74 AGRICULTURAL EXPLORATIONS IN ALGERIA. 



WINTER CEREALS. , 



Wheat. — The average area in wheat during the ten years ended in 

 1893 was over 8,OiH>,00() acres. Of this about three-fourths was 

 owned and farmed by natives. The area in wheats of the hard or 

 durum type, as compared with that in soft wheats, was as five to 

 one. Less than 7 per cent of the area in wheat that is farmed by 

 natives is devoted to soft wheats, whiU> the European colonists grow 

 hard and soft varieties in about equal proportion. 



Algeria possesses excellent races of durum wheat, for which this 

 part of Africa was famous even in Roman times." Often several 

 varieties are mixed together in one field, although the Arabs are 

 generally acute in distinguishing the diti'erent types. Some of the 

 most widel}' grown Algerian hard wheats have long, bhu-k l)eards. 

 Some have short, others long heads. In some varieties the grain is 

 short and thick, in others it is long and narrow. Types in which the 

 grain is clear and amber colored are particularly valuable for making 

 macaroni and semolina, considerable quantities of which are manu- 

 factured in the colony. Semolina forms the basis of "couscous," the 

 national dish of the Arabs. Large (piantities of Algerian hard wheats 

 are also used at Marseille in the manufacture of macaroni and similar 

 products, for which the}" are considered nearly, if not quite, equal to 

 any in the world. 



Authorities agree that the types of hard wheat already existing in 

 the colony answer all requirements, and that it remains only to prac- 

 tice careful seed selection in order to improve the yield and to secure 

 pure strains. 



Several native races of soft wheats are also grown, including both 

 bearded and l)eardless types. Soft wheats introduced from Europe 

 have not, as a rule, proved a success. When grown near the coast 

 they often fall a prey to rust, and are also lial)le to dr>' up without 

 ripening when the hot weather begins in the spring. Recent experi- 

 ments with the Richelle varieties, however, have indicated that this 

 type is well adapted to Algerian conditions, giving good yields at 

 several points. 



Wheat, which is commonly broadcasted, is always sown in the fall, 

 generall}' in November, after the rains have begun. In very dry years 

 the soil is sometimes not in a condition for plowing in preparation for 

 a crop of grain until well into the winter. This entails late sowing, 

 which often greatly diminishes the yield obtained. 



The harvest takes place in May or June, according to altitude, there 

 being about four weeks' difference in time between the earliest and 

 the latest localities in the colonv. A native takes from three to five 



«For descriptions and illustrations of the varieties of Algerian wheats, see C. S. 

 Scofield, Bulletin No. 7, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

 1902. 



