CROPS OF THE COLONY. 79 



always faces the west, tlie direction from which come the heaviest 

 rainstorms. Hay is taken out as required at the other end^. In favor- 

 able seasons 2^ tons of hay can be cut, cured, and stacked at an expense 

 of less than $5. Hay is usually baled at a cost of about 5 cents per 

 bale of 110 pounds. Near the larger cities it is hauled at the rate of 

 about 30 cents a mile for an ordinary wagonload. 



The prices paid for oreen forage and for hay in Algeria are based 

 upon those offered by the government, which purchases large supplies 

 for the cavali-y service of the army. Various stipulations are made as 

 to the quality of the forage to be delivered, and as these rules are also 

 followed by most private buyers it will be interesting to enumerate 

 some of them. Hay is rejected if it consists of but one valuable spe- 

 cies, if it has been mixed after cutting, and if it contains various coarse 

 w^eeds, notably thistles and j)lants of the parsnip family, poisonous 

 plants, grasses like foxtail with sharp-pointed beards that injure the 

 mouths of animals, various salt-loving weeds, and coarse marsh plants. 

 The hay must, of course, be well cured, perfectly dry, and reasonably 

 free from dust. A veterinary surgeon is detailed to inspect the hay 

 before it is purchased. 



CULTIVATED FORAGE. 



The area which is adapted to the cultivation of forage plants in 

 Algeria in suiimier is limited by the scantiness of the water supply at 

 that season. Onlv in the valleys of the coast region, where irrigation 

 is practiced, can such crops be grown on an important scale. Hence, 

 in the total production of forage in the colony, cultivated plants play 

 a much less important part than wild vegetation. 



LEGUMINOUS CROPS. 



AlfciJfa, or luceryi. — In Algeria, as in the arid part of the United 

 States, alfalfa is the most valuable cultivated forage plant for peren- 

 nial meadows. It is grow^i extensively in the irrigated valleys of the 

 coast region. In the high plateau region little alfalfa is cultivated, 

 but in some of the oases of the desert region it is the most important 

 forage crop. Often in the coast region and always in the Sahara, 

 alfalfa is grown in small, carefully tended patches. (PI. V, tig. 2.) 

 Fall sowing is generally practiced, although in elevated regions like 

 that around Setif, where early frosts are likely to occur, it is some- 

 times advisable to sow in the spring. In that case, however, the seed 

 must be put in as early as possible, as otherwise the young plants 

 suffer from the dry, hot weather of the later spring months. 



The seed is often put in in rows, thus permitting the frequent culti- 

 vation and weeding of the tields. Otherwise, weeds, especially Ber- 

 nuida grass and chicory, choke out the alfalfa. If sown broadcast an 



