o 



E 



OLE 



The fifth fort is of humbler growth, feldom rifing 

 mure than four or five feet high, fending out brandies 

 from the root upward, formmg a bufhy Ihrub ; the 

 branches are 



taper 



and covered with a gray bark 



J 



/ 



the leaves arc oval, very ftiff, and fmaller than thole 

 of the other fpecies. This has not produced any fi uit 



in England. 



All thefe forts are prefervcd in the gardens of the 

 curious, but they are rather too tender to thrive in the 

 open air, in the neighbourhood of London, where 

 they are fometimes planted againft walls, and with a 

 little protection in very fevere froft, they are main- 

 tained pretty %vell ; but in Devonfhire there are fome 

 of thefe trees, which have grown in the open air ma- 

 ny years, and are leldom injured by the froft, but 

 the fummers are not warm enough to bring the fruit 

 to maturity. There were feveral of thefe trees planted 

 againft a warm wall at Cambden-houfe near Kenfmg- 

 ton, which fucceeded very well, till their tops were 

 advanced above the wall ; after which they were ge- 

 nerally killed in winter, fo far down as to the top of 

 the walh Thefe in 1719 produced a good number 

 of fruit, which grew fo large as to be fit for pickhng ; 

 but fince that time, their fruit has feldom grown to 



any fize. 



The Olive was, by the ancients, confidered as a ma- 

 ritime tree, and they fuppofed it would not thrive at 

 any diftance from the fea •, but by experience, we find 

 they will fucceed very well in any country, where th« 

 air is of a proper temperature of heat, though the 

 .trees are found to bear the fpray of the fea better than 



moft other forts. 



In Languedoc and Provence, where the Olive-tree is 

 greatly cultivated, they propagate it by truncheons 

 fplit from the roots of the trees ; for as thefe trees 

 arc frequently hurt by hard frofts in winter, fowhen^ 

 their tops are killed, they fend up feveral ftalks 

 ; from the root-, and when thefe are grown pretty' 

 'ftrong, they feparate them with ah ax frdm the root, 

 in the doing of which they are careful to preferve a 

 ■ '• few roots to the truncheons ; thefe are cut off in the 

 "''fpring, after th? danger of froft is over, and plant- 

 -': 'ed about two feet deep in the ground, covering the 

 '^ furface with litjter or mulch, to prevent the fun and 

 Vr-wind frohi' penetrating and drying gf the ground j 

 ^•'^hen the plants have taken new root, they are care- 

 ' ful to ftir the ground and deftroy the weeds. 

 ' This tree will grow in almoft any foil, but when it is 

 planted in rich moift ground, they grow larger and 

 make a finer appearance, than in poor land •, but the 

 fruit is of lefs efteem, becaufe the oil made from it is 

 '' not fo good as that which is produced in a leaner foil. 

 . The chalky ground is efteemed the bcft for thefe trees, 

 and the oil which is made from the trees growing in 

 ' tHa"t fort of land is much finer, and will keep longer 

 thart the other. . ^ ... . . 



In the countries where the inhabitants are curioiis in 

 the making of their oil, they are frequently obliged to 

 get truncheons of the ordinary forts of Olives to 

 'plant; but after they have taken good root, they 

 ■graft them with the fort of Olive which they prefer 

 ''to the others. In Languedoc they chiefly propagate 

 ' ^the Corrh'eau, the Ampoulan, and Moureau, which 

 V are three varieties of the firft fpecies: but in Spain 

 ^ the fccond fort is generally cultivated, where they 

 "have more regard to the fize of the fruity' and the 



-i^ 





^'quantity of oil they will produce, than to their "quality. 



If the culture of thefe trees was. v/ell undcrftood by 



the inhabitants of Carolina, and properly purfued, it 



^^ight become a valuable branch of trade to them ^ 



^ for there is no rcafon to doubt of their fucceedirig, the 



fummers there being hot enough to ripen the fruit to 



^^fs utmoft perfedtion.- * - ■= - v. ■ t 



'In this country the plants are only prefcrved byway 



■ of Ciiriofity, and are placed in winter in the green- 



houfe for variety, fo I ftiall ne^^t give an account of 



the method by which they are here propagated, with 



their manner of treatment. ■ .- • ■ - v 



L 



Thefe plants may be propagated by laying down 



■-*F ■. 



