraged and extended the system in Italy. From Lombardy it was introduced into France; and the Moors encouraged it in Spain, Sicily and Algeria. The early history of Persia and China also shows that these nations were acquainted with irrigation at a remote time. In India it was also practiced in very early days and continues in vogue to this day; and the mighty canals and aqueducts of that country are wonders of the world, so far as engineering skill and construction are concerned. fact, in all those countries where irrigation has been practiced we find it still in operation, though perhaps not so extensively, nor upon so large a scale as it was by the ancients.

§ 13. First Traces of Irrigation in the New World.The Incas. Respecting irrigation in South America, the artificial watering of the earth to increase its fruitfulness is of origin so remote that its history is quite unknown. a period probably ante-dating the Christian era the inhabitants of that country understood a scientific system of using the waters of natural streams and lakes for the purpose of irrigating their crops. But the art was lost there if we are to judge by a comparison of the irrigation works of to-day with those of the past ages. Philologists and archaeologists think and claim that no conceivable simple case of deterioration of a race could have taken place which would have effected such a change as is apparent. They think the ancient people of the country became extinct, and that the present inhabitants are in no sense descendants of the former occupants of the land, but rather that they represent a later migration from another country. The study of the works of irrigation would confirm this theory. It is impossible to