GENERAL ECONOMIC CONDITIONS. 49 



For culti\atiiii;' \ ineyards, .Vniericaii ^^'dn<^ plows arc preferred. The 

 use of the disk harrow is widespread. 



In preparing for a crop of cereals the land is oeneralh" not plowed 

 until fall. This is, however, a bad practice, for if there are heavy 

 rains early in the autumn the land is sometimes too wet to permit 

 of plowing before the first of the year. If, on the contrary, the 

 rains are unusually late, the soil may be too dry and hard to make 

 early plowino- possil^le. In consequence, the crop is sown late and is 

 often dried up by the hot winds of late spring and earl}^ summer. 

 S[)ring plowing- in preparation for a winter crop is therefore highly 

 recommended by the best authorities. It is pointed out that as a 

 result of this practice the soil loses less moisture during the sunuuer 

 fallow, besides being in excellent condition to absorb the iirst rain 

 that falls upon it in the autumn. It is, indeed, advisable to keep the 

 surface of the soil in a well-pulverized condition at all times when 

 there is no crop in the land. 



Deep plowing is found to have, up to a certain point, the same 

 effect as rotation and the use of fertilizers. Beyond that point, how- 

 ever, the yield of crops will diminish, no matter how thoroughly the 

 land is plowed, unless some other means is taken to restore the fertility 

 of the soil. At Setif good cultivation is made to take the place of 

 irrigation, and. excellent crops of cereals and of leguminous food and 

 forage plants are produced without artiticial watering. 



In i)reparing land that is comparatively flat, in order to establish 

 market gardens, vineyards, and orchards, it has been found that a 

 steam plow, turning the soil to a depth of from 20 to 24 inches, can be 

 used to advantage. In lieu of this an ordinary plow, followed by a 

 subsoiler, will answer the purpose. On hillsides that are too steep for 

 the plow the soil is loosened with picks, usually to a depth of from 

 24 to 28 inches. The expense of preparing an acre in this way averages 

 a))()ut $50. Sometimes the pick is also used for loosening the soil in 

 orchards where the trees are set ver}^ close together and in market 

 gardens. The plow used in market gardens is generally a very light one. 



GENERAL ECONOMIC CONDITIONS. 

 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. 



According to the census of 189*!, the jxjpulation of Algeria, exclud- 

 ing the army, was 4,o<)<>,0()(), of which SO per cent was Mohammedan. 

 The great importance of agriculture^ is shown b}^ the fact that four- 

 Hfths of the inhabitants live by farming or l)y raising animals, almost 

 the whole of the native population being thus employed. The total 

 area now under French dominion is about 150,000 sijuarc miles, but a 

 large propoi'tion of this ai'ca is a l)arren desert, without water for 



28932— Nu. 80— U5 -i 



