AFRICA. The relations between Egypt and Turkey continued in an unsettled condition during 1871. In the beginning of the year new preparations were made by the Khedive for a declaration of independence, but in April he asserted his readiness to comply with the demands of the Sultan, and particularly to abandon the project of building forts on the Suez Canal. During the latter part of the year the relations appeared to be of a friendly character. The Khedive received assurances of a most friendly disposition on the part of his sovereign; at the same time, however, he was given to understand that, in future, he must not make any warlike preparations without having previously received the consent of the Sultan. The Egyptian Government had several differences with foreign powers, the most serious of which was with Spain. All of them were, however, peaceably settled.

The Bey of Tunis was threatened by the Turkish Government with a considerable reduction of power. After protracted negotiations, an agreement was arranged. A firman of the Sultan provides that the Bey, as regent of Tunis, remains subject to the Ottoman Empire, and abandons the right of having diplomatic intercourse with foreign powers. The tribute heretofore paid by Tunis will be discontinued, and its amount applied to the reduction of the taxes. The regency in Tunis remains hereditary in the family of the Bey, provided that it shows itself permanently worthy of this favor. The Bey engages to introduce into Tunis all the state institutions of Turkey, and to restore order in his finances.

Important news has, after a long interval, again been received from Abyssinia. The English Colonel Kirkham, who commands the regular troops of Prince Kassa, of Tigré, writes on July 12, 1871, from Adowah: "At last the long conflict with Gobazie (the wagshoom or chief of the Agows of Lasta, who, in 1869, caused himself to be proclaimed as Emperor

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under the title of Hazie Giorghis) is at an end. We had, on July 9th, a battle, in which we took Gobazie and his whole army prisoners, and now Kassa will become Emperor of Abyssinia." Letters from Munzinger, the distinguished German traveller, to the Khedive of Egypt, fully confirmed this news. The fact that the decisive battle was fought near Adowa, the capital of Tigré, indicates that Gobazie must previously have been in the ascendency. The subsequent successes of Kassa are partly attributed to the cannon which Lord Napier presented to him, and to the Congreve torpedoes which the brothers Powell gave to him in recognition of the services rendered by Prince Kassa to them while searching for their murdered brother. Later accounts from that country state that the whole of Central Abyssinia was in a state of rebellion, and that a number of towns had fallen into the hands of Ali Bira, the chief of Yadyoo, who had been liberated from the prison of Magdala by the English army under Lord Napier.

The Legislature of the Cape Colony appointed a committee of federation to examine whether the better administration of the colony, and its prosperity in general, would not be promoted by dividing the province, according to the example of Canada, into provinces, each of which would have its own legislature for local purposes. A party is beginning to form in the Cape Colony which aims at the establishment of a confederation of SouthAfrican states. In Natal a confederation of this kind is likewise the subject of a lively discussion.

Valuable works on Tunis and Tripoli have been published by H. Freiherr von Maltzahn ("Reise in die Regentschaften Tunis und Tripolis," 2 vols., Leipsic, 1870), and by A. Perry ("Carthage and Tunis, past and present," Providence, 1869). Perry was, until September, 1867, consul of the United States in Tunis. Maltzahn gives a tabular view of the population of

At the beginning of the year 1871, the Imaum of Muscat was slain in battle, and was succeeded by Synd Toskes, the victor. The new ruler possessed a naval force almost unexampled in the history of the East, the register showing an eighty-four-gun ship, two seventyfour-gun ships, and over fifty square-rigged vessels, most of them armed, and built at Bombay, after European models.

In September an insurrection of the Kabyles broke out in Morocco. The cause of the outbreak was the establishment of a Moorish custom-house on the coast. The revolted Kabyles also committed overt acts against the Spanish garrison of Melilla (a seaport town belonging to Spain). They planted a battery within range of the citadel, with the intention of bombarding it, but their guns were dismounted by the fire from the Spanish fortifications.

The reports from the diamond-fields in South Africa, though, to some extent, contradictory, continued to attract, throughout the year, a large floating population. A number of settlements were arising, and Du Toit's Pan was, in November, 1871, reported to have a population of 16,000.

In March information was received in Paris that the Arab chief Sidi Mokrani, with 40,000 troops, was within twenty-five leagues of Algiers, and had declared war against France. The leader of the insurrection was killed in May, but, on July 1st, Jules Favre, in the Na

tional Assembly, admitted that several districts were still in the hands of the insurgents. He denied that the property of the insurgents had been confiscated. In October advices were received stating that the natives in the northeen part of Constantine had risen against the French, and were in open hostility. In November the French Government announced that the restoration of tranquillity was nearly completed.

