594 



Being so fortunate as to have good soils in this State, we should provide for main- 

 taining their fertility ; and in order to obtain constant Buccess in olive culture I 

 would recitiiiniend the use of a compound fertilizer, more convenient to the olive 

 growers tlian liigl)-]irired special fertilizers. A very good fertilizer may be pre- 

 pared by niakiu'i a (((iiipost of stable niautire, olive leaves ami twigs, black waters 

 obtained in pressingoil. vegetable ashes (especially those from the olive), a little sheep- 

 corral manure or human fa*ces, scraps of horn. bone, ami oHal from the slaughter- 

 hiMise. and wool and leather wa.st<'. We shoul<l also never neglect the residue from 

 the olives themselves, ou aectiunt of valuable substan<es they contain, both in the 

 natural state and as ashes. Oil cake, for example, ccuitains 9.71 per cent of nitrog- 

 enous matter, and its ashes X.94 per cent of potash and 9.45 per cent of phosphoric 

 acid. All the substan«es mentioned or as many of tln-m as are at hand must be 

 well mixeil together and well cured in the manure pit, adding also earth and leaf 

 mold found in the neighborhood of the farm. * * * 



I would say, tirst of all. that the olive tree, planted in a soil which suit« it, does 

 not need mu<h manuring, and that in order to obtain oil of a superior quality the 

 manuring must never be abundant, because while abundant manuring gives a large 

 crop, the quality of the oil resulting is inferior au<l dithcult to keep. • • • 



For level lands dig a shallow trencii around the trunk at a distance varying 

 according to the age and size of the trees. That trench should be nearly 16 inches in 

 tiepth and distant from 2 to Gi feet from the trunk. In order to aerate tlm layer 

 of soil wlicrc the roots are, the trench sliould remain open for about 4(» days in 

 case of eomjiait soils, but only for l."> days in case of light (mes. After that timo 

 the bottom of the trench is covered with a thin layer «if tine earth, and u]>on it is 

 place<l the wcll-cun'<l manure. The trench is then tilled with half of the earth exca- 

 vated and the rest is used when the soil around the trunk settles. For hill lands 

 th«> manure is placed in a round hole nia«lo in the soil on the njiper side of the tree, 

 so that the water in filtering through the soil carries the nutritive juices iut<» con- 

 tact with the root.s V)elow. The quantity of the manure to be given varies with the 

 age and c<iudition of the tree, the nature of the soil and of the manure, and finally 

 acconling to the methods of culture. 



<)f<ou\post jircitared more or less a-s indicated above, we may give from 40 to HO 

 p«iunds to each tree, sujqiosing the <onditions of soil and climate be fa^<•rable; but 

 the "'rower should vary the quantity according to the s]tecial conditions of his liK-a- 

 ti<m. and also according to his exi»erience. if he has grown olives for several years. 

 We must, moreover, maintain the equilibrium of /egetation by ]>runing pro|iortion- 

 ately to the quality of the soil or the quantity of the manure employed. If the 

 manuring was abundant, little pruning ought to be given; if. on the contrary, the 

 manuring was slight, pruning ought to be heavier. In this way the vegetative 

 e(iuilibrium is maintained ami the production will not suft'er. It is impossible to 

 indicate precisely the time for manuring. Autumn is the time for cold .soils, where 

 manure will decomixise very slowly, so that at the starting of vegetation the trees 

 may lind the nutritive ingredients ready for use. Spring is the proper time for 

 warm, very permeable soils, or those subje<t to be washed by rain. If such soils 

 were manured in autumn very little nutrinjeiit would remain at the commencement 

 of growth in sjiring. Annual manuriuj; is of course the most rational and shouhl 

 be calculated so as to rejdaie, a.s nearly as jJo.Hsible, the ingredients witlnlrawn by 

 the preceding crop. 



Fiber plants for California (pp. 177-192). — Tbi.s im-ltult'.s arti- 

 cles on tlio Production of T\;unio. l>y E. W. TTIl^'anl. PIkD.: (~'oiii])ositi«»n 

 of the lianiie Plant, by M. K..Iatla, Ph. B.; and Fhix for Seed and I'iher, 

 by E. J. Wicksou, M. A., reprinted from PuUetins Nos. W and 94 of the 

 station (see Experiment Station Record, vol. ii, p. 471, and V(d. in, ]). 

 371). 



