74 iTAIvIAN COLONIES - AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY IN GENERAL 



mission nominated by the Hon. F. Nitti, Minister of Agriculture, as to Agro- 

 logical Researches and Studies on Libya. — I. The Zone of Tripoli). Bergamo, 

 Istitnto italiano d'arti grafiche, 1912. 



(2) Comtnissione per lo Studio Agrologico della Tripolitania nominata 

 con D. M. dell'ii febbraio 1913. — La Tripolitania Settentrionale [Com- 

 mission for the Agrological Study of Tripoli nominated by Ministerial Decree 

 of II February 1913 — Northern Tripoli). Two vols. Rome, Bertero, 1913. 



To these two official reports there must be added the results of the mis- 

 sion of Signor Leopoldo Franchetti to TrijDoli for the study of the Gebel, 

 published under the title " Societa Italiana per lo Studio della Libya. La 

 Missione Franchetti in Tripolitania. II Gebel " {Italian Society for the Study 

 of Libya. The Franchetti M'ission in Tripoli. The Gebel). Florence, Mi- 

 lan, Treves, 1914. To this is annexed a second volume prepared by 

 R. Pampaninini on the flora of Tripoli, namely " Plantae Tripolitanae ab 

 auctore anno 1913 lectae et Repcrtorium Florae Vascularis Tripolitanae ", 

 Florence, Pellas, 1914. 



In view of our imperfect knowledge of agricultural conditions in Lib^^a 

 we will merely note certain data as to the types of crops now grown in the 

 colony. They are as follows : 



(a) In the irrigated gardens trees and grasses are grown on a small 

 scale by settlers and their value realized directly. These gardens are ge- 

 nerally found in larger or smaller groups - oases - distributed along the 

 coast, and occur very rarely in the interior. 



(b) In the enclosed unirrigated domains special kinds of trees are usually 

 grown or else olive-trees together with cereals, the winter floods aiding 

 culture in both cases. These domains are usually at the bottom of the ba- 

 sins formed by the hills. 



(c) In the domains for growing trees olive and fig trees are grown 

 without irrigation, by themselves or together with cereals. They occur 

 especially in the mountain territory, as in Msellata and Garian. 



(d) The badia land, otherwise the steppes, is used for pasturage and 

 for the limited and occasional cultivation of cereals. 



(e) The uididn are in special cases used fox the almost or quite conti- 

 nuous growth of cereals. 



The cultivable land of Libya is ?s regards its smaller part cultivated 

 by irrigation, effected as economically as possible in order that the water 

 may not useless^ run out to the sea or be lost in systems of irrigation. The 

 larger part of the land is cultivated without irrigation by the aid of the agri- 

 cultural technique special to arid soils. If there is subterranean freshwater 

 at no great depth it would be possible to extend irrigated agriculture at 

 various points in the colony and thus to bring vast zones of territorj^ under 

 irrigated cultivation. It would also be possible to extend the flooded crops 

 in the depressions of the hill country, and it would be useful to investigate 

 the possible means of using on the plain the water of torrents which now 

 is lost in the sea. On almost all the rest of the agricultural land the trees 

 and grasses of the unirrigated land might be grown profitably if a scientific 

 technique were adopted. On the parts of the steppe not used for agricul- 



