28 CHAPTER III. 



January ; but at a height of 1,000 to 1,500 feet it 

 may be as late as June. 



The commonest, if not the worst, enemy of the 

 Olive is a fly called the Cairon (Dacus Olece). This 

 insect lays its eggs in the fruit, and the larva eats the 

 pulp. Fruits thus attacked fall off early, and the oil 

 made from them is said to have a bad taste. The 

 Cairon lays its eggs chiefly on the south side of the 

 tree, or else those laid on the .south side hatch better ; 

 for the fruits on the north side are less damaged by 

 the lame, and do not fall off to the same extent. 



It is said that a district planted with Olives will 

 support twenty families for one which could other- 

 wise find subsistence. Since the value of the crop 

 has diminished from other substances being used as a 

 substitute for Olive oil, I believe that the population 

 of these districts has much decreased. So unprofitable 

 has the Olive become, that the cultivation of the tree 

 is being abandoned on several parts ot the Riviera. 

 Thus on the Pessicard hill, near Nice, a considerable 

 space has been cleared for vines. And the aspect 

 of the coast about Mentone, San Remo, and especially 

 Ospedaletti is being rapidly changed by the cutting 

 down of the Olives in order to plant roses. Perfume 

 is good, and ornament ; but we would not wish the 

 Riviera to be entirely devoted to the production of 

 these luxuries. We can never be reconciled to the 

 disappearance of the Olive. Shall a valuable food- 

 plant be destroyed to provide roses, and purely 

 ornamental plants ? There is beauty in the eglantine 

 that clambers on the cottage porch ; but to grow 

 flowers by the acre is to invite famine and to insult 

 Providence. O sacred laws of supply and demand ! 



