Scientific Work in Egypt ¹

Abstract

THE work of the Survey Department in Egypt embraces many inquiries outside those usually identified with geodetic measurement. The department is responsible for the conduct of a laboratory in which analyses of rocks; ores, and minerals are made for the Geologicat Survey, where the illuminating power of the Cairo gas is determined, and where paint, oils, cement, asphalt, &c., are tested for commercial purposes. Further, the purity of the water supply of Cairo demands constant attention, while the river water and the silt which the Nile carries in suspension during a large portion of the year have to be repeatedly examined. These are matters which must be passed over with a bare mention, though doubtless the management finds the addition of such investigations sufficiently exacting.