454 
Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. 
Meeting of Weekly Council, May 21st. Mr. Eaymoxd Baekee, 
Vice-President, in the Chair. 
State of Agriculture in Algeria. 
Mr. Cairo said, the observations which he had to make arose out 
of a visit which he paid to Algeria, about the beginning of March 
last, in quest of a new field for the supply of cotton. That was not 
a topic of any special interest to English agriculturists, and there- 
fore he would not dwell upon it ; suffice it to say that great advan- 
tages were offered by soil and climate, in some parts of Algeria, for 
the cultivation of long-staple cotton, a variety which was of limited 
production in America. The question of cotton cultivation was, in 
fact, rather a question of the supply of labour than of the particular 
quality of the soil. There must be labour, water during the period 
of growth, high temperature, and a suitable soil for the plant to 
grow in. These elements were presented in the greatest abundance 
in the Southern States of America, where there was sufficient heat, 
a soil there peculiarly adapted for the crop, abundant rains during 
the period when the cotton was maturing, and, imder the slave- 
system, a constant supply of labour available. In all other countries 
where the cultivation of cotton had been attempted, some one of those 
necessary elements of success were wanting. In India, for instance, 
there was no rain during the period of growth, and water must be 
supplied by irrigation or some artificial means ; there was, however, 
in that country plenty of labour. In the West Indies it was a 
labour question purely. In Algiers it was a question both of labour 
and of water ; there scarcely any rain falls during the period of 
gi'owth ; irrigation, therefore, is required, and has been already 
introduced on some of the rich plains, which are well adapted for 
the purpose. 
In all other resjiects the productions of Algeria are similar to 
those of many of our owii colonies ; while that country has the 
special advantage of close proximity to the chief markets of Europe, 
being within four or five days' sail of this country, and in the direct 
track of the Mediterranean trade. Algeria extends about GOO miles 
along the southern shores of the JMediterranean. The distance fr om 
Marseilles to the capital, Algiers, is about 470 miles. The cultur- 
able land of Algeria lies between 34° and 37° of latitude, or a few 
degrees farther north than the lower part of the plain of the ISile, 
and about the same latitude as Georgia and the Carolinas. This 
great tract of country was two thousand years ago the granary of 
liome ; and the traveller still finds eveiywhere the remains of 
Eoman towns, Eoman bridges, Roman aqueducts. Nothing, in fact, 
is more interesting, in travelling through Algeria, than to find, at 
every spot where the French Government now proposes raising 
embankments and constructing canals for irrigation, the remains of 
similar works, which existed two thousand years ago. He was par- 
ticularly struck with these ancient remains at a place called liclizan, 
in the plain of Mina, which since the French occupation had been 
