Algenib, or Algeneb

( Astron.) A star of 2d magnitude in the constellation Pegasus, 14° S. of Alpheratz, 1612 E. of Markab.- A. in Pegasus, Alpheratz in Andromeda, and Caph in Ca iopeia, are situated on the prime meridian, and point out its direction through the pole. For this reason they are sometimes called the three guides. They form an are of that great circle in the heavens from which the distances of all the heavenly bodies are measured. Algeria, [Fr. Algérie .] A country of North Africa, the largest and most important of the colonial po e ions of France, cap. Algiers. This territory is situated between lat, 350 and 37o N.; extending from lon. 2° 11' W. to 8° 53′ E.; length about 550 m., greatest breadth about 200 m. It is bounded N. by the Mediterranean, S. by the Sahara, E. by Tunis, and W. by Morocco. Area , 96,369,000 acres. Desc . Algeria is traversed throughout by the Atlas mountains, which rise in succe ive stages parallel with the coast, the highest points exceeding 7,000 feet. The coast is steep and deficient in good ports. The chief plains are those of Oran, Metidjah, and Shelif; the principal rivers are the Wad-el-Gedy, which rises S. of the Atlas range, and flows to the Melgig Lake; the Shelif, which rises on the borders of Sahara, and flows to the Mediterranean; the others are the Sebus, I er, Harna, and Jafna. There are several lakes, called sebkhas, which are generally dry in summer; the chief of these are the Zagries in Const an tine, the Shott and the Sebkha in the S.E. of the Melgig. The climate is temperate and healthy on the N. slopes of the mountains, but pestilential in the marshy plains. The heat is often exce ive under the influence of the simoom, or hot wind of the desert. From April to October the sky is serene; the winter is mild, and marked by abundant rains. The mean temperature of winter is from 54° to 65°, and of summer 74° to 104° Fahr.; but this elevated temperature is moderated by constant sea-breezes. The mountains contain mines of iron, copper, and lead, but their extent is imperfectly known. In the mountains of Bou Hamra there are rich iron mines, which appear to have been worked by the Romans. The country is divided by the natives into the Tel , or country of grain crops, in the N., and the date country in the S. Vegetation is developed with great activity. The icvel part of the Tel, occupied by Arabs, is fertile in cereals, and the mountainous country, occupied by the Kabyles, has extensive forests, and rich and varied vegetation. The Algerian Sahara is not, as was supposed, a sterile desert, but a vast archipelago of oases, each of which presents an animated group of towns and villages, surrounded by olives, figs, vines, and palms. Throughout the Tel, wheat, barley, and legumes are extensively cultivated, and in some places maize, millet, and rice are raised. Cotton, indigo, and the sugar-cane succeed well. The natives rear cattle, sheep, and goats. The horses, which are of an excel. lent breed, are employed only for the saddle; the camel, dromedary, a , and mule, are used for draught. Among wild animals may be noticed the lion, panther, jackal, and the antelope. The harvests are sometimes ravaged by locusts. Excellent coral and sponge are fished on the coasts. Very recently numerous artesian wells, bored in the immense plains of A. , have given life to countries, till then desert. This system, pursued with activity, will do more for the civilization of A. than forty years of military warfare. Manf . Carpets, blankets, and other woollens; silks in the form of sashes and handkerchiefs. A considerable trade is carried on in salt, ostrich feathers, hides, wax, cattle, aud sheep; and there are imported, European manufactures and colonial produce. With the French-African settlement of Senegal a profit IMG:content-0136.jpg:[merged small][graphic][subsumed][subsumed] Fig. 85. RED CORAL OF COMMERCE. ( Corallium rubrum .) No. 2 is a part of No. 1 amplified. the French forces in A. , is governor-general, ana re sponsible to the French cabinet. The country is divided into five great military districts,-Aumale, Dellys, Médéah, Milianah, and Orléansville, which are subdivided into military circles. For the civil administration, the territory is divided into the three departments of Algiers, Oran, and Const an tine. - Hist . A. embraces the ancient Numidia, the kingdom of Ma ini a, Syphax, and Jugurtha; and the Mauri tan i an kingdoms of Bocchus and Juba. It has been succe ively conquered by the Romans, the Vandals, the Byzantine Greeks, and the Arabs, who, in the beginning of the 8th century, invaded North Africa, and established Islamism. The Spaniards, for a short time masters of the country at the beginning of the 16th century, were driven out by the famous corsairs Barb a ro a I. and II., the survivor of which obtained in 1520, from Sultan Selim, the title of Dey. Since then A. was in almost ince ant hostilities against the powers of Christen dom, capturing their ve els and reducing their subjects to slavery. In 1541, the emperor Charles V. made an unsucce ful attempt against Algiers. In 1815, the Americans captured an Algerian frigate; and the Dey consented to renounce all claims to tribute from them, and to pay them 60,000 dollars as an indemnification for their lo es. In 1816, Algiers was bombarded by the British under Lord Exmouth; and in June, 1830, in consequence of an insult to the French consul, a large fleet and army were dispatched by Charles X., when the Algerians fell under the power of that nation. From that time the invaders gradually extended their conquest, not without much bloodshed. Their bravest and most persevering foe was Abd-el-Kader, q.v. -In 1879, civil was substituted for military rule. In 1881, just after the occupation of the Tunisian territory, a formidable insurrection of the Arabs broke out in several parts of A. , producing at the time much anxiety. Pop . 4,124,732, of which 272,662 are of French origin or naturalization.