346 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



condemned except upon the most satisfactory evidence. We have 

 for thirty years never known any thing but good from clover. 

 The last is from the Ohio Valley Farmer. We say look ! 



H. Meigs. 



[Bulletin Mensuol De La Socicte Imperial Zoologique D'Acclimatation, Aout, 1857. 



Paris.] 



CATTLE IN ALGERIA. 



A full discussion of this interesting subject has been had. 

 Beef and other animal food are absolutely wanted there ; scarcely 

 any beef or veal, of course, can be obtained. The Arabian horse is 

 multiplying rapidly, but horned cattle not. The Arabs love the 

 horse for war, and as a sort of religious duty ! not always o])served. 

 But this is not so with beef. The cattle of the country are far 

 below those of France, Britain, &c.; they are a confused mixture, 

 small, stinted, pretty strong, of all shades of color and hair. Such 

 are the poor little stock of Algiers. Constantine, Boufarik, ( Abiot, 

 on southern Atlas,) Berragouya, Kroubs, Guelma — all these are 

 so few that the Arabs have little or no beef or veal. These little 

 creatures are harnessed to drag heavy loads. We are told that 

 they are not difficult to fatten. Some learned agronomes think 

 it best to ameliorate this native stock by itself, instead of trying 

 it by imported stock. The African cow is certainly a very poor 

 milker, seldom reaching six quarts a day, worth ten cts. a quart. 

 Mr. Trotter, at Rassanta,in theMitidja, not far from Algiers, near 

 the sea, has about eighty head of all ages. 



At Mustapha, Mr. Letheule, has charge (and he is very intelli- 

 gent,) of about fifty milch cows, which average six quarts, and 

 bring 60 cents a day the year through. But the scarcity of milk 

 is great among the people. 



The difficulty is feed — the great heats and droughts destroy 

 green forage, and the stock do not flourish on that which is dry. 

 Their stomachs are much troubled with it. Irritation is produced 

 by it. So troublesome is this very dry fodder, tliat Dr. Millon, 

 chief druggist of the hospital of the Dey, at Algiers, has on ex- 

 periment, recommended the pears of Cactus, commonly called 

 there " Barbary figs," for cattle feed. They are abundant in spite 

 of heat and drought. He tried it for eighteen months on a cow 

 from Britanny, and found her in excellent health and giving good 