In December, it was officially announced in the Cape Colony, that in fulfilment of a recent contract of sale made to the English Crown, by the free preemptors of the diamond fields, the territory of these fields had been annexed to the English dominions in South Africa. The tender of arbitration, wherein the governments of Germany, Holland, and the United States were to act as umpires, had arrived too late to suspend the negotiations. Mr. Brand, President of the Free States, issued a formal protest against the transfer of the diamond fields to Great Britain.

AFZELIUS, ARVID AUGUST, an eminent Swedish historian and clergyman, born in Broddetorps, Sweden, May 6, 1785; died in the rector's house at Enköping, where he had resided over half a century, September 25, 1871. The family of Afzelius is one of the most celebrated for learning in West Gothland, and five of its members have attained a cosmopolitan reputation in science, philology, and literature. Receiving a very thorough home-training, young Afzelius entered the University of Upsala in 1809, and, two years later, having gained the title of Master of Philosophy, was ordained a priest. His brilliant talents and rare oratorical powers led to his appointment in 1812 as preacher to the court of Sweden, and the following year as head court-preacher. In 1821 he was installed in the pastorate of Enköping and Narfrukyr-koforsamlings, which position he held until his death, a period of over fifty years. From the time that he entered the University of Upsala he had devoted himself to the study of Scandinavian history and folk-lore. In 1815, in company with Erik Gustav Geijer, and Rask, the Danish archæologist, he made many translations from the songs of the Icelandic Edda into the Swedish tongue, which are still greatly prized for their charming simplicity and their highly-poetic spirit. In 1816 he composed a tragedy, in six acts; but, though possessing rare poetic merit, it was not adapted to the stage, and was not successful. He also wrote several psalms, which are still in use in the Swedish Lutheran churches. But his great work, and the one which has made his name a household word, as his works are household books in almost every family of Sweden and Denmark, is his "Svenska Folkets Sagohafder," or Swedish Chronicles, universally known in those countries as the "Afzeh Chronicles," published in 1839-'43. This is a faithful description of the home-life, customs, early laws, and habits and manners of the

Norse people in all their past history. It is recognized as one of the most valuable contributions to Scandinavian history ever made.

AGRICULTURE. Our returns of the crops of 1871 must, as usual, be only an approximation, as the returns to the Agricultural Department are unusually late, and at the date of our going to press they have not yet published the statistics of 1870 in full. The material is at hand, however, for making our approximations sufficiently clear to answer all practical purposes. The year 1871 was characterized by remarkable meteorological conditions, which materially affected the crops in some sections. The spring was exceptionally late: frosts occurring in many sections in the latter part of April, and even into May, while in some parts of New England there was a frost sufficiently severe to do damage to the growing crops as late as June 24th. June had its very marked alternations of hot and cold weather; July was quite cool throughout, and the rainfall in both months in the Atlantic States was unusually heavy, while in the Northwest the beginnings of the drought, which continued so long, and eventually proved so destructive, were seen during July. August was very hot and moist on the Atlantic slope and in the central belt of Western States, while in the Northwest it was hot and dry; September was cool and dry; and October, though proportionally milder in temperature, was equally dry, and the forest sand prairies of the Northwest were like tinder, and soon, over large districts, were swept by the devouring flames. The great conflagration at Chicago, on the 8th of October, also exerted its influence on the agricultural products of the year, not only in its destruction of very large quantities of grain, but in its blocking the avenues of trade, and preventing the reception and prompt shipping of large quantities of grain to the Atlantic ports.

Yet, with all these drawbacks, the crops of the year were very nearly of average amount; some of them a little in excess, and others, though not the most important, rather short.

The Wheat crop was not quite equal to that of 1870, the Southern wheat-fields suffering from rust, and those of the Northwest from the chinch-bug and the weevil. It is estimated in round numbers at 219,500,000 bushels, or about seven per cent. below the actual crop of last year.

Indian-corn did not yield quite so much to the acre, and was not of quite so good an average quality in consequence of the drought, and in some places early frosts; but the acreage was larger, and the aggregate crop very nearly the same as the previous year, being estimated at 1,092,000,000 against 1,094,255,000 in 1870.

The Rye crop in 1870 was over-estimated, the actual returns being only 15,473,600, instead of 21,125,000, as was supposed. It is always a difficult crop to estimate even approxi

mately, as its culture is so much scattered, a few acres here, and another patch perhaps in the next county, or farther off. From the reports the crop appears to be about three per cent. less than in 1870, or not quite fifteen million bushels.

