84 ALGERIA 



into pots, and when i year old, is set out in the forest, but 

 watered when planted. One-year aleppo-pine seedlings, and 

 I -year cypress seedlings are also successfully grown. In this 

 nursery there were also Acacia lophantha, pycnantha, and mela- 

 noxylon, which are rapid in growth, drought resisting, and ex- 

 cellent for holding soil on steep slopes. 



Perhaps the most difficult planting problem in Algeria is at 

 Orleansville, where the annual rainfall is less than 500 mm. 

 with a dry season extending from March i to October i, coupled 

 with 45° to 48° C. (113° to 118° F.) of heat and dry sirocco 

 winds. The soil cakes badly and is easily dried out. This 

 forestation was begun by the Army, for health and climatic 

 reasons, as early as 1852. The results prove clearly that in a 

 dry climate, where trees have to fight against adverse natural 

 conditions, high costs and repeated failures are the rule, with 

 periodic success only during favorable years. 



The nursery is situated in the middle of an area already re- 

 forested, where the trees form an excellent windbreak. The 

 aleppo-pine seedHngs are raised on mounds 20.3 centimetres (8 

 inches) high, with subsoil irrigation between the rows. 



In the Kefofsa canton the ditch method is used on slopes, 

 for by this plan water is collected and held in the ditches till it 

 penetrates the soil. The planting ditches, 3 metres (3 yards) 

 apart, run on contours. They are 60 cm. (23 inches) wide and 

 60 cm. (23 inches) deep, but after the best of the soil is filled 

 in a depression 20 to 30 cm. (8 to 12 inches) below the surface 

 remains. The plants are usually set near the south side of this 

 depression, to gain shelter from the sun. The ditches must be 

 weeded for the first two years, sometimes twice a year. 



On the tops of hills, for example in the Sidi Bagdad canton, 

 and where the ditch method cannot be used because of surface 

 rock, spots are made about 61 cm. (2 feet) in diameter and 

 60 cm. (23 inches) deep, and spaced 3 metres (3 yards). The 

 average cost is 160 francs ($30.88) per hectare and usually 50 

 per cent success can be counted on, but with a winter drought 

 and frosts alternating with the hot midday sun, the loss may 

 be complete. With very dry ground the local inspector would 



