esting exhibit of his domain at K'sar Tyr. This domain is situated at about 60 kilometers to the southwest of the city of Tunis, and occupies some 3,500 hectares (8,648 acres) of hillside and rolling plain, at a height of from 80 to 175 meters (260 to 575 feet) above sea level. The soil is remarkable. The higher argillo-calcareous lands are strongly ferruginous and very mellow; the alluvial soil contains much limestone and is easily worked, while in the valleys and lower lands the soil is less permeable, and so is difficult to work, especially after heavy rains. The area actually under tillage is rather less than a seventh of the whole estate, or not quite 500 hectares, and the whole may be divided into three distinct regions, viz: First, the hillsides are devoted to vineyards (96 hectares), nurseries, and various experimental fields; secondly, the plains and valleys are given to cereals and grazing lands; and finally, the greater part of the territory is covered with a growth of mastic, jujube, thuyas, pine, wild olive, and other trees and shrubs now happily protected from the incursions of wandering herds.

The nature of the soil and the position of the vineyards sheltered from the southern winds is particularly favorable, and the vines grow there with unwonted luxuriance, and a very superior wine is produced, which is said to closely resemble the best Bordeaux in quality. The yield in 1888 from 16 hectares only was 182 hectoliters, or about 11 hectoliters per hectare.

In the nurseries and experiment fields, which are well watered by artificial means, fruit trees of many kinds, such as the apple, apricot, cherry, plum, fig, quince, pomegranate, jujube, almond, and walnut are cultivated and are in thriving condition. Especial attention is given to young olive trees, while many of the wild olive trees have been grafted. There is also a nursery for other varieties, such as the ash, eucalyptus, pine, thuya, cypress, mulberry, poplar, and several varieties of acacia; thyme, lavender, rosemary, etc., are also grown and exported to France.

A fine exhibit was made of the cereals grown upon the 300 hectares devoted to them; Béja, Bladette, Full-measure, and Roumanian wheats were shown, also English and Russian oats, native and Russian barley, yellow maiz, lucern, sainfoin, and Italian ray-grass. All cereals do well there with the exception of oats, which are apt to be small in grain. A field of sugar beets has also given good results.

Agricultural machinery of the most approved type is used upon these plantations, and many of these machines come from Leeds; steam plows were used in the original breaking of the ground.

The bordj or farm buildings are furnished with all necessary improvements, including complete apparatus for meteorological observation, the results of which are sent to Paris daily, being the first ever so sent from Tunis.

The domain also possesses some 20 horses and mules and a herd of

63 cows; these cattle are of pure Tunisian and Algerian (Guelma) origin, with a few crosses of Breton stock, though this crossing does not seem to have greatly improved them. There is also a flock of 500 Algerian sheep, improved by crossing with Merino rams. Bees are also raised there with success. The great want of the domain is readier means of communication with the outer world, though these are in preparation.

Another interesting Tunisian farm is that of Bordj-Cédria, owned by M. Paul Potin, of Paris. This is situated upon the bay upon which stand the ruins of Carthage, and is about 26 kilometers from the city of Tunis, and only 3 kilometers from the nearest railway station. It comprises 3,000 hectares, and was bought in 1884 for 135,000 francs. This land stretches along the seacoast for 5 kilometers, and is surrounded upon the east, south, and west by an ampitheatre of mountains, and rises in terraces from the sea to a height of 400 to 500 meters (1,300 to 1,600 feet).

The first 250 or 300 hectares near the shore consist of sand dunes, which have been fixed by plantations of maritime pines and acacias, the last being of the variety A. cyanophylla, originating from New Holland. There is upon these dunes an old pomegranate plantation. Asparagus has been tried there, and it is intended to try vines also. The second zone is a plain of clay and marly soil 3 to 4 meters (9 to 13 feet) deep, and formerly marshy, but now drained and well watered. The vine grows well there, and there are 3,000 vigorous olive trees.

