112 [ THE OLIVE TREE 



usually curved on one side, and turns to a dull brown 

 purple at maturity in December- January. This olive is 

 fairly oleiferous, but yields oil of inferior quality. It is a 

 first class olive for the table. 



j). LARGE ALMOND-SHAPED OLIVE. (JA^Zebbug 

 ta Marsilja, Zekbug tal pickles, sometimes also Zebbug 

 franc is. \\-la grossa, gambettone ? mandorlino ?) The 

 tree is of large size and very vigorous, it is also very 

 productive. The foliage is of a dull whitish green 

 colour. The leaves are very long and narrow, almost 

 linear towards the stalk, and often curved at the tip. The 

 fruit is very large, on a solitary stalk, heart-shaped or 

 almond-shaped, elongated, with a prominent but obtuse 

 extremity. Stone small for the size of the fruit, which at 

 maturity in November- December, turns to a purple 

 colour, often blotched white. This is a very desirable 

 table olive of excellent quality and keeps fairly well. The 

 tree is cultivated in single specimens in many gardens, 

 but should be grown more extensively. 



Numerous small -fruited forms of the olive tree 

 approaching more or less to the wild types, or to the 

 Bitnia Olive, are met with occasionally in local groves, 

 but they are of little importance to the cultivator. There 

 are also certain variations of the large-fruited varieties, 

 which may have originated from seed or by bud mutation 

 and which may be important if they happen to possess 

 valuable qualities representing an improvement on the 

 typical form. Moreover, the quality of the soil and the 

 method of cultivation generally have a well-marked 

 influence on the productiveness of the tree and on the 

 size and quality of the fruit. 



The fruit of the olive tree is generally picked by 

 hand, and where the use of ladders is not possible, it is 

 shaken down by a pole or reed, and is received on pieces 

 of canvas spread beneath the tree. The use of the pole or 

 seed by export hands is not attended by the danger of 



