173*^ J- M. PRIEGO 



The yield is plentiful and the oil is equally satisfactory in quantity and 

 in quality. 



0. e. sorianea (" Nevadillo negro "). — The tree is of medium size 

 the upper surface of the leaves is dark green and the lower a mother-of- 

 pearl white. The fruit is similar to that of " Moradillo bianco " and of good 

 quality. 



0. e. hispidensis (" Gordal " or " Ocal "). — This olive-tree is large ; 

 and bears at an early age ; the branches are strong and lustrous and the 

 leaves are large. The fruit is almost as large as that of the Sevillano and the 

 tip is pointed ; it is greyish when ripe, forms a good table fruit and yields 

 oil satisfactory in quality and quantity. 



0. e. gienensis Colm. (" Javaluno "). — The tree is well-developed 

 and bears large elongated olives. 



0. e. ovata Clem. (" Tachuno castellano " or " Cirujal "). — The tree 

 is of medium height ; the branches are long and bear plentiful side shoots ; 

 the leaves are narrow and long. The small oval fruit ripens early and gives 

 a very fine quality of oil. 



Other less common varieties. — Among these may be mentioned " Colcho- 

 nudo " " de Arola " " Tempranillo " " Rodonillo " " Bellotudo " " Bernie- 

 juela " "Nogral" " Verdaleja" "Madrilefio" "Ojo de liegre " which have 

 been described by M. Colmeiro in his work, to which reference has already 

 been made. There are other varieties in addition to these which might 

 also be mentioned, but, as they have not been clearly classified, it is pos- 

 sible that the}' may prove to be merely local names for v^arieties which 

 have been already described. 



Methods of cui^tivation. 



Although the olive is grown extensively in Spain, its cultivation, in 

 comparison with that of other important crops, has been little studied and 

 cared for. During the last few years, however, a tendency to improve the 

 methods of cultivation has been observed. 



The plant is usually propagated by cuttings which are permanently 

 planted. In the province of Valentia and in parts of Andalusia the cuttings 

 are planted singly ; in the majority of the provinces several cuttings are 

 planted on the same spot, and these give rise to a number of shoots of 

 v.hich three or four are preserved, allowed to grow and trained in a defi- 

 nite manner. In the eastern provinces the practice of planting cuttings 

 in nurseries is spreading. 



As regards tillage the land is ploughed three or four times usually 

 between the end of the wiiiter and the svimmer. Care is taken that the 

 direction in which the land is ploughed on each occasion crosses that 

 direction in which the work was carried out on the preceding occasion, 

 Tillage at the foot ot the trees is carried out by hand and takes place at 

 two seasons in the year. In the southern districts a ditch is dug round 

 the trunk in the autumn to collect rain water and in the spring the soil 

 Tound the trunk is thrown up to form a mound (" aporcando ").In other 