The third zone consists of a series of elevations, the highest of which is about 100 meters (328 feet) in altitude, of marl and schist, principally planted with the vine, and including about 600 hectares. The fourth and last zone is a mountainous limestone region, and includes over 1,000 hectares, which were formerly overgrown with wild thyme, rosemary, etc., and abandoned to flocks of goats belonging to the Arabs. This zone is cut by numerous ravines produced by the waters from higher elevations, and several of these watercourses had been canalized by the Romans. One spring, 208 meters (682 feet) in altitude, has been canalized by M. Potin, and supplies water for the whole domain, and may, perhaps, serve at a later period for motive power. The flow of water is 40 liters per minute. These elevations are well fitted for pine plantations.

The farm buildings, recently completed, contain all necessary conveniences, including wine cellars and presses, agricultural machines, etc. There are also upon the domain some 5 kilometers of paved roads.

The vineyards comprise 406 hectares, all in healthy condition. The soil was formerly overgrown with thyme, jujube, etc., the roots of the latter extending to a depth of six feet, and has all been dug up and cleared by aid of steam plows and a Decauville railway.

Couch-grass (chien-dent) is a veritable pest in these vineyards, but is rapidly being eradicated.

The red wine produced is of good quality, as also is the white wine, but the vintage has as yet been made upon 100 hectares only. Measures are being taken, however, to produce 16,000 hectoliters yearly.

The vine in Tunis is exposed to suffer from great drought, and especially from the sirocco when this lasts for a week or more. Therefore provision has been made for the storing of 700,000 cubic meters of water above the vineyards. These waters are derived from the mountain gorges, and the reservoir for them was made at an expense of 100,000 francs.

There is a large plantation of olive trees. When the domain was purchased these trees, like all others in Tunis, were in a state of complete neglect, but have now become vigorous through pruning and through cultivation of the soil.

About 180 hectares of land near the sea are devoted to cereals and to leguminous forage crops for the cattle. A natural meadow of 50 acres in the plain along the dunes produces excellent hay, and will improve when the works of irrigation are completed. Three hectares of asparagus extend along the shore of the gulf, and are protected from the sands by plantations of tamarind and fig trees.

There are also several nurseries, regarded as among the best in Tunis, which contain, among other trees, the mulberrry, ebony, medlar, fig, American walnut, acacia, araucaria, banana, eucalyptus, and several species of pine. There are many plantations of taller trees used as wind screens, and there is also much restocking of forests, pine, eucalyptus, juniper, carob, and kermes-oak being used for this purpose. These plantations, however, suffer from the attacks of locusts and of rodents, and also from the drought. Upon the dunes bamboo and maritime pine are grown.

There is a garden of 3 hectares defended from the north wind and the sirocco by 25,000 tall eucalyptus trees.

In this garden peach trees succeed admirably, and there are orange and other fruit trees. This farm has 60 horses and mules, and 100 oxen. There is a flock of native ewes with Algerian merino ewes and rams. Two hundred swine are maintained, being sometimes turned into the woods. A Jersey bull has been imported to cross with the Arabian cows, an experiment the result of which will be awaited with interest.

FRENCH COLONIES AND PROTECTORATES.

An especially notable feature of the Exposition of 1889 was the exhibit made by France from her colonies and protectorates in all parts of the world. One-half of the Esplanade des Invalides was allotted to them, and a handsome central palace, besides several other large

buildings, was constructed for their use; these were filled with the products of the several countries, and the industrial and commercial wealth of each was fully set forth in a most interesting series of exhibits, among which agriculture held a conspicuous place.

ÎLE DE LA RÉUNION.

The Île de la Réunion, one of the most flourishing, though not the largest of the French colonies in the Indian Ocean, made a fine exhibit of its products, including sugar, coffee, cocoa, rum, nutmegs, and other spices. The vanilla displayed was some of the best in the whole Exposition. This plant (Epidendron vanilla),,originally a native of Mexico and Central America, was introduced, about the year 1819, upon several islands of the Indian Ocean, and thrives very well there. It was also introduced into Europe in 1836 as a hothouse plant, but is not much cultivated, though it does passably well. Until 1845 there was little or no exportation of vanilla, but since that year exportation has steadily increased, until in 1872 there were 12,305 kilograms exported, this figure reaching 50,000 kilos in 1885-'86 and 68,856 in 1887.

