52 AGRICULTURAL EXPLORATIONS IN ALUERL\. 



AGRICULTURE OF THE NATIVE POPULATION. 



AMONG THE ARABS. 



The Arab, as a rule, is lazy and shows little skill and initiative in 

 his farming. He works only to keep from starving-, his and)ition 

 beino- .satisfied as soon as he has enough to keep body and soul together. 

 The Arabs of the coast region are ehieHy tillers of tlie soil, living in 

 rude huts or "gourbis," while those of the high plateau and desert 

 regions are for the most part nomadic shepherds, dwelling in tents; 

 but both pursuits — agriculture and stock raising — are often combined 

 in the same family. 



Agriculture, as practiced l)y the Arab who has not been influenced 

 b}' European methods, is of the simplest description. His plow is 

 made with a few strokes of a hatchet from the branch of a tree, and 

 usuall}' has no metal about it. Hitching to this rude instrument a 

 hoi'se, a camel, or, perchance, his wife, he merely scratches the soil in 

 the autumn and scatters his wheat or barley seed. He then goes over 

 the held a second time Avith a plow, covering the grain to a depth of 

 3 or 4 inches. After that is done he folds his hands and waits for the 

 crop which may or ma}' not come, satisfied that he can do no more 

 and that the result is in the hands of Allah, in the spring, before 

 the ground has dried out, he puts in sorghum or Indian corn in a simi- 

 lar fashion. The yields of grain thus obtained are naturally scanty 

 at l)est, while in dr}' years the cro])s sometimes fail entirely and 

 there is much suti'ering among the Aral* popidation. 



In better soils, especiall}' where a little water can ])e had without 

 nuich labor, beans, chick-peas, and melons are grown. Near streams 

 the Arab often has a small orchard of Hgs, pomegranates, oranges, and 

 apricots, or a vegetable garden. None of these crops receive any 

 particular attention, and the j-ield and (juality of the product are gen- 

 erally far inferior to those obtained b}' skillful European farmers. 



AMONG THE KABYLES. 



The Kabyles belong to the ancient Berber race that inhabited north- 

 ern Africa before it was conquered by the Arabs — before even the 

 Cai'thaginians and the Komans occupied the country. Nowadays the}^ 

 are confined chiefly to the mountainous districts. Their principal 

 territory is the region known as Great Kabylia, lying between the 

 Djurdjura range of mountains and the sea. Here a dense population is 

 crowded into a comparative!}^ small area, much of which is so mountain- 

 ous and rugged that even these dauntless farmers can not make crops 

 gi'ow upon it. Since the French occupation of Algeria, however, 

 large numbers of Kabyles have left their mountain fastnesses, seeking 

 work as farm laborers in the valleys and plains, or as porters in cities. 



