A CARPET OF PLANTS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10056, 30 May 1910, Page 4

A CARPET OF PLANTS.

"Sudd." a corruption of the Arabic el sett, is the name given to a mass of aquatic vegetation that covers portions of the tipper .Nile.. This accumulation off growth frequently block 3 the channels for miles at a stretch, and the work of clearing it away involves immense labour. It

has been known to extend to a length of twenty-five miles, and to clear this obstacle away occupied a fleet of especially equipped vessels and a large force of men for six months. The mass of fibre is so heavy and tenacious that animals as large as the rhinoceros can cross over it from bank to bank, and photographs of people standing on it give one the impression that they are on a piece of solid land covered by thick undergrowth. It has been found that ihe growth varies according to the magnitude of the floods in the upper rivers, spreading very rapidly after "a heavy inundation, which brings, down large quantites of sediment and vegetation; while, on the ether hand, when the rainy season is brief, the growth suffers considerable check, the current in the upper portions of the river being strong enough to wash away the vegetation before it attains any great strength. The effects of the obstruction caused by the sudd have at times become serious, transportation between upper and lower Egypt being interrupted, and traffic cut off along what is really a highway between Cairo and Mombasa, a consequence tne Egyptian uovernment has had to build a fleet of steamers and barges specially constructed for removing the sudd, and a large force of men is permanently employed in the work of kesping the channel clear. Various methods are pursued in the destruction of the vegetation. The top growth" is sometimes so dry that it can be burnt like grass; but though : the process of burning removes much of the weight of the sudd, its components are so matted together that saws have to be utilised to separate it. The first step in attacking the sudd i's to find where the riverbed really runs underneath. Thi3 is done by sounding through the growth with long poles. Once the actual riverbed, generally 15 to 20 feet deep, is found, the clearers set fire to the top growth, which consists mostly of papyrus. The men then land with large saws, and ; cut along the true riverbank, cross I and parallel cuts being made to J divide the sudd into blocks suitable for the steamer to tear out. The growth being principally near or on the surface, the flow of-the river is hardly interfered with at all.