534 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [December i, 1881. 
possible. As there is no stream with a regular .course, 
water is a question of life and death ; mere watering 
is of no use, it must be constant and through irriga- 
tion. Rain falls only during four months consequently 
it is dry for the rest of the year, and this dryness 
prevents the cultivation of quinine, coftee, indigo and tea. 
The destruction of the forests has done here, as else- 
where, incalculable mischief, and the planting of trees 
is an urgent necessity. The Eucalyptus would render 
great service. In poor soil the family of the acacias 
offers species which, besides furnishing firewood, would 
give an industrial product of great value ; by judicious 
planting in from ten to fifteen years, the climate, now 
very variable, would be rendered more equable, the 
springs would be increased, immense pasturages would 
be restored, and the native population now necessarily 
nomadic would become settled, and the European ele- 
ment would be more constant. The ruins so fre- 
quently met with show that the country was at one 
time populous, but the destruction of forests led to the 
destruction of animal and vegetable life. The principal 
trees met with in the public gardens are the date, 
Bourbon palm, the Sabal, the Chamarops, the Caryota, 
the Areca sapida, the bamboo, the banana, the Dracozna 
draco, the yucca, the aloe, the Agave, besides the Eu- 
calyptus, and the plane tree. These last two play a great 
part in the plantations of new villages, where the 
engineers form broad boulevards, as they there form an 
enclosure which rapidly protects the inhabitants against 
a torrid sun. The Eucalyptus especially is the tree of 
health for low and damp grounds, on account of its 
great power of evaporation, as well as for its resinous 
juices ; it grows from six to ten feet in height in one 
year. The temperature and moisture should always be 
considered as from non-attention to these important 
factors great waste often occurs, thus the fruit trees 
of the temperate zone perish quickly in Algeria, while, 
the trees of the South of France, the almond, the 
jujube, pomegranate, fig, and medlar, ripen two months 
earlier than in France, and are of the first quality. 
Until now the principal centre of horticultural pro- 
duction has been Algiers and its suburbs. Everywhere 
irrigation is applied, the water being raised by rough 
homely instruments which labourers like, as they can 
make and mend them themselves. Near Algiers are 
the gardens of Madame Rossier, about 10 acres of which 
are" devoted to cultivation of flowers for the local market. 
At Boufarik, Madame Bossier has also about 18 acres 
of nurseries of fruit and fruit trees. At the same vdace 
are the beautiful nurseries of Moiis. Herran, whose 
orangeries are models of cultivation ; the trees are planted 
in lines at a distance of from 16 to 20 feet apart. Ir- 
rigation takes place twice a month after the roots of the 
trees have been bared. Broad trenches are cut, and at 
a suitable, time they are smoked and then recovered 
after the irrigation. The cuttings are arranged so as to 
allow a broad space for the ah' and the sun. Besides 
these orangeries, there are about 35 acres of vineyards, 
which produced in 1881, wine to the vakie of £1,000. 
Not far off, at Blidah, are the superb orangeries of Mons. 
Francois, jun., who sent this year to France four million 
oranges. There are at Blidah nearly 1,000 acres planted 
as orangeries, and producing about £30 the acre, while 
the expense of cultivation is only a seventh of that 
amount. 
Little has been done to assist nature in the cultivation 
of flowers in Algeria by man. Although the winters are 
mild, hothouses are necessary for propagating and for 
protecting certain plants from the heavy winter rains, 
or from the summer dust. At Algeria, in the flower 
market, there were to be seen some cut flowers, but 
few or none in pots. The flowers to be seen in April 
■Acre our common ones, roses, geraniums, violets, helio- 
tropes, lilies, heartsease, and pinks. If flowers are little 
' Lvateu 1 in Algeria for private houses, they form a 
considerable industry for perfumery; Thirty years ago, 
j Mons. Simonnet, at Algiers, and Mons. Mercurin, at 
Cheregas, introduced into the country the planting and 
distillation of odoriferous plants, since which time this 
; industry has prospered so much, that the geranium alone 
covers more than 1,300 acres, and furnishes more than 
6,000 kilogrammes of essence. The olive, suitably grafted 
and cultivated, will constitute an immense fortune for 
the country if it is worked according to its nature : it 
is thought that the region suitable for it could easily 
furnish 700 to 800 millions of square feet, producing 
annually more than 300 millions of francs. 
In conclusion, a few words may be mentioned about 
the most precious plant for Algeria, the vine, which 
alone is destined to renew the face of the colony. It 
is planted everywhere from Kabylie (which produces an 
abundance of table grapes) to Morocco. And this is 
easily explained when we remember that at the eud 
of five years the cost of the ground, the planting and 
expenses of cultivation is repaid, in addition to a re- 
venue of £20 to £30 the acre. The vines are planted in 
lines from 5 to 6£ feet apart, to facilitate labour, and 
a road for carts is left around the plantations. Fortun- 
ately, no phylloxera has yet appeared, but the curse of 
the vine in Algeria is the blue fly, which has to be 
knocked oft the vines, and burnt with lime or petroleum. 
The expense of carriage is the great drawback to the 
prosperity of Algeria, and if this were lessened, it might 
become one of the richest colonies in the world. 
THE COFFEE AND SUGAR PRODUCING 
COUNTRIES. 
CENTRAL AMERICA. 
(American Grocer, July 9th 1881.) 
Nowhere has such an impulse been given to coffee 
planting since the great rise in October, 1871, as has 
been the case in Central America, especially in Costa 
Rica and Guatemala. 
Costa Rica has for its president General Thomas 
Guardia, a mum of great energy and a good statesman, 
who rules the country as a sort of dictator. Guate- 
mala is similarly governed by Lieutenant General Rusino 
Ban-ois, whose presidental office was last year prolonged 
for another six years. Honduras' president is Mr. A. 
Soto ; Mr. Joacquin Zavala is the chief magistrate of 
Nicaragua, while that of San Salvador is Mi-. B. 
Zaldivar y Lazo. Although there are at times bicker- 
ings between the five republics, peace is upheld between 
them, and internally there is lets revolution than in 
most other Spanish-American republics. 
SIZE AND POPULATION. 
square, miles. population. 
Guatemala 30,836 1,190.754 
San Salvador 4,765 • 482,422 
Nicaragua 34,058 300,000 
Honduras 30,668 351,700 
Costa Rica 13,174 185,000 
113,501 2,509,876 
The respective capitals are : — Guatemala, 45,000 in- 
habitants ; San Salvador, 16,000 ; Managua, 10,000 ; 
Tegucigalpa, 12,000, and San Jose, 12,000. 
Central America is volcanic and mountainous, with a 
.most fertile soil, especially on the rich table lands, a 
deep black loam being highly favourable to coffee cul- 
tivation. Geographically then' position between the two 
oceans could hardly be better ; the climate is generally 
healthy, labour is abundant and cheap without the 
necessity of procuring either negroes or coolies. A 
large portion of the natives consists of pure Indians 
and half breeds, quite amenable to field labour. The 
consequence of this happy state of affairs is that Cen- 
tral America progresses rapidly, both mentally and 
materially, and that it has a great future, provided i 
