siderable ornament. As soon as the river retires from the fields,
they are sown with all sorts of grain; and as the heat and moisture
speedily occasion thè seed to germinate, the face of the country
quickly assumes the appearance of a delightful green meadow,
which in a short time is variegated with the hues of flowering
plants and ripening corn.
CANALS.
T h e canals for conveying the water of the Nile have already
been mentioned: that at Cairo is said by arabian writers to be
paved with marble, though at present nothing is discoverable at
the bottom but mud. During part of the year indeed it is a mere
dunghill, a receptacle of filth in general: but against the rise of
the Nile it is cleaned, and converted into a street, which is as
much crowded as any in the city, and where the jugglers, tumblers,
and dancing girls, exhibit their feats in public. When the
Nile flows into it, boats and barges richly decorated float on it,
and it still wears the face of festivity, though on a different element.
As soon as the water has risen to the proper height, the mound
of this grand canal, or calisch, is opened with great ceremony; as
might be expected in the metropolis on an occasion of such real
importance to the country. The bashaw and the beys, for whom
a tent is pitched by the side of the canal, repair to the place with
a grand retinue on horseback. Riding up to the mound, which
is thrown up at the mouth of the canal when the water of the