BARCA, north Africa, an Italian posses sion, part of Libia Italiana, lying east of Tripoli, about 500 miles long by 400 miles wide. It forms a portion of the ancient Cyrenaica, in its widest sense, where the Greeks had two flourishing colonies. The Greeks were followed in possession of the country by the Romans, and the monuments of both peoples remain in the ruins of their cities. The sides and sum mits of the hills in the east and north are fertile, and yield abundant crops and excellent pasture. The loftiest heights do not exceed 1,800 feet. Flowering shrubs occur in great variety, including, among others, roses, laures tinas, honeysuckles, etc. The Bedouin inhabit ants have numerous camels and other cattle, constituting their principal wealth. Among beasts of prey the most common are hyenas and jackals; noxious insects also abound. There are hardly any permanent streams, most of the water-courses being of the nature of mountain torrents, which lose themselves in the sands of the Libyan Desert. The eastern
portion, however, is tolerably well supplied with water by rains and springs. The chief exports of the country consist of grain and cattle, along with ostrich feathers and ivory, brought by caravans from the interior. Tht sponge fisheries are also important. The chief imports are textiles and drugs. Next to Ben gazi, the capital, the seaport of Derna is the chief town. Barca used to form a dependency of Tripoli, later a separate province under Turkish dominion. By the' Treaty of Quchy, signed by the Turkish and Italian delegates 18 Oct. 1912, it was formally recognized as a de pendency of Italy; it forms with Tripoli the new Italian colony Libya. The population is variously estimated, but probably does not much exceed 325,000.