in Extra-Tropical Countries. 235 



France, and recommends among them : 1. The Courniau or Courniale, 

 also called Plant de Salon, bearing most prolifically a small fruit and 

 producing an excellent oil. 2. Picholine, which by pruning its top- 

 branches is led to spread over eight yards square or more; it is of 

 weeping habit, yields a good oil in fair quantity, and resists the attacks 

 of insects well. 3. The Mouraou or Mourette, a large tree also fur- 

 nishing oil of a very fine quality. Olive-trees require judicious pruning 

 immediately after the fruit is gathered, when the sap is comparatively 

 at rest. They may be multiplied from seeds, cuttings, layers, suckers, 

 truncheons and old stumps, the latter to be split. They can also be 

 propagated from protuberances at the base of the stem, which can be 

 sent long distances (Boothby). Tne germination of the seeds is pro- 

 moted by soaking the nutlets in a solution of lime and wood-ash. The 

 seedlings can be budded or grafted after a few years. Truncheons or 

 estacas may be from one to many feet long and from one to many 

 inches thick; they are placed in the ground horizontally. Some 

 Olive-plantations at Grasse are worth from 200 to 250 per acre. 

 For many details the tract on the "Culture of Olive and its Utiliza- 

 tion," issued in Melbourne by the Rev. Dr. Bleasdale, should be 

 consulted, as it rests largely on its author's observations during a long 

 stay in Portugal; also the essay of Sir Samuel Davenport in Adelaide, 

 and the treatise recently issued by Capt. Ellwood Cooper in San 

 Francisco. 



The following notes are derived from the important " Tratado del 

 Cultivo del Olivo en Espana," by the Chev. Capt. Jose de Hidalgo- 

 Tablada (second edition, Madrid, 1870). The olive-tree will resist 

 considerable frost (5 F.) for a short time, provided that the thawing 

 takes place under fogs or mild rain (or perhaps under a dense smoke). 

 It requires about one-third more annual warmth than the vine for 

 ripening its fruit. The Olive-zones of South-Europe and North- 

 Africa are between 18 and 44 north latitude. An elevation of 

 about 550 feet corresponds in Spain, as far as this culture is concerned, 

 to one degree further north. Olives do not grow well on granitic 

 soil. The fruit produced on limestone-formations is of the best 

 quality. Gypsum promotes the growth of the tree. An equable 

 temperature serves best; hence exposure to prevailing strong winds 

 is to be avoided. The winter temperature should not fall below 19 

 F. The quantity of oil in the fruit varies from 10 to 20 per cent.; 

 sometimes it even exceeds the latter proportion. In the Provence an 

 average of 24 Ibs. of olive-oil are consumed by each individual of the 

 population annually; in Andalusia, about 30 Ibs. G. Don mentions 

 an aged tree near Gerecomis to have provided olives for 240 quarts 

 of oil in one year. For obtaining the largest quantity of oil the fruit 

 must be completely ripe. Hand-picked olives give the purest oil. 

 Knocking the fruit from the branches with sticks injures the tree and 

 lessens its productiveness the next year. Spain alone produces about 

 250,000,000 Ibs of olive-oil a year. The imports of olive-oil into the 

 United Kingdom in 1884 amounted to 17,000 tons, valued at 

 715,000; in 1883 the quantity was 31,000 tons, worth 1,194,000. 



