334 Egypt
been borne in upon the Egyptians somewhat forcibly that
though Egypt is still wholly Nilotic, the Nile is now no
longer wholly Egyptian. Even before this was the case,
Lord Milner wrote : " It is an uncomfortable thought
that the regular supply of water by the great river, which
is tp Egypt not a question of convenience or prosperity,
but of life, must always be exposed to some risks as long
as the upper reaches of the river are not under Egyptian
control/' Which thought has now become insupportably
uncomfortable for Egypt. Because realisation that its
water rights may be arbitrarily restricted has come at a
moment when it has just realised that there is an absolute
limit to its uncultivated and cultivable land, and ncLappar-
ent limit to its increase of population. The Egyptian popu-
lation has already doubled since 11882, when it was
between six and seven millions, and it has been increasing
recently at the rate of about a quarter of a million a year.
The whole cultivable area is about seven million three
hundred thousand acres, of which about four million are
already cultivated under perennial irrigation, and mostly
produce two annual crops. Another million two hundred
thousand acres are still under seasonal irrigation, and
producing one annual crop. There remain, therefore, for
new settlement such supplementary holdings as would
result from perennial irrigation of the seasonal area and
about two million acres that are irrigable but as yet un-
irrigated. On the other hand, in the Sudan Gezireh, with
a total area of five million acres, there is just about the
same amount—namely, three million acres—that are
irrigable. The question is, can the Nile do both ?
The answer to this appears to be that, when fully
dammed, dyked, and ditched, the Nile can. And that
any future difficulty Egypt may have in dealing with its
surplus population will, in that event, come rather from