Oats were about an average crop, cut off partially or wholly in some sections, but yielding enormously in others, a yield of ninety-five bushels to the acre being reported in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, and seventy-five bushels in Muscatine County, Iowa. The aggregate may be set down at about 245,000,000 bushels.

Barley is grown in only twenty-eight States of the Union, and is not increasing largely in acreage even in those; but the crop of 1871 was about an average, and may fairly be estimated at 26,000,000 bushels.

The Buckwheat crop was largely overestimated in 1870, the actual yield being under 10,000,000 bushels instead of 16,500,000. In 1871 it was something less than in 1870, and probably did not exceed 9,400,000 bushels.

The yield of Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) is reported slightly larger than in 1870, though there was a decrease in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, and Missouri. An estimate of 117,000,000 bushels would not probably be far from the truth.

The Sweet Potato (Batatus edulis) is grown in twenty-five States, and forms a very important addition to our vegetable supplies for a considerable portion of the year, and its cultivation is increasing, a much larger acreage being devoted to it in the seaboard Southern States than before the war. The tubers raised in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, are much sweeter and more palatable than those grown on Long Island or in the Middle States. The average yearly product is certainly not below 50,000,000 bushels (it was 42,000,000 in 1860), and the crop of 1871 was very slightly below the average. Considerable quantities of both the sweet and Irish potatoes are brought into our markets early in the season from the Bermuda Islands.

The Hay crop of 1870 was under-estimated, the actual product being about 24,525,000 tons. In 1871 the aftermath was cut short by the drought in the Northwest, and the same cause so diminished the pasturage that a greater amount would be required, and feeding was commenced earlier. The destructive fires in the Northwest also burned considerable quantities in Michigan and Wisconsin. The crop probably reached 22,300,000 tons.

The production of Rice, which, in 1850 and the ten years which followed, reached its highest point, an average production of over 200,000,000 pounds, and which in 1865 had almost ceased to be reckoned among our agricultural products, is again increasing and extending, not only in its old region, in South Carolina and Georgia, but in Louisiana, where 20,000,000 pounds were grown in 1869. In

rated by long cultivation. The experiments made by Mr. J. I. Carter, the Superintendent of the Eastern Experimental Farms in Chester County, Pennsylvania, are very interesting on this point. He experimented with sixty-nine varieties of wheat under as nearly as possible the same circumstances of soil, fertilization, temperature, and cultivation, and in the annexed table are given the time of cutting, weight of straw, and yield of grain per acre, of each variety.

It will be seen that, contrary to the general impression, neither the White Touzelle, nor the Diehl, nor the Tappahannock, the three most vaunted varieties, was among the most prolific in its production, the former ranking fifteenth in the amount of its yield of grain, and tenth in its production of straw, and the two latter ranking thirty-sixth and thirtyseventh in their yield of grain, while, in the straw-product, the Diehl ranked fortieth, and the Tappahannock twenty-seventh. The most remarkably-productive varieties were: the Old White Chaff Mediterranean, a bearded variety which yielded 37.86 bushels to the acre with 4,704 pounds of straw, a total yield of 31⁄2 tons to the acre; Rogers's, a smooth variety, yielding 37.80 bushels of grain, but only 3,844 pounds of straw, or a total of not quite three tons to the acre; the Witter, having both smooth and bearded heads, and yielding 36.53 bushels of grain and 3,792 pounds of straw; the White Chaff Mediterranean, a recent importation, bearded, with 36.13 bushels of grain and 4,536 pounds of straw. From these high figures there was a regular gradation from 34.66 bushels down to 4.80, a variety from the Cape of Good Hope. These experiments seem to have been made under such circumstances as to vary very little from the ordinary conditions of wheat-raising, and are on this account the more valuable. Very little dependence can be placed on the relation of those experiments, which, from the product of a small quantity of wheat on a square rod of ground carefully prepared for the crop, assure us of a yield of fifty or seventy-five bushels to the acre; these results will not be realized in ordinary grain-growing, and they only delude the purchaser. The "Fultz wheat, not among those tested by Mr. Carter, is a variety originating in Pennsylvania, which seems to give promise of being more than usually prolific, and the grain is of excellent quality. On the reclaimed tule-lands in the islands of the Sacramento River, the first crops of wheat and barley have been enormous, and subsequent crops, though not quite so large, were yet far beyond those produced elsewhere. We have authentic records of first crops of wheat on these islands, extending over many acres, with an average yield of from sixtynine to seventy-three bushels to the acre, and of subsequent crops of from fifty-eight to sixty bushels.

The new varieties of oats, some twelve or