Algeria

a district of North Africa. It extends along the Mediterranean from Tunis to Morocco, a distance of 620 miles. The southern boundary is indefinite, but is about 250 miles from the sea, far enough to include the mountain ranges and any foothills or oases on the south worth the having. A fertile strip from 50 to 150 miles wide, extending east and west near the coast, is called the Tell. South of this is rough, elevated land, devoted to raising sheep and goats, and the gathering of esparto grass much used in paper making. The Tell, which is intersected by fine wagon roads and 2,000 miles of railway, has the aspect of a well cultivated country of southern Europe. Fields of grain and tobacco, vineyards, orchards, lemon and orange groves, and olive trees indicate a fertile and prosperous country. Half of the world's cork and quantities of dates come from the Atlas hills and along the rivers of the Tell. A score or two of mines yield ores of iron, copper, silver, lead, and zinc. The quarries supply building stone and phosphate.

Since 1830 Algeria has been a possession of France. Of 5,000,000 inhabitants, chiefly Arab and Berber, about 300,000 are French. They dominate the industries of the country, though the Berbers who antedate Frenchman and Arab do most of the work. Farm help costs from twenty to forty cents a day. The country sells $60,000,000 worth of goat skins, ore, cork, wine, tobacco, grass for paper, and grain a year. Trade is carried on chiefly with Marseilles.