22 AGRICULTUKE ' IN THE SAHARA DESERT. 



FIGHTING THE SAND. 



AVhile elsewhere in the Sahara irrigation entails the heaviest labor 

 connected \Yith palm culture, in the Oued Souf it is the struggle that 

 must be waged with the constantly encroaching sand that demands 

 the tireless efforts of the gardeners. Every strong wind carries great 

 volumes of sand. The slight fences of ])alm leaves and the low Avails 

 of gypseous rock that are constructed along the crests of the bordering 

 dunes are only a partial protection against this invasion. Once over 

 these weak barriers, the sand rolls down the steep slopes almost like 

 water. The danger is always present, but is most pressing when the 

 dates are ripening. Then bunches of fruit that hang close to the 

 ground can be half buried by a few hours of high wind, and only the 

 most strenuous etforts can save them. If a second storm occurs before 

 the bulk of the sand is removed, the crop is hopelessly lost. 



The work of cleaning out the basins is very laborious, being done, 

 like the original excavation, almost entirely by hand. Travelers in 

 this region have compared this work to the activities of ants, rather 

 than of men. Laborers shovel the sand into baskets and carry them 

 in a ceaseless procession to the top of the slope, their feet sinking 

 deep into the flowing sand at every step. After a heavy sand storm 

 tlie work must be continued from dawn to dark. In summer, during 

 the blazing midday hours, the heat is too great for such heavy labor, 

 and the removal of the sand goes on at night and in the early morn- 

 ing hours. At times a large part of the population of the region is" 

 engaged in this heavy task. It is paid for at the rate of 1 cent for 

 every 5 baskets of sand, and the laborer has, in addition, the privilege 

 of eating as many dates as he desires in the garden in which he is 

 working. Only rich proprietors use the sturdy little gray donkeys 

 of the Souf for transporting the sand from their gardens. 



MANURING. 



The soil of the Oued Souf is practically nothing but pure sand, 

 containing even in the older palm gardens very little organic matter. 

 Manuring is consequently essential not only to the production of good 

 yields but even to the well-being of the palm itself." 



It is not uncommon in the Souf country to see palms that have 

 thick trunks up to a certain point, above which they contract more or 

 less abruptly to a much smaller diameter. In many cases, at a still 

 greater height, the trunk again becomes thicker. I'his state of things 

 is explained by the natives as due to a partial starvation of the tree at 



" For tlint matter, innmirinir is jjceiun-ally practiceil by good farmers in tlio 

 oases of tlie Oued Kirli and tlic DJerid, altliongli tlierc the iirowiiiic of Icmmii- 

 iious food and foi-a.iro crops (liroad beans and alfalfa) helps to restore-to the soil 

 llic nilrogon that is taken ii]) by tho palms. 