In 1876 the production of the colony was 28,000 kilos, and since the Exposition of 1878 the consumption of vanilla has so greatly increased that in 1888 there was a total of 150,000 kilos imported into France from Réunion, Mauritius, the Comores, and the Seychelles Islands.

The sugar exhibited by the colony was of excellect quality. About 35,000 hectares are cultivated with the cane, which is probably native to the island. In 1886 the sugar exported amounted to 31,847,149 kilos, valued at 8,559,663 francs, only two-thirds of which amount went to France. The total production has, however, lessened since 1862, on account of the increased price of labor in the island and the low price of beet sugar in France, in addition to which several maladies have attacked the cane.

There was a fine display of European vegetables and fruit, many of which have been introduced into the island. Melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, artichokes, egg-plants, etc., are gathered during the wet season (November to April), while other kitchen-garden plants, as peas, radishes, salads, beets, carrots, tomatoes, onions, and cabbages, are cultivated during the dry season (May to October). Manioc, maize, potatoes, beans, and rice are also cultivated, though potatoes only succeed through abundant manuring. On the higher lands of the islands barley and oats may be grown, but only in small quantity. Fruits, such as mangoes, peaches, pineapples, etc., ripen in the wet season. The orange and lemon trees have been almost totally destroyed during the last three years by a new vegetable parasite. Vine cultivation has been attempted, but without any very marked

success.

H. Ex. 410—VOL V- -7

SENEGAL.

Senegal, on the west coast of Africa, made a display of millet, sesame, rice, arrowroot, maize, white beans, and of native products such as cotton, tobacco, indigo, caoutchouc, palm oil, palm nuts, coffee, ginger, turmeric, and vegetable ivory, also a large exhibit of spices. Kola nuts were also shown, valuable for their caffeine, and but lately introduced into pharmacy. The maize was rather poor in quality, as also was the coffee, The most important articles in the Senegal exhibit were its peanuts and gum arabic.

The Peanut, Arachide (Arachis hypogaa), is a native of Mexico, but has been introduced into other countries, as India and China, and is especially cultivated in Senegal. In 1802 it was introduced into France in the Département des Landes, but it is a tardy grower in the French climate, and only ripens well in very hot, moist climates, and its cultivation in the Landes also failing financially it was abandoned and never resumed. The best conditions for its growth are fulfilled in Senegal, and it forms the chief article of export. In 1875 the west coast of Africa, from the Senegal River to Sierra Leone, produced annually 100,000,000 kilos of peanuts, the value of which in France was 30,000,000 francs (not shelled). At present (1889), on account of the competition of India for the commoner sorts, the finer only can be grown with profit in Senegal, and the total product has fallen to 60,000 tons, of a value of 16,000,000 to 18,000,000 francs. With better agricultural appliances this yield could be increased, and it is estimated that the Cayor district might be made to yield from 60 to 100 hectoliters, or 2,000 to 3,000 kilos, per hectare. Most of the annual product goes to Bordeaux and Marseilles, where it is pressed for oil, which finds numerous uses. The oil cake is also utilized to a great extent as food for cattle or as a fertilizer.

Gum Arabic, or more properly Gum Senegal, is the most important product of this colony after the peanut, and its exportation amounts to 2,000,000 or 3,000,000 kilos annually, the greater part of which is sent to Bordeaux. Caoutchouc, millet, and rice are also exported, but not to a large extent. A large business is also done in palm oil, coffee, and sesame.

Agriculture in Senegal, entirely in the hands of the natives, has also begun to make progress within the last few years. The colonial government is actively at work for its encouragement, especially since the completion of the railway in 1885.

GABON-CONGO.

Gabon-Congo made but a small show. The principal exhibit was rice, which was very good, besides which there was manioc flour, palm oil, coffee, cacao, tobacco, and maize, the last of very poor