. I 



V^ 



+ 



their tender br::nches (in the manner praclifrd f 

 other trees,) wliicli fliould remain undilturbcd tv'^ 

 years; in whicli tune they will h.ave pir. out 'roots* 

 and may then be taken olf fi-om tiie old pla;us and 



earth, 



y 



!•■» a v.arm fi:uation. 

 IS the be;>innin^ 



thole which are 



placed in 



tranfplanted either into purs iiilcd with tiv!h Ijplu 



or inro the open groujid ' ^ v>' 



The beft feafon fur tranfplanrixv 



of April, when you (liould, ifpoiiibie, takJthc 

 portunity of a moift feafon ; and 

 planted in pots, ftiould be placed in a fludy part 

 of the green-huufe until they have taken root -/but 

 thofe planted in the ground ihould have mulch h,^ci 

 about their roots, to prevent the earth from dryinrr 

 toofaft, and now and then refrePaed with water -but 

 you muft by no means let them have too much moif- 

 ture, which will rot the tender fibres of their roots 

 and deftroy the trees. When the plants have taker! 

 frefti root, thofe in the pots may be expofed to the 

 open air, with other hardy exotics, with which they 

 ftiould be houled in winter, and treated as Myrtles 

 and other lefs tender trees and ftirubs ; but thofe m 

 the open air will require no farther care until the 

 winter following, when you fliould mulch the ^round 

 about their roots, to prevent the froft from^ pene- 

 trating deep into it ^ and if the froft fnould prove 

 very fevere, you fliould cover them with mats, which 

 will defend them from being injured thereby, but 

 you muft be cautious not to let the mats continue 

 over them after the froft is paft, left by keeping 

 them too clofe, their leaves and tender branches 

 fliould turn mouldy for want of free air ; which will 

 be of as bad confequence to the trees, as if they had 

 been expofed to the froft, and m.any times worfe- 

 for it feldom happens, if they have taken much o[ 

 this mould, or have been long covered, fo that it 



- has entered the bark, that they are, ever recoverable 

 again; whereas it often happens, that the froft only 

 deftroys the tender flioots ; but the body and largeV 



.n branches' rerriaining unhurt, put out again the :^c- 



^ ceedmg ipnng.- 



*■ - 



Thefe trees are generally brought over from Italy 

 every fpring, by the perfons who import Orange- 



- \ frees, Jafmines, &c. from whom they may be pro- 



■ ' cured pretty reafonable; which \s a better method 



than to, raiie them from layers* in this country, that 

 being too tedious j and thofe which are thus brought 

 over, have many times very large ftems, to which 

 fize young plants in this country would not arrive 

 in ten or twelve years. When you firft procure thefe 

 ftems, you fliould (after having foaked their roots 

 twenty-four hours in water, and cleaned them from 

 the filth they have contrafted in their paflage) plant 

 then) in pots filled with frefti light fandy earth, and 

 plunge them into a moderate hot- bed, obferving to 

 fcreen them from the violence of the fun in the 

 heat *6f the day, and alfo to refrefti them with water, 

 as you ftiall find the earth in the pots dry. In this 



- fituation they will begin to flioot in fix weeks or two 



■ ■ months after, when you ftiould let them have air in 



proportion to the warmth of the feafon ; and after 

 '^ they -have made pretty good flioots, you fliould in- 

 ure therh to the open air by degrees, into whfch 

 ' they ftiould be removed, placing them in a fitua- 



where they may be defended from 



tion 



ftrong 



• winds ; in this place they fliould remain till October 

 following, when they muft be removed into the 

 green-houfe, as was before direded. Having thus 

 managed thefe plants until they have acquired ftrong 

 roots, and made tolerable good heads, you may 

 draw them out of the pots, preferving the earth to 

 their roots, and plant them in the open air in a 

 warm fituation, where you muft manage them as was 

 before directed for the young ones •, and thefe will 

 in two or three years produce flowers, and in very 

 warm feafo'ns fome fruit, provided they do well. 

 The Lucca and Box-leaved Olives are the hardieft, 

 . for which reafon they fliould be preferred to plant in 

 ■ the open air, but the firft fort will grow to be the 



OxMPHA- 



larseft trees. 



'.f 



i 



V 



