2334 



OLEARIA 



OLIVE 



Ivs. alternate, oblong, elliptic or oblong-ovate, 1J4 in. 

 or less long, shining above and tomentose beneath: 

 heads small and numerous, containing 8-10 florets, and 

 3-5 short broad white rays. B.M. 6592. G.C. III. 

 20:533. Gn. 38, p. 149; 78, p. 473. J.H. III. 68:265. 

 F. 1874, p. 198. R.H. 1913, pp. 495, 497. 



Other recent accessible portraits of olearias as cult, 

 plants are: 0. chathamica, Kirk, G.C. III. 53:363; O. 

 Forsteri, Hook, f., G. 35:515; 0. insignis, Hook. f.. 

 G.C. III. 57:333. Gn. 79, p. 301. G. 37:283. 0. 

 macrodonta, Baker, G. 35:443, 445; O. myrsinoides, 

 Muell., Gn. 77, p. 58, the Australian daisy-bush bloom- 

 ing in England in June; 0. nitida, Hook, f., G.M. 

 56:692. G. 35:757; O. semidentata, Decne., B.M. 

 8550; O. stellulata, DC. (O. Gunniana, Hook, f.), 

 B.M. 4638. Gn. 78, p. 350. R.H. 1913, p. 547. 



L. H. B. 



OLEASTER: Elxagnus angustifolia; also Olea. 



OLFERSIA (after Ignaz Olfers, a German consul at 

 Rio Janiero). Polypodiacese. A genus of one species 

 related to Polybotrya, formerly classified with Acros- 

 tichum. Fertile and sterile Ivs. dissimilar, the sterile 

 2-pinnate, the fertile 3-pinnate, with the sporangia in 

 masses completely covering the backs. 



cervina, Kunze. A showy large fern adapted for 

 cult, on palm trunks, and the like: rootstock creeping, 

 densely clothed with long narrow scales, the Ivs. 3-6 

 ft. long, 10-20 in. broad, coriaceous, with prominent 

 veins which unite at the margins. j^ Q BENEDICT. 



OLIGOBOTRYA (few clusters'). Uliacese. One 

 species, in China, intermediate between Smilacina 

 and Polygonatum. It is an erect herb, 3 ft. and more 

 tall, adapted (in England) to a shady moist border such 

 as is suited to hardy cypripediums. 0. Henryi, Baker, 

 is the species: Ivs. ovate-oblong or ovate, alternate, 

 sessile or short-stalked, many-nerved, pubescent, about 

 4 in. long: fls. white or pale yellow, in terminal simple or 

 branching racemes; perianth-tube cylindric, H m - l n g> 

 the 6 broad lobes shorter and spreading; stamens 

 joined to throat of corolla, the filaments very short; 

 ovary ovoid, the stigma 3-lobed. B.M. 8238. Var. 

 violacea, C. H. Wright, has a violet perianth-tube and 

 paler lobes. B.M. 8238. 



OLIVE. A small evergreen tree grown for its drupes 

 which yield oil and are also prepared as a food and 

 condiment. 



The cultivated olive (Olea europsea) is the typical 



species of the genus 

 Olea (Fig. 2570). It is 

 found growing wild in 

 various countries from 

 the Punjab to Morocco 

 and the Canary Islands 

 and on both sides of the 

 Mediterranean from 

 the slopes of the Atlas 

 to southern France and 

 Macedonia 

 where moisture 

 and temperature 

 conditions are 

 favorable. It is 

 parti cularl y 

 abundant in Sy- 

 ria and Algeria. 

 The wild formhas 

 small rigid leaves 

 and a fruit with 

 ' little flesh and is 



2570 'HiWW' sometimes con- 



OliveTflower szdered as a dis- 



and fruit, tinct botanical 



variety under 



the name of oleaster or Olea sylvestris (see Olea) . It is 

 used as a stock on which to graft the cultivated forms 

 and in Algeria the government encourages the utiliza- 

 tion of wild trees by grafting in place (Fig. 2571). 



The cultivated olive is grown throughout the same 

 region and, with the aid of irrigation, in localities too 

 dry for its naturalization. It has been grown from pre- 

 historic times in Asia Minor where it seems to have 

 originated. Its culture was introduced into all Medi- 

 terranean countries by the Phoenicians, Greeks, and 

 Romans. In modern times it has been widely dispersed 

 by colonists in America, Australia, and South Africa. 



In the United States the olive succeeds only in Cali- 

 fornia and in parts of Florida, Arizona, and New Mex- 

 ico. It was planted at the missions by the Franciscan 

 padres and from the trees grown there came the variety 

 now known as the Mission, which is still preferred to 

 all other varieties by most growers. The original trees 

 were grown at the San Diego Mission from seeds 

 brought from Mexico. Like the Mission grape, the Mis- 

 sion olive has not been identified with any Old World 

 variety and is probably a seedling. Some growers dis- 

 tinguish several forms or variations of the Mission, 

 differing in size and form of leaf, fruit, and tree. The 

 correctness of this view seems probable from the mode 

 of its origin, but others consider these differences to be 

 due simply to variations of soil and climate. 



The olive thrives in all soils providing they are deep 

 and well drained, but the crops are in proportion to 

 the fertility of the soil. The olive will often make a 

 handsome vigorous tree in dry situations unsuited to 

 most fruits, provided the subsoil will allow of deep 

 penetration of the roots. Paying crops are obtained, 

 however, only on fairly fertile soil and with intelligent 

 and thorough cultivation. It requires a slightly greater 

 annual sum of heat than the vine and is more sensitive 

 to whiter cold, which should never fall below 14 F., 

 nor frequently below 19 F. A clear dry atmosphere is 

 favorable. Summer rains or fogs render the tree sub- 

 ject to the attack of the black scale, which is very 

 harmful and difficult to control on the olive. 



Suitable situations and paying orchards are found in 

 California from the upper end of the Sacramento Valley 

 to the borders of Mexico in Imperial County. Most of 

 the paying orchards are on the slopes of the Sierras at 

 moderate elevations, in southern California, and widely 

 scattered through both the Sacramento and the San 

 Joaquin valleys. There are a few good orchards in 

 favored locations in the inner coast valleys from Sonoma 

 southward. Olive-growing promises to be very success- 

 ful in the Imperial Valley. 



The suitability of California for olive-growing began 

 to be generally recognized between 1880 and 1890 and 

 many orchards were planted during this period. The 

 expectations of large profits were not as a rule realized 

 when the trees came into bearing. Several causes con- 

 tributed to this. The oil could not compete with the 

 cheap cottonseed oil which was often sold as "pure 

 olive oil;" the ripe pickled olives were a novelty and 

 their merits not understood in the East and the first 

 attempts to manufacture green pickled olives were 

 unsuccessful. Many orchards were accordingly up- 

 rooted and few trees were planted during the next 

 fifteen years. Recently effective pure-food laws have 

 removed much of the competition of imported and 

 domestic cottonseed oil, the taste for ripe pickled olives 

 has been acquired by a large body of consumers and 

 the methods of producing green pickles have been per- 

 fected. Few of the last, however, are made, as the 

 demand for good ripe pickles exceeds the supply. Olive- 

 growing has therefore been on a profitable basis for 

 some years and large new plantations have been made 

 during the last five years. 



No reliable statistics of the olive industry are avail- 

 able but the statistician of the California State Board 

 of Agriculture places the number of trees in California 



