CROPS OF THE COLONY. 75 



days to harvest an acre of wheat with a sickle, the implement that is 

 still used in the greater part of Aloeria. Recently, however, the com- 

 bined reaper and binder has come into use in some places. Thrashing- 

 is done as soon as possible after the harvest and in a very primitive 

 way. The sheaves are spread out on a Hoor of hardened clay, which 

 is unsheltered from the air and sunshine. They are placed in concen- 

 ti'ic circles, with the heads turned inward. Horses, nuiles, or some- 

 times oxen, are then driven around on the floor, again and again, until 

 the grain is l)eaten out. Sometimes the animals are hitched to a stone 

 roller. Two nuMi with three horses can thus thrash out 4(> l)ushels of 

 wheat a day, or if a roller is used. To bushels. Al)out 5 cents a bushel 

 is paid for thrashing- wheat. The modern thrashing- machines that are 

 used in a few localities handle as much as 750 bushels in a day. 



On the large estates wheat is cleaned by means of fans. Generally, 

 however, a method is used which has been practiced for ages in the 

 Mediterranean countries — that of pitching into the air the mixture of 

 grain and chafl', the wind carr3dng- away most of the latter. This can 

 be done to advantage only on days when the wind is favorable. The 

 straw is carefully saved and stacked, to be used as fodder, the stack 

 l)eing usually protected by a covering of dried nuid mixed with short 

 straw. 



An ingenious contrivance for storing- grain is in use among the 

 Arabs. A piece of high ground having been selected, a hole 10 to IS 

 feet deep and G to 10 feet wide is dug, with a narrower opening. The 

 interior is thoroughly dried by burning in it straw or brush, and is 

 then lined with a layer of matting and straw about 6 inches deep. The 

 carefully dried grain is packed closely into this cellar, the mouth of 

 which is then covered with straw, matting, and finally with clay. 

 Earth is then shoveled over the top to hide the whereabouts of the 

 store. Grain can be kept for long periods without deterioration in 

 this uni(iue sort of granary. The Kabyles generally use earthenware 

 jars for storing grain. 



The average yield of wheat obtained by European colonists is about 

 15 bushels per acre, although under the most favorable conditions 

 very much higher yields are sometimes had. The natives, on the other 

 hand, are v;e\\ satisfied with a yield of 8 or 9 bushels. 



Wheat receives irrigation in only a few districts, notably in some of 

 the large valleys of western Algeria. A marked increase in yield is 

 the result. An irrigation in the early autunui at the rate of 3 or 4 

 acre-inches puts the land into good shape for plowing and sowing. The 

 distribution of rainfall during the winter regulates subsequent irriga- 

 tion, which does not exceed 2.5 acre-inches at each application. 



Barlci/.— The area in barley averaged during the ten years ended 

 in 1898 over 8,500,000 acres, 98 per cent of which was owned and cid- 

 tivated by natives. Barley is even better adapted than wheat to native 



