98 AGRICULTURAL EXPLORATIONS IN ALGERIA. 



that used in paper manufacture. The finest Ixiskets are made from 

 the "white alfa."' Rope, brooms, and other articles are also manu- 

 factured from the leaves of this grass. 



DWARF PALM. 



The leaves of the dwarf palm {Chama^rojjs h>/strix) are much used 

 by the Arabs for thatching- their huts, making crates in which fruit is 

 packed, etc. ; but the only product of this plant which enters largely 

 into commerce is the tiber, which constitutes about 40 per cent of the 

 weight of the fresh leaves. Under the name of *' vegetable hair" this 

 tiber is exported in considerable quantity. It is used for stuffing 

 mattresses and upholstered furniture. A cheap grade of rope, selling 

 for about SO cents per 100 pounds, is also made from it. The dwarf 

 palm, like alfa, is never cultivated, only the natural growth being- 

 exploited. While alfa is preeminently a plant of the high plateau 

 the dwarf palm belongs to the coast region, where it formerly covered 

 vast expanses. Although still abundant, this plant is rapidly disap- 

 pearing as more and more land is brought into cultivation. Conuner- 

 cial exploitation has helped to accelerate its destruction, there being 

 numerous factories in Algeria for separating the tiber. 



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