91 



Tunisian Exports of Raw Phosphatic Rock. 



Year. Quantity. Value. 



Tons. 



1899 62,379 .. 73,440 



1900 168,239 . . ; 149,925 



1901 174,868 .. 162,983 



1902 258,798 .. 214,388 



1903 345,802 .. 261,168 



1904 447,658 . . 327,790 



1905 511,859 . . 378,637 



1906 770,982 .. 695,960 



1907 1,040,808 .. 926,630 



1908 1,277,319 .. 1,128,675 



1909 1,276,771 .. 1,126,187 



It is of course possible that to a limited degree the raw untreated phos- 

 phatic rock may occasionally be availed of by Tunisian farmers ; indeed I 

 find its use recommended at the rate of 9cwts. to lOcwts. to the acre in lieu 

 of superphosphate. General conditions, however, of both climate and soil 

 are so similar to our own that I find it hard to believe that the raw rock 

 phosphate will prove any more satisfactory in Tunisia than it has proved 

 to be in South Australia. 



It is often stated of Tunisia that in the various cereal crops the proportion 

 of straw present is, as a rule, excessive relatively to that of grain. I learnt 

 with extreme surprise that by way of remedy to this state of affairs the use 

 of organic manures, such as farmyard manure, was being advocated. On 

 Australian experience, one would be inclined to think that the remedy pro- 

 posed could have but one effect, viz., still further to accentuate the evil 

 complained of. 



CEREALS IN TUNISIA. 



From the point of view of general agricultural operations, Tunisia may 

 be described as being almost exclusively a cereal-growing country ; it forms 

 portion of that country that was formerly known as the granary of Rome. 

 Official statistics show that nine-tenths of the area under yearly crops are 

 represented by wheat and six-row barleys. The relative proportions of these 

 two cereals are said to vary mainly with the mean rainfall of the districts 

 concerned. Thus in the extreme north of the Regency, where the rainfall 

 is always the heaviest, the area sown to wheat is, as a rule, one-third greater 

 than that sown to barley ; in the central districts, in which a 20in. mean 

 rainfall or thereabouts prevails, the areas allotted to each cereal are usually 

 about the same ; whilst in the extreme south, where the mean rainfall varies 

 from 8in. to 16in., and where proximity to the Sahara renders the climate 

 exceedingly hot, barley represents about three-quarters of the area under 

 cereals, and wheat only one- quarter. This fact would appear to emphasize 



