The record-union., 1899-01-30
AGRICULTURE IN THE SAHARA.
Results of Planting at Ourir, Sadi-
Yahia and Avafa

The South Algerian Agricultural So
ciety has created in the region of the
oued Rlr Constantine Sahara) three
GASES and new centers of colonization
Ourlr, Sldi- AHA and Ayata-Which
form the subject of an instructive COM
munication by NJ. Georges ROLAND to
the Soclete Rationale dAgrieulture de
France. The cultivation of the date
palm is the object primarily sought.
the lnterculture with other crops of the
land thus embraced affording the sub
sidiary motive. Hitherto the land
around the palms has been worked by
the natives with spades, but the in
PRODUCTION of the pillow drawn by mules
mas produced the same result at half
the cost. The young PLAN shoots in
tended for planting out are first raised
In nurseries and in pots, while the sue
cess OF the plantations is dependent
upon irrigation
The basin of the Oued Rir' is re-
nowned for the abundance of it's sub
terranean waters, but it is thought that
these are now sufficiently encroached
upon by the numerous wells that have
been sunk Between the palms and
beneath their foliage the crops most
commonly grown are barley and lu-
cerne, which are utilized in the feeding
OF horses, mules, donkeys, ostriches.
etc. or fruit trees, the fig, the apricot
and the pomegranate are cultivated.
though they yield but little produce.
me grapevine has been tried but the
generous irrigation required by the
palms is found to be inimical to its
welfare.
In the oasis of Ayata a meteorolog-
icai station, the best equipped in
southern Algeria, has been established.
ana the observations there recorded
are found to be extremely useful in
af1ording indications as to the kinds
OF plants likely to be proftably ac-
climatized. Among all the efforts in
this direction the most successful is
That with asparagus. A beginning was
made in 1872 with Argenteuil aspara-
gus, and in the following year encour-
aging results were obtained both at
Ayata and at Sidi- Yahia, couch grass
constituting the chief difficulty to be
encountered. In later years 1t has been
possible to cut the crops for a period
of from twenty-five to thirty days in
each season. New plantations at each
of the two GASES We're added in the
spring of last year, and the first crops
are expected to be gathered from them
next year. The asparagus thus grown
possesses. 1t is stated, excellent flavor.
The difficulty. of course, is to get the
produce to market. Transport from
the south to Biskra occupies two DAYS.
and from the latter place to the AL
gerian towns another day or two the
same time being occupied from the port
of Philippeville to Marseilles Hence
from Ayata to Paris the journey ex-
tends over five or six days, which is a
handicap in the case of a product like
asparagus, which requires to be eaten
fresh Various methods of packing are
therefore being tested, in the hope of
overcoming this difficulty. Should they
prove successful. it is claimed that the
asparagus OF the Oued Rir' win be
marketed upon a large scale as the
earliest in Europe
Far less success has attended the ef-
forts to establish other crops. The de-
terent causes include the too sandy
and saline character of the soil, the
salinity of the irrigation waters, the
extreme dryness Of the atmosphere, the
excessive heat in summer. and the in
adequate manurial resources. Garden