It has even been alleged, that the adjoining moun tains were covered with verdure, while the kingdom flourished ; but of this we may be assured, that some of its best lands have been neglected and permitted to become desert. If, therefore, the Delta were cultivated and well watered to the very root of the mountains, tho mountains themselves would be perfectly irrigated by copious exhalations; and, though not fertile, they might produce verdure, and bear some kinds of fruit. 'l'o wards the end of April the Nile becomes muddy, and about the middle of June it overflows the plains of the Delta.
Independent of canals. there are several lakes in the Delta, and other places of Egypt. Menzalah is the most considerable, reaching from Damietta to Pelusium. The lake Burlos was formed from the Sebennitie branch of the Nile, when it ceased to become a regular channel of water ; and the Edko, or Maadia Lake, made its ap pearance when the Canopic branch of the river was Idled up. Beside these there is the Lake Sed or Abukir ; • and the Lake Mareotis, which had long been dry, or at most a little marshy, till it was filled with water by the British, who opened a communication, by the canal of Alexandria, between it and Lake Abukir. Thirty miles west from the river Nile, there is a valley in the Lvbian desert, which contains six lakes of various descriptions, and these are supplied by springs of water. The waters of these lakes deposit different salts, the basis of which is soda, and the lakes themselves are called the Natron Lakes.
The Lake Sherun, supposed to be the so much cele brated Maris of old, is now of small moment, and af fords but a scanty subsistence to a few miserable fisher men. This lake is near 40 miles in length, and six in breadth ; and sonic have supposed that the Bathen, which appears to have been artificial, was the Claris of the ancients. As to the Bahir-Bela-Ma, or river with out water, it seems to have been originally a channel for conveying water from the Nile to the adjoining plains, which, in happier times, were well watered and fruitful. The higher and unwatered parts of Egypt are extreme ly barren ; but the banks of the river are capable of high cultivation, and the fruitfulness of the Delta has been long and justly celebrated.
The appearance of the Delta is luxuriant ; but the palm and the date tree, to be seen every where, is uni form and fatiguing. The orange groves about Rosetta have been much celebrated ; and that perhaps is the most delightful scene upon the Nile. Wheat and bar ley are produced in profusion, with little agriculture, and that of the simplest kinds. Oats are scarcely known in the warmer countries ; and the Delta abounds with rice, lentils, and maize. Dates and oranges, ci trons, and various kinds of pulse, are common produc tions, in the well cultivated parts of Egypt. Two or
three different kinds of crops may be obtained an nually.
The Egyptian sycamore was probably imported from Arabia, and is much valued for its shade, as well as for its fruit. It grows with little moisture, and flourishes on the frontiers of the sandy desert. The date, the palm, the bread tree, the pistachia, and the Oriental plane, are highly ornamental in the vicinity of their towns, and the cyprus overshadows the tombs of the dead. The caper-bush also grows profusely among the 'Mils of Egyptian buildings; and the henna is abundant, from which the women prepare the yellow dye for ting ing their nails. The papyrus, once so famous and common in Egypt, is no longer found in its borders, unless it be the cyprus papyrus of Linnxus; but the lotus, sacred to their gods, is found in abundance in all the canals and shallow pools, when the streams of the Nile retire. In Egypt, too, are found the almond and the apricot, the fig and the orange, the pomegranate and the peach. Melons and gourds grow to perfection, and are highly valuable for food. Cotton, and the sugar cane, together with the plantain, and other productions of different countries and climates, have been imported to Egypt; and as they thrive well with so little care, they would he of great importance under different treat ment ; and with proper cultivation, Egypt might flourish with the most favoured climates.
The situation of Egypt upon the globe makes it al ways m arm ; and at certain seasons the heat is intolera Prom :March till November, the mercury in Fah renheit's thermometer rises in the shade to 86 or 83 degrees. This being the case in the Delta, the heat is more intense in Upper Egypt, where the earth has lit tle, and in some parts no vegetable clothing, but abounds in arid sands and burning rocks. In this situation, the thermometer never indicates a lower temperature than and seldom less than 52°, even in the coldest sea son of the year. This excessive heat is partly occasion ed by the distance of Egypt from the ocean, and by the moderate height of its hills ; for in places nearer the line, where the mountains are high, the cool air de scending from these high regions refreshes the country, and moderates the climate. And we may add, that the air is never cooled by copious rains; for if we ex cept occasional showers on the coast of the Mediterra nean Sea, which happen in the months of December, January, and February, scarcely a drop of rain falls through all the extent of Egypt. A slight shower in any other part of that vast country is a rare occurrence, and seldom seen by the most aged and observing.