THE TECHNOLOGIST. [April 1, 1864. 



394 FRENCH COLONIAL PRODUCTS IN 



clear and "brilliant ground. But its most valuable quality is its dura- 

 bility, in which respect it resembles the Cupressus sempervirens, and 

 for this reason the ancients often confounded these two woods. Parisian 

 industry has already employed both in cabinet maker's work, which 

 has improved so much in the last twenty years, and different pieces 

 of furniture made of Callitris and Cupressus can be found in the Exhi- 

 bition to prove the excellent qualities which are attributed to them. 

 I shall only refer further to the wood of the olive -tree, of the green 

 oak, of the citron, and of the date. It would carry me too much into 

 detail to enumerate the several woods suitable for building, &c, either 

 indigenous or introduced, now to be met with in Algeria ; I shall only 

 observe that all the trees from the South of Europe grow well, and 

 that the climate permits the introduction of a great many species from 

 North America and Australia. 



In a statistical table, dated 1858, I find that Algeria exported com- 

 mon woods of the value of 209,401fr., and exotic woods of the value 

 of 12,208h\, but in looking at the vast extent of the Algerian forests, 

 and considering that France imports common woods to the amount of 

 65,000,000fr. yearly, and foreign wood for 8,000,000fr., everybody will 

 be surprised that Algeria contributes such a small proportion to the 

 wants of the mother-country. 



In textile plants, Algeria is excessively rich. I shall not speak of flax 

 and hemp, nor of the giant hemp introduced from China, which, with 

 the Ahutilon indicum, Corchorus textilis, Urtica nivea and argentea, are 

 cultivated to a considerable extent in some parts of the colony. But 

 there are three plants especially which grow abundantly in the country, 

 the utilisation of which promises great profit ; they are the dwarf- 

 palm (Chamaerops humilis) "diss" (Ampelodesmos festucoides), and 

 " alfa," a name which includes several species of grasses, as the Lygeum 

 spartum, Stipa teyiacissima, S. gigantea, and barbatus. 



The dwarf-palm was long considered useless, but the leaves now 

 furnish filaments which supersede the employment of horse-hair, 

 as it is much cheaper and not liable to be destroyed by insects. 

 But this is not its greatest use. An Algerian journal, the AlMar, 

 is printed on paper made of the dwarf-palm diss and alfa, and 

 there exists only one opinion concerning the excellent qualities of 

 this paper. Among other plants cultivated for their fibres are the 

 Musa Paradisiaca and textilis, Agave Americana, foztida, and ferox, Yucca 

 aloifolia, and Typha latifolia. French industry begins to employ the 

 raw substances belonging to this section, and we meet here in several 

 glass cases beautiful tissues of Algerian flax, and hemp, as well as 

 cordage and different objects made of the fibres of the other textile 

 plants. 



Algerian cotton, which has been cultivated about twelve years, 

 exhibits a great improvement from year to year. More than twenty 

 varieties are to be found in the Exhibition, and each oi them shows a 



