a small island of the river Nile, now Geziret-el-Zahir, or the Flowery Island, distant half a stadium from Syene in Upper Egypt. The beauty of nature in this confined spot formed a strange contrast to the arid appearance of the country along the banks of the Nile. The inhabitants protected it against the inundations of the river by powerful dykes; and when the heats of summer had parched up every other part of the land, here nature appeared in all the verdure of spring, by means of artificial irrigation. This island being only one hour distant from the Cataract, became naturally the emporium of all the trade which was carried on with the inhabitants of the more southern portions of Africa. There was a city in it, of the same name, which contained a temple of Knuphis, and a nilometer, which is thus described by Strabo (xvii. 817): "The nilometer is a well or cistern on the banks of the Nile, built of well cemented stone (κολυμβητής λίθος). It serves to mark the height of the inundation, as the water in this well rises and falls with that of the river: there are marks on the wall which show the height of the increase, and the result of this observation is regularly published for the use of the cultivators of the ground. By this means they are able to judge to what height the inundation will rise, and thereby the labourers are enabled to regulate the proper distribution of the water. The governors of the province also regulate by this the tax imposed upon the land, for they increase it in proportion as there is an appearance of the water rising to a great height." It is curious that neither this intelligent geographer nor any of the ancient writers have thought proper to inform us how high the Nile rose when confined within precipitous banks, as it was in this southern portion of the country. It is from Aristides, who lived in the second century, that we first learn that it rose twenty-eight cubits above the lowest water mark; yet this was not Eleusinia sufficient to cover the valley with water, and it is now an arid desert, incapable of cultivation. See article Egypt.