96 AGRICULTURAL EXPLORATIONS IN ALGERIA, 



colonists signifies, liowcver, onl}' the species known in Spain as 

 "esparto" {Stipa tenachsima). The tough, fibrous leaves of this grass 

 are used in manufacturing paper, basket ware, hats, cordage, etc. It 

 is a long-lived plant, having strong, much branched rootstocks, which 

 give it a good hold upon the soil. The young plant forms a dense 

 tuft, which later takes the form of a hollow circle, as the stems in the 

 center die out. This in turn becomes broken up into separate tufts, 

 each of which is the starting point of a new circle. The leaves are 

 like those of many other so-called "steppe" grasses, being flat and 

 green during the rainy period, but turning yellowish white and rolling 

 up into quills when the dry season sets in. They average from 20 to 

 30 inches in length, and end in long, sharp points. The leaves last 

 about two 3'ears. The older ones are often infested with fungi, which 

 usually attack first the point of the leaf. 



Alfa grass covers large areas in S^Tain and in northern Africa. In 

 Algeria it is most characteristic of the high plateau region, where it 

 often occupies, almost alone, enormous expanses of the undulating 

 plains, forming the so-called "sea of alfa." It is not, however, con- 

 fined to the high plateau, and even reaches the seashore in extreme 

 western Algeria. It ascends in the mountains to a maximum eleva- 

 tion of 6,000 feet. Where the average annual rainfall exceeds 2() 

 inches a year alfa does not flourish. It prefers a dry, sandy soil, and 

 will not endure the presence of any considerable amount of salt. In 

 moist depressions, where the soil is clayey, other species take its place. 



It is difficult to obtain an accurate estimate of the total area occupied 

 in Algeria by this grass. Some authorities give 12,500,000 acres in 

 the high plateau region alone, but this is doubtless an exaggeration. 

 The alfa land of the colony belongs partly to the government and 

 partl}^ to individuals or private companies. The government concedes 

 the right of exploitation for the modest sum of about 1 cent per acre. 

 The holders of concessions, in their turn, usually sublet their rights to 

 a contractor. 



A stand of alfa in its natural condition is less valuable than one 

 from which the leaves are regularl}^ harvested. In the former case 

 there are many more or less worthless old leaves mixed with the 

 young leaves. When the exploitation of a stand is begun it is cus- 

 tomary to burn it over so as to destroy the coarse old leaves. There- 

 after, if the crop is harvested every season, only small, flue leaves, 

 much stronger and more uniform in length than the older ones, are 

 obtained. By firing a tract repeatedly for several successive years 

 "white alfa," with extremely fine, flexible, light-colored leaves, is 

 produced. Long-continued exploitation of a stand, without allowing 

 it an}' rest, greatly weakens the plants. In fact, alfa has in this way 

 been virtuall}- exterminated in some of the more accessible areas. 



