298 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



they are very clean, for the road dust and sooty mold that often covers 

 them have a deleterious effect on the quality of the oil. (Calif. 

 E. S. B. 123.) 



Yields. The age at which olive trees come into bearing varies 

 with the variety. In general, however, if the trees have been well 

 cared for, they will bear a few scattering fruits during their fourth 

 and fifth years. When they are seven years old the crop should 

 amount to several gallons per tree. After the age of ten years has 

 been reached, the trees should yield an average of one hundrd pounds 

 per tree, or from three to four tons per acre. Large old trees may 

 occasionally yield seven or eight hundred pounds at one picking. 

 Such a large crop is almost sure to be followed by a light crop the 

 succeeding year. Very heavy crops of olives are undesirable, because 

 the fruits are small and thus the total percentage of pits to bulk of 

 crop is much larger. Olive wood is brittle and the branches are prone 

 to break to pieces under a very heavy load. For these reasons, olive 

 growers should strive by systematic annual pruning to cause the 

 trees to bear a medium load of very fine large olives every year. On 

 account of the labor involved, it is doubtful if thinning the fruit by 

 hand can be done with profit, except perhaps in the case of the very 

 large fruited varieties used in making high grade pickles. 



The Outlook for Olive Products. The consumption of olive 

 products in the United States is far in excess of the production,, 

 although there are facilities in this country for growing an amount 

 of olives greatly exceeding the consumption. There are two chief 

 reasons for this state of affairs. In the first place the wages paid for 

 the labor necessary in the production of olives is approximately three 

 times as much in the United States as in the olive growing countries 

 of Europe and Northern Africa. This difference in the cost of pro- 

 duction of raw material also applies to many other items in connec- 

 tion with the manufacture of olive products. It therefore follows 

 that in spite of the duty on imported olives, the competition of 

 European growers is keenly felt in this country. (Ariz. E. S. B. 62.) 



THE DATE PALM. 



Culture. Properly irrigated, the date palm will grow in most 

 of the Southwestern valley soils and in California; but does not 

 thrive well either in certain excessively heavy clays or in light barren 

 sands. Palms will grow in soils so alkaline as to kill put old, estab- 

 lished, alfalfa; and remain uninjured by water standing at or near 

 the surface of the soil for several months at a time. Only an unusual 

 excess of soluble salts wall inhibit the growth of date palms, small 

 seedlings and suckers being more sensitive than established trees. 



Localities. The date palm occasionally ranges to an elevation 

 of 3,500 feet in sheltered situations. At higher elevations, with 

 shorter growing season, only the earliest varieties can be expected 

 to ripen, while the hottest and longest seasons are too short to prop- 

 erly mature certain valuable late varieties. Medium and early ripen- 

 ing sorts are therefore best suited to our climatic conditions. 



Cutting and Transplanting Suckers. Many native seedlings, 

 as well as imported varieties, are worthy of propagation, which is 



