Fruit Growing 53 



butt and so feet higli. They have borne fntit, but for the last three years 

 have not borjie. I am advised to cut back to stunif^s, 5 or 6 feet high, 

 and start nezv tops. 



Unsatisfactory olive trees may be cut back, l)Ut not to such an 

 extent as you mention. Thin out the branches if too thick and cut 

 back or remove those which interfere, but to cut back to a stump 

 would force out a very thick mass of brush whicli you would have to 

 afterward go into and thin out desperately. The branches which 

 you decide to retain may be cut back to twelve or fifteen feet from 

 the ground. This would have the efifect of giving you plenty of 

 new thrifty wood, which is desirable for the fruiting of the olive, 

 but we cannot guarantee that this treatment will make the trees 

 satisfactory bearers. Are you sure they are receiving water enough? 

 If not, give them more next summer. Also give the land a good 

 coat of stable manure and plow under when the land is right for the 

 plow. 



Growing Olives from Seed. 



How are seedlings grozvn from olive seeds? 



Growing olives from seeds is promoted by assisting nature to 

 break the hard shell. This can be done by pinching carefully with 

 ordinary wire pliers until the shell cracks without injury to the 

 kernel, or the shell may be cut into with a file, making a very small 

 aperture to admit moisture. The French have specially contrived 

 pliers with a stop which admits cracking and prevents crushing. 

 Olive seeds in their natural condition germinate slowly and irregu- 

 larly. They must be kept moist and planted about an inch deep in 

 sandy loam, covering with chaiT or litter to prevent drying of the 

 surface. Before experimenting with olive pits, crack a few to see 

 if they have good plump kernels. Seedling olives must be grafted, of 

 course, to be sure of getting the variety you want. For this reason 

 growth from cuttings is almost universal. 



Neglected Olive Trees. 



/ have a lot of olive trees which have groxim up around the old 

 stumps. They are large trees and some of them have six or eight trunks. 

 Should I cut away all but one trunk or let them alone? There are some 

 of the trees with small olives; others none. 



If the olive trees which were originallj' planted were trained at 

 first and still have a good trunk and tree form, the suckers which 

 have intruded from below should be removed. If, however, the trees 

 have been allowed to grow many branches from below, so that there 

 is really no single tree remaining, make a selection of four or five 

 of the best shoots and grow the trees in large bush form, shortening 

 in the higher growth so as to bring the fruit within easier reach 

 and reduce the cost of picking. You can also develop a single shoot 

 into a tree as you suggest. Of course, you must determine whether 

 the trees as they now stand are of a variety which is worth grow- 

 ing. If they are all bearing very small fruit, it would be a question 



