STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF EGYPT.
Egypt is a part of Africa, being included within the same natural division of the globe; but, from its particular situation, and the importance which it once held in the scale of nations, it is generally described in a more independent and particular manner. It is bounded on the east by the isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea, on the south by Nubia, on the west by Lybia, and on the north by the Mediterranean Sea. It commen ces on the south about 23° 45' of north latitude, and at Rosetta terminates at 31° 27', being in length about 500 miles, from south to north; and some parts of it 250 in breadth, comprehending the greater and lesser Oases. But this extent is merely nominal in point of value : the principal parts of the country being the Delta, or lower part of Egypt; and the valley of the Nile, in the higher parts of the country, which is comparatively of a small breadth, being bounded on both sides by high hills or abrupt banks.
The mountains upon the east of the Nile extend to the Arabian Gulf, and are only inhabited by Bedouins, or tra velling Arabs, who pitch their tents here and there, as circumstances require ; for water is scarce, and vegeta tion scanty. Across these mountains is a dreary road to Cosseir, which is a sea port of the Arabian Gulf; but the intercourse between that and the Nile is neither ready nor frequent. The principal towns and villages are upon the eastern side of the Nile ; for, in going westwards, you soon meet with a sandy desert, with here and there occa sional spots of verdure, which are called Oases, or islands, among the sand, when they amount to a size that deserves the appellation. Even Alexandria is hemmed in by the burning sands of the sterile desert ; while the Delta is a most luxurious tract of land. The soil is rich, being of a pure black mould, unctuous, and stands in need of little or no manure. It is called the Delta, from the shape which it bears to the letter in the Greek al phabet of the same name.
It is evidently formed, at least in part, of an alluvial soil ; but we cannot suppose, that the earth to any depth was formed by the deposition of matter carried down by the streams of the Nile. In the early state of the carth'
surface, more loose earth might be carried down by the streams than there can be at present; but we are not persuaded, that any accession of this nature could be sufficient, in a given time, to convert a bay of the sea in to an expanse of land. We are rather to suppose, that when this world was brought into shape, it consisted of sea, dry land, and marshy districts. When these swampy parts lay low, and bordered upon the sea, they would be occasionally overflown; and hence a comparatively small addition of alluvial matter might gradually raise them above high eater-mark, and permit them to become dry and arable land.
It is not, however, unlikely that shallow places of the ten have been forsaken by the water, which could soon and easily be cultivated. We do not mean, that the wa ters of the sea have been diminished iu quantity; for if this were the place for such discussions, it might be shewn, that the rains and the streams are sufficiently adequate to supply the quantity which is lost by evapora tion and absorption. Chemical operations which take place in the atmosphere, contribute more, perhaps, than the rarefied fluids of evaporation, to produce those abun dant rains, which supply the springs and streams of wa ter that run into the sea, and maintain its bulk. While the quantity of water remains the same, certain portions of the sea may be converted into valleys, by the water of the ocean being drawn off to supply new spaces ; or, in other words, to form new branches or arms of the sea. Convulsions of nature arc supposed to have opened up new values, or considerable expanses of low lying lands, into which the waters of the ocean ran, and converted them into seas. Such is supposed to have been the case with the Red and Mediterranean seas, and with several bays and inlets on the continent of America. And this may account for such alluvial flats as the Delta of Egypt, and many other districts of the world, which have evi dently been derived from the sea, and still exhibit re mains of marine productions.