Variation in the Price and Supply of Wheat. 
231 
radius, and Aln;ena does not possess the advantage of river communication. It 
will natuially be asked, what then becomes of the surplus of ij;rain ])r()duccd ? 
The answer is tliat tlie iiopulation of Algeria is 3,000,000 souls, with large 
numbers of horses to feed, and what is not consumed one year is hidden 
under ground for another. 
Soft wheat was introduced into the country after the French conquest, and 
even vmto this day is rarely ])roduced in the province of Constantine, as it 
requires more attentive cultivation than hard wheat, which has always been 
the favourite produce of the natives, because it is grown with comparatively 
little exertion. 
The hard wheat of Bone and Guelma, in the province of Constantine, is 
much esteemed in Europe for the manufacture of paste, and it is of as good a 
quality as the best wheat of 'J'aganrog and Sicily. 
Kye holds but a very inferior position iu the agricultural productions of 
Algeria. 
Barleys, of which the best is grown in the province of Oran, has of late been 
iu great demand in Europe, and more particularly in England lor brewing 
pur| loses. 
Algerian oats are in great demand at Marseilles, thougli their production 
is not very extensive. 
Indian corn is grown as well on the confines of the Sahara as in the 
Fell. 
Wool is one of the most important articles of Algerian produce, and 
with a little more attention on tlie part of the Government to put a stop to 
fraud, this article might in a few years become of much greater importance. 
Unlbrtunately the malpractices of the Arabs, who produce, and of the Jews 
and French who traffic in this article, have much reduced its quality, and 
the consequence is that it is not now in very great demand in the European 
markets. 
In the provinces of Algeria, the aggregate number of sheep for the year 
1863 may be set down at l, 800,000. 
The Algerian breed of sheep is iu general strong and healthy, and appears to 
be better adapted to the, peculiar nature of the climate than the merinos, or 
even a cross between the two. 
1865. — 12,588 cattle, and 156,860 sheep exported to South of France, and 
some to Sp;un. 2,634,376 lbs. of tobacco exported. 
Three Algerian cattle go to one good-sized English bullock. They cannot 
come to EuLiland, since three months' feeding would be needed to recover the 
loss of flesh during the voyage, but they will feed the markets of Southern 
France and cause a current towards- the North when the supply is short. 
A decrease of 97,605 quarters of wheat, and 168,385 of barley, compared to 
1864, owing to failure of the crofis. 
A flight of locusts from the South has damaged the standing crops this year; 
their depredations will only be thoroughly felt when the eggs they have laid 
over the country come to maturity. In some localities where this has taken 
place the country is covered with a thick black coating, 3 or 4 inclies thick, of 
a living mass of locusts no big2;er than flies, and nothing escapes their voracity. 
The waters' have been contaminated with their remains ; the air is foul with 
the smell of the decomposed animals, arising from the hundreds of thousands 
that are daily being killed. It is impossible to foretell what the consequences 
of this visitation may be, but it is feared that next year's crop will not be 
spared by these insects. 
EePORT by C0XStn.-GENERAL LlEUT.-CoLONEL PlAYFAIB ON BRITISH 
Colonisation and Famine in Algeria. — There ai'e four distinct tenures 
under which land is held in Algeria — 
