60 AGRICULTURAL EXPLORATIONS IN ALGERIA. 



for iirigatincr purposes. Consequently, it has been possible to create 

 new oases and to extend greatly the area in date palms. Two French 

 companies have set out many thousands of palms of the best varieties, 

 especiall}' the celebrated Deglet Noor, and have introduced improved 

 methods of cultivation and management. Dates have always been an 

 important article of export from the Sahara to other parts of Africa. 

 Recently a large export trade with P^urope has been developed. 



A considerable variety of fruits, vegetables, cereals, and forage 

 crops is grown among the date palms in the oases. These, however, 

 do not afford products for export to foreign countries, but serve 

 merel}" to suppl}' the wants of the local population. The area avail- 

 able is too small to allow these subordinate cultures to attain any 

 considerable magnitude, even cereals and forage plants ])eing grown in 

 gardens rather than in tields. 



Oranges are grown in the oases at the foot of the mountains that 

 })order the desert, but do not succeed farther south l)ecause of the occa- 

 sionally severe winter frosts. Olives for oil and the large sorts used 

 for pickling, almonds, several kinds of figs and grapes, pomegranates, 

 apricots, and other fruits are produced. The apricots grown are of a 

 native t>'pe and are remarkable for the large size the trees sometimes 

 attain. The different kinds of fruit trees are not set out in separate 

 orchards, but are mingled together. The same system, or lack of 

 system, is observed in the wa}^ garden vegetables are grown. Of these 

 the more common are onions, broad beans, carrots, cab))age, tomatoes, 

 okra, eggplant, |)umpkins, cucumbers, melons, and poppers. Alfalfa 

 is grown in small, carefully tended patches, and is cut many times 

 during the 3'ear. The cereals chieti}" grown are wheat and barle}' in 

 winter, and sorghum and Indian corn \n summer. On the northern 

 edge of the Sahara, where the slope is considerable and occasional 

 heavy rains in winter cause a sheet of Hood water to sweep down over 

 the land, this is taken advantage of in producing crops of grain in the 

 open desert l)ordering the oases. Ridges of mud are thrown up at 

 intervals, and are arranged so as to catch and retain for a while the 

 flood water. 



PRINCIPAL CROPS IN DETAIL. 



FRUIT CROPS. 

 GRAPES. 



Wijie gTapei<. — Grapes have long been an important product of 

 Algeria, for even ])efore the French occupation about fifty \ arieties 

 were known to the natives. In Kal^ylia particular!}-, well-defined local 

 varieties had been developed. Some of these are grown only in that 

 country, apparently, while others occur under different names in other 

 parts of the Mediterranean region. Until within the -last three 



