oats, wine, oil, vegetables, tobacco, fruit, iron, lead, zinc, and other minerals. During the war considerable progress was made in the development of coal and lignite. The fisheries are important. The imports in 1919 amounted to £37,727,000, and the exports to £53,760,000. The principal imports were cotton, paper, coal, sugar, and coffee. The chief exports were wine, fruit, tobacco, oats, and barley. The customs receipts in 1919 amounted to about £1,300,000. There are about 2,500 miles of railway. The chief cities are Algiers, Oran, Constantino, and Bone. There are about 1,300 primary schools with about 4,000 teachers and about 150,000 pupils.
History.—The country, which was inhabited by Moors and Numidians, was conquered by Carthage, and after the fall of the latter came into the hands of Rome, under which it flourished until its conquest by the Vandals (450 A. D.). In the 7th century it was conquered by the Saracens. In 1516 the country was seized by Horuk Barbarossa, a renegade Greek corsair, who, as well as his successors (until 1710), recognized the suzerainty of Turkey. For three centuries the pirates of Algeria terrorized the Mediterranean. They became bolder in the 19th century, but were checked by Napoleon, and in 1815 were compelled by the United States squadron to sue for peace. In 1827, the French, after a three years' blockade of the ports, captured it. After the Franco-Prussian War there was a considerable immigration of Alsatians who preferred to remain under French rule.
The administration of the country is under a governor-general, assisted by a consultative council. The executive power is vested in the governor-general, who has charge of all services except that of the treasurer, justice, public instruction, and worship. The budget which is prepared by the governor-general is voted by the Financial Delegation and the Superior Council. The delegations represent the French colonists, the French taxpayers who are not colonists, and native Moslems. The Superior Council consists of elected members and the higher officials. The legislative power is vested in the French Parliament to which each department sends one senator and two deputies. Algerian troops fought bravely for France in the World War. Pop. about 5,600,000.
ALGIERS, city and capital of Algeria. It consists of a lower European town and an upper Moorish town. The first has a cathedral and an exchange. The latter contains several mosques and the Kasbah, the ancient fortress of the deys. The town is a favorite winter health resort. It has considerable trade; exports wme, wheat, coral, and olive oil. It was for a long time the chief rendezvous of the Algerian pirates; was bombarded by the British under Lord Exmouth, in 1816, and was taken by the French in 1830. Pop. about 200,000.
ALGIN, a jellylike substance found in marine algæ. It was discovered in 1881 by E. C. C. Stanford, of Glasgow. If the leaflike thalli of a laminaria are immersed in water containing a little carbonate of soda, the whole cellular fabric of the plant becomes broken up in the course of 24 hours, forming a thick gelatinous mass containing about 2 per cent. of algin. This mass, after being cautiously heated, is filtered through coarse linen. The properties of algin in the soluble form are those of a very viscous gum, drying up to a transparent elastic film. As a size or dressing for textile fabrics, algin goes further and does more work than starch or any of the ordinary gums, and has the advantage of being easily rendered insoluble in water. Algin makes an excellent thickening for soups, and, with the addition of a little gelatine or isinglass, is serviceable for jellies. The insoluble form of algin, in the dry state, resembles horn, and can be turned and polished. It is a by-product of the manufacture of iodine and is used in the preparation of photographic paper.
ALGOL, a fixed star in Medusa's head, in the constellation Perseus. Technically of 2½ magnitude, it really varies from the 2d to the 4th magnitude in 3½ hours, remaining thus for about 20 minutes. In 3½ hours more it is again of the 2d magnitude, at which it continues for 2 days and 13 hours, after which the same series of changes takes place again.
ALGONKIAN, or ALGONQUIAN, an Indian linguistic stock, originally the most extensive in North America. It extends southward from Labrador to Pamlico Sound, N. C., and westward from Newfoundland to the Rocky Mountains, comprising about 40 tribes, each with a separate language and numerous dialects.
Constant wars with the English, French, and Dutch colonists depleted their numbers. Filled at first with the idea of freeing the soil from the whites, they afterward degenerated into mere mercenaries, fighting on either side for revenge or gain. After the War of 1812, in which they took the side of the British, the United States Government resolved to send them as far W. as
