The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-03-31

this town of Perregaux which holds back a lake containing fourteen million cubic meters of water. and another not far away near St. Denis-du-Sig, which con tains six millions more. Wherever the water can be stored it is conducted over the lands, and great deal of irrigation is also done by means of wells, the motive power being a blindfolded donkey, mule or OK, and sometimes a camel.
 A Nation of Farmers.
 These Algerlans are a nation of farm CTS. More than one-half of the Euro peans and three-fourths of the natives are engaged in agriculture, and there are in addition an enormous number of na- tive stock farmers. The Arabs own d great deal of land in the plains, and such of the mountains as are fertile are cov- cred with little Kabyle farms, some of waich are not much bigger than the ordinary city back yard. The French are settled pretty generally in the valleys of the Tell They have bought their lands from the Arabs and Kabyles and have also acquired the most of the state reser- Vations for colonization,
 Farming In Algeria.
 l wish you could take a trip with me through some of these rich lands of the Tell, and see the queer ways of farming in this part of North Africa. We should have high mountains in sight all the way, and they would be rocky and bar ren. There would be no fences anywhere and very few houses Here and there, at some distance from the white lime stone road. we should see the home of French settler, a plain building covered with stucco, standing almost alone in the fields. There are no outbuldings and few barns; the cattle can be pastured all the year round, and there Is no need of q .a l,ntr ,Ir ri, I came into the country, although I ob- served some alfalfa fields near Tiemcen.
 How They Save Straw.
 The chief stock food long food, as our Virginia farmers would call it, is straw. This is most carefully saved. As soon as the threshing Is done 1t Is stacked, some times in bales, and sometimes loose. The stacks are then covered with thatch as carefully put on as the roof of a house and in some localities, where the soil forms natural cement, the whole out side of the stack Is plastered. I have seen hundreds of stacks, larger than any haystack in our country, so covered. This is done mostly in western Algeria, the thatch being more common in the east.
 A great deal of straw is carried on the railroad It is brought to the stations in bales, and if piled up while awaiting the cars 1t Is always covered with tarpaulins or canvas or oiled cloth. The straw Is carried over the railroad on open trucks, but always covered, and while loading the straw piles are thus protected at night. The most of the cattle, horses and donkeys of the cities eat straw in stead of hay.
 How the Arabs Raise Grain.
 -A large part of the Tell is devoted to grain. Algeria produces over 100000. GOO bushels of cereals every year, and 1t ex- ports vast deal to France. The value of the crop is something like s60,00O, 900. There are about 100000 acres annually planted to wheat and something like 100000 acres devoted to barley. In addi- ton some oats and corn are raised. The corn, however, does not grow nearby so well as in our country
 Wheat is by far the most important grain crop and large part of that grown is of the macaroni variety. The wheat farming Is done by both the French and the natives and in the latter case In a most slovenly way There are but few modern agricultural implements, and 1t is only the large foreign farmers who plow more than two or three inches deep They have blows of a French make with wheels In front The shears cut well into the soil, but 1t requires team of six or eight or more animals for each blow. Such a team Is usually composed of oxen, horses and mules, and not in- frequently a little donkey aids In the work