296 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



best facilitates gathering the crop. It should always be kept in mind 

 that any part that is unduly shaded will fail to produce fruit. 



All the fruit of the olive is borne on two-year-old wood, and the 

 same wood never bears twice. That is, the crop of this year is borne 

 on the shoots that grew last year, and the next year's crop will be 

 borne on the shoots that develop this year. For this reason a new 

 crop of shoots each year is essential to regular bearing. 



The art of pruning can be learned only by practice and expe- 

 rience; but it will be found useful to keep the following points in 

 mind: Cut away all dead or diseased twigs or branches; thin out 

 wherever the branches are too close; cut back the branches that 

 tend to grow too long, in order to make them send out side shoots 

 for fruiting wood. It should also be kept in mind that heavy pruning 

 confines the sap to fewer outlets, and results in the production of 

 vigorous sterile or wood-bearing shoots; while light pruning, leav- 

 ing a larger number of buds, results in a large number of weaker 

 and more fertile shoots. A tree, therefore, which has sent out an 

 inordinate number of sterile shoots, should not be cut back much; 

 while a tree that has been enfeebled by any cause must be more 

 heavily pruned. 



When a tree has been properly pruned from the beginning, it 

 is seldom necessary to remove anything but small twigs, or to make 

 large wounds. When, however, on account of improper pruning, 

 or of great age of the tree, all the main branches of the tree have be- 

 come bare, and all the fruit-bearing wood has disappeared from the 

 center of the tree, it is necessary to cut back even the largest branches. 

 This, however, should be done gradually, or the tree will be injured 

 by a too sudden curtailment of the leaves, which are its feeding 

 organs. A heavy pruning should be given the first year, sufficient, 

 to force out shoots from the lower parts of the branches. The next 

 year the most vigorous and best situated of these shoots should be 

 chosen to replace the old branches, and the latter cut back still 

 further. A branch of any size should not be cut back too close to 

 the old wood, even when it is intended to suppress it completely, as 

 there is danger of injury to the main branches or trunk by drying 

 out of the wood. Whenever a large cut is made, for any reason, it 

 should be painted over with pitch or some similar substance, to 

 diminish evaporation and to prevent the growth of fungi. 



Grafting and Budding. It has already been stated that when 

 an olive tree is raised from seed, it reverts more or less to the wild 

 form, and produces fruit which is generally unsuited for either oil- 

 making or pickling. To have the desired quality of fruit, therefore, 

 it must be grafted or budded with a better variety. The method of 

 doing this with young trees has already been described under the 

 head of propagation. The olive may be grafted by almost any of 

 the methods used for other fruit trees ; but they are not to be recom- 

 mended except when, as in the case of young seedlings, the graft 

 can be made below the surface of the ground. For large trees, when 

 it is desired to change the variety, budding is to be preferred. 



Budding succeeds well if done at the right time and under the 



