CROPS OF THE COLONY. 81 



all grown .without irrigation. That from the Sahara seemed to thrive 

 better at Rouil)a than the American sort. The leaflets are shorter, 

 broader, and hairier tlian those of the American plants." The Tur- 

 kestan alfalfa seemed to ])e earlier in maturing- its seed than either of 

 the other sorts. Doctor Trabut, the Government Botanist, thinks it 

 will grow with less water than other kinds of alfalfa, and that it may 

 consequently prove valuable for the steppe or high plateau region of 

 central Algeria. Although the stand grown from Turkestan seed was 

 less than one yeav old and had received no irrigation whatever, it was 

 in fairly good condition. It is, however, very liable to infection with 

 a rust {l\eudo2)eziza tr If olio). Doctor Trabut tinds this very fre- 

 quently the case with plants brought from extremely arid regions into 

 the more humid climate of the coast region in Algeria. 



At Tougourt, in the Algerian Sahara, alfalfa is grown in most of 

 the gardens, generally in the shade of date palms, in small patches 

 from which other plants are excluded. It is usually grown in plats 

 about 20 feet long and 6 feet wide, with a low ridge of bare soil 4 feet 

 or so wide between each plat. The top of the ridge is usually white 

 with an elflorescence of salts. The seed is sown in the autumn in rows 

 a foot or so apart, barley being generally sown with the alfalfa and har- 

 vested the following spring. Thenceforward the alfalfa grows alone, 

 and the stand is usuall}' allowed to occupy the ground -i or 5 3^ears. 

 It is then plowed under, and other cultures — generall}^ garden vege- 

 tables — take its place. By this system the roots of the alfalfa plants 

 probably do not have time to grow down into those depths of the 

 subsoil which are saturated with water from the almost constant irri- 

 gation given in these gardens. 



Every week during the summer one or two irrigations are given the 

 alfalfa, which is tended as carefully as any garden vegetable. With 

 such frequent irrigation a great number of cuttings is possible, espe- 

 cially as the stems are cut whenever the}^ reach a height of about 2 feet. 

 One native grower stated to the writers that he o))tained as many as 

 24 cuttings during the year, but this was doubtless an exaggeration. 

 The stems are cut off very close to the ground by means of a curved 

 iron knife with serrated edge. They are tied in small bunches, 7 or S 

 inches in diameter, the ends of which are placed in running water to 

 keep the alfalfa fresh and attractive looking until it is ready to be 

 sold. In the market at Tougourt such a bunch sells for 1 cent. So 

 far as we could learn, alfalfa is always fed green in these oases, and is 



«At Yuma, Ariz., during the last two years, alfalfa from Turkestan, from tlie 

 Algerian oases, and from Utah was grown side by side. No constant differences as to 

 hairiness could be detected, but the leaflets of the Algerian seem to be generally 

 broader than those of the Turkestan and Utah sorts. The Algerian sort seems also 

 to grow faster and to promise larger yields than the others. 



28932— No. 80—05 6 



