44 DEOUGHT RESISTANCE OF OLIVE IN SOUTHWESTEEN STATES. 



The publication in 1908 of Bulletin 125 of the Bureau of Plant 

 Industry, entitled "Dry-Land Olive Culture in Northern Africa," 

 by Mr. Thomas H. Kearney, has brought to our attention the existence 

 of a great oil-olive industry many centuries old, in the north of 

 Africa, dependent on an average annual rainfall of 9.3 inches. The 

 principal varieties grown are probably of local origin, adapted to 

 these conditions through years of selection. 



Very wide planting allows a great spread of roots for moisture 

 gathering, while a system of clean cultivation and dust-mulch form- 

 ing in vogue in that country before it was occupied by Europeans 

 conserves to the utmost the meager rainfall. 



The most drought resistant of these varieties, the Chemlali, has 

 been imported by the Bureau of Plant Industry, and is being tested 

 at a number of localities in the Southwestern States. 



In view of the remarkable drought resistance shown by European 

 olive varieties accustomed to abundant moisture, as shown in this 

 bulletin, it is believed that with the planting of this desert-bred 

 variety from Africa and the adaptation to our conditions of the 

 Tunisian methods of planting and culture, large areas of land in 

 the Southwestern States possessing a suitable soil and climate but 

 now undeveloped from lack of irrigation water are adapted to pro- 

 duce olive oil. 



Trial plantations are now being made at various points in this 

 region to determine whether such dry-land olive culture will prove 

 profitable on a commercial scale under American conditions. 



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