TRANSPLANTING OLIVE TREES 341 



all growing. Shield budding is the most successful in the spring. I prefer 

 the bark grafting, as the shield buds may not start for months, or even for 

 a year. 



Side Graft on Small Wood. A satisfactory graft can be made 

 with an oblique cut, as shown in Chapter IX, which is superior to a 

 split of the stock, because on a small stock the spilt is apt to continue 

 farther than desirable when the scion is pushed in. With the slanting 

 cut in the stock the scion can be firmly pushed into place without 

 splitting. The union of inner barks of scion and stock must be made 

 on one side when the stock is larger than the scion. This graft is tied 

 in and waxed, or a waxed band may be used. In working small wood 

 at the ground surface, the earth should be drawn up around the graft. 



Grafting on Rooted Cuttings. Good trees are made by grafting 

 in the nursery or rooted Picholine cuttings. Such cuttings are made 

 from wood, say, one-half inch in diameter. Using a young scion with 

 a starting bud. Such a scion makes a salable tree with one year's 

 growth. 



PLANTING THE OLIVE 



There is nothing gained by planting out the olive too early in the 

 spring. Both cuttings and rooted plants will do better if planted after 

 the soil becomes well warmed, and after the heavy rains of the winter 

 are well over. Of course the time when this condition comes is different 

 from year to year, and varies, also, according to locality and situation. 

 During the first summer the young plants will need occasional water- 

 ing in some situations ; in others, merely mulching, or keeping the 

 surface finely stirred, will suffice. 



Olive trees are planted at differentdistances, but the ruling intervals 

 are twenty to twenty-five feet. This will allow the trees to bear a 

 number of years before they crowd each other; and then removing 

 alternative trees gives ample distance for future growth. But it is 

 clearly the part of wisdom to hold the olive to a low growth in order 

 that the fruit may be cheaply gathered, and this may be done by 

 proper pruning. 



Transplanting Old Olive Trees. It is often desired to move 

 olive trees of considerable size and the method outlined below is, 

 applicable to olives and citrus fruits and, in a general way, to all ever- 

 green trees : 



After the heavy rains are over and the ground is getting warm say 

 in February cut back not less than one-half of the top. Trench all 

 around the tree to a depth of two or three feet, according to the size 

 of the tree ; the inside edge of the trench about two feet from the trunk 

 of the tree. At the same time remove top earth down to the roots 

 to reduce the weight. This trenching cuts off all side roots and gives 

 room to get in to handle the ball of earth, which rope up with barley 

 sacks under the ropes so as to hold the ball from breaking. When this 

 is done well, dig in and under the tree from the bottom of the 

 trench so as to cut off the bottom roots. Carefully pull and 

 pry the ball to see that it will wobble a little in the hole to 

 show that all the roots are cut. The get ropes and sacks under the 



