Algeria

(al-je're-ah,) a country of N. Africa, forming at present a French dependency. This territory lies between Lat. 35° and 37° N., extending from Lon. 20 11' W. to 8° 53′ E.; length abt. 550 m.; greatest breadth abt. 200 m. It is bounded N.by the Mediterranean, S. by the Sahara, E. by Tunis, and W. by Morocco. It is traversed throughout by the range of Mount Atlas, which rise in succe ive stages parallel with the coast. The chief plains are those of Oran, Metijah, and Shelif; principal rivers, the Wad-el-gedy, Shelif and Jafna. Mean temp. of winter, from 54° to 65°; of summer, 740 to104°; but this elevated temp. is moderated by constant sea-breezes, and the climate is generally healthy. On the limits of the desert the soil is arid and sandy, but it is very fertile in the mountain districts. Grain crops of all kinds, European and tropical fruits, sugarcane, cotton, indigo, grow inA. Excellent coral and sponge are fished on the coasts. Public instruction and agriculture are making great progre . Chief towns. Algiers (the cap.), Const an tine, Oran, Philippeville, Fig.18. TRAVELLING KABYLES. Bona, Setiff, Blidah, and Tlemsen. A. was succe ively inhabited by the Moors, Numidians, Romans, and Vandals, and was conquered by the Arabs in the 6th cent. In 1520, Barb a ro a obtained from Sultan Selim the title of Dey, with the vice-royalty of Algiers. Since then, A. became redoubtable to the Christian nations on account of its corsairs, and compelled many of the European states to pay tribute for the protection of their merchant-ve els. In 1830, to avenge an insult to their consul, the French sent an expedition on a great scale; they conquered the country, and have since retained po e ion,despite repeated insurrections of the Kabyles (q. v.) who live in the mountain district. Iop. 3,008.148. [s. 19]