I 



SOIL MANAGEMENT. 47 



for sixteen or eighteen nionthn out of twenty-four. This sj'stem was 

 followed by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and is still in vogue 

 among their descendants in the Mediterranean region. It is to be 

 recommended only for countries where the rainfall and the supply of 

 irrigating Avater are too scanty to permit rotation with a soil-restoring 

 crop and where manure can not be had in any considerable quantity. 

 Such is the case in the most important cereal-growing districts of 

 Algeria. A larger net profit is often ol)tained from 2 acres of grain 

 managed in this way than from 1 acre that is heavil}^ manured. If 

 deep and thorough plowing is included in this method of handling the 

 soil, the benefit to the land that would accrue from the use of another 

 crop in rotation can be partly compensated for. 



No leguminous crop has yet been found Avhich can be profitalil}^ 

 grown on a large scale in Algeria in rotation with wheat and barley. 

 The scarcity of irrigating water is chiefly responsible for this condi- 

 tion, and wherever water is abundant the question of rotation ceases to 

 be a troublesome one. In that case a crop of horse beans or vetch — 

 or, if manure is obtainable, of beets, potatoes, or tobacco — followed 

 by two crops of grain is found to make a satisfactory rotation. 



FERTILIZERS. 



Whatever may have been their natural condition, the cropping of 

 Algerian soils for thousands of years, often without intelligent efi'ort 

 to conserve their fertility, has resulted in greatly impoverishing them. 

 In large areas the soil is low in phosphates and, to a greater or lesser 

 extent, in nitrogen. Potash, on the other hand, is generall}^ suffi- 

 fcientlv al)undant. In the coast region much of the soil can be bene- 

 fited by liming. 



During the first few years after the French conquest no particular 

 [attention was paid to questions of fertilizers and of rotation. Soon, 

 ihowever, under the infiuence of the more intensive farming practiced 

 by Europeans, the yield of crops began to diminish, and it became 

 necessary to look for a remedy. In the littoral zone of the coast 

 region, where there is intensive cultivation of market gardens, orchards, 

 and vineyards, the use of farm manure and of commercial fertilizers 

 has become general. In 1808 the uimual consumption of Algerian 

 phosphates alone in the colony had reached 8,000 tons. In 1900 the 

 total quantity of mineral fertilizers applied yearly to the soils of 

 Algeria was estimated at 15,000 tons. The use of mineral fertilizers 

 is limited almost entirely to the littoral zone. 



In the lai'ge valleys of the coast region, where vineyards and fields 

 of grain co\'er extensive areas, it is estimati'd that not one-twentieth 

 of the total amount of cultivated land is given any fei'tilizer whatever. 

 The supply of farm manure is exceedingly scanty, as the absence of 

 cultivated forage crops prevents the raising of many cattle. Where 



