DEFENCE — PRODUCTION AND INDUSTRY 905
At the end of the year 1915 the Tunisian Public Debt amounted to about 360,000,000 francs (90,000,000/.). The yearly charge for interest (at 3, 3i. and 4 per cent, due on the various loans— 1892, 1902, 1903, 1907, and 1912) together with sinking fund is 490,893/. In normal conditions, the 1903 loan (610,000/.) will be extinguished in 1968, and the rest in 1988.
Defence.— The army of occupation, which, in 1913, numbered 17,514 men, including 600 officers, consisted in 1914, of a nucleus of French troops supported by native regiments {tirailleurs and spahis). Of the latter, which were supplied by a system of local conscription, not all were permanently employed in the Regency itself. It may be sufficient to say, at the present time, that while the army of occupation has been maintained at the strength considered desirable, no less than 35,000 native troops have been serving in Europe under the French colours since the beginning of the war.
Production and Industry. — Tunis may be divided into rive dis tricts— the north, characterised by its mountainous formation, having large and fertile valleys (e.g., the valley of the Merjerdah, and the plains oi Mornag, Mateur, and Beja) ; the north-east, with the peninsula of Cap Bon, the soil being specially suited for the cultivation of oranges, lemons, and citrus fruits ; the Sahel, where olive trees abound ; the centre, the region of high table lands and pastures ; and the south, famous for its oases and gardens, where dates grow in profusion. The chief industry is agriculture, and large estates predominate. The area of the country is divided as follows : — 7 million acres of tillage land ; 2,740,000 acres of forest ; containing 11,907,007 olive trees and 1,035,152 palm trees; 58,115 acres of vine- yards ; and 12,800,000 acres of stock land. The area of wheat in 1919 was 1,424,652 acres; the production was 190,000 tons; of barley (1919) 1,119,337 acres, and the production 120,000 tons; of oats 139,442 acres, and the production 45,000 tons. . For 1920 the results of the cereal crops were given as follows: — Wheat, 110,000 tons; barley, 60,000 tons; and oats, 22,000 tons. The total area of vineyards in 1919 wa3 58,115 acres, and 9,771,454 gallons of wine was produced. In the south of Tunis the date palms produced in 1918, 91,632,744 pounds of dates. Other products are almonds, oranges, lemons, shaddocks, pistachios, alfa grass, henna, and cork. The cork forests in the north-west have an area of 817,440 acres. Considerable areas of agricultural land have been acquired either on lease or by purchase by immigrants. In 1919 the total area occupied by French colonists was 2.675,020 acres, by Italiaus 345,000 acres, and by other Europeans 113,600 acres.
In 1919 the farm animals were: — horses, 78,864; asses, 198,654 ; mules, 31,324; cattle, 634,823 ; sheep, 2,661,579 Jgoats, 1,660,621 ; camels, 170,606 ; pigs, 17,680.
In 1919 40 mines were worked. These are being developed, and the output steadily increases. Lead-ore, zinc-ore, and iron are all found. By far the greatest development has been in phosphates, the output of which is increasing yearly. Mineral output in 1919 : — lead, 13,455 tons ; zinc, 6,185 tons ; iron, 360,453 tons ; manganese, 1,313 tons ; phosphate of lime, 815,385 tons ; total value of the minerals, 1918, 2,922,335/.
Native industries are the spinning and weaving of wool for garments, carpet weaving, leather embroidery, saddle making, the manufacture of slippers, pottery (in ancient style), and matting ; tanning and silk weaving are declining.
