CULTIVATION OF THE OLIVE. 



199 



tides which have a merely mouey vaUie. It 

 may safely be asserted that the United States 

 owe their great happiness and prosperity 

 more to the cheap abundance of Indian corn, 

 and the consequent full supply of animal food, 

 than to all the staples which figure so largely 

 on the list of foreign exports. 



Mr. Jeft'erson, with equal beauty and pat- 

 riotism, observes, " If the memory oi' those 

 persons is held in great respect in South 

 Carohna, wrho introduced there the cultiu-e of 

 rice, a plant which soins life and death with 

 almost equal hand,*' what obligations would 

 be due to him who should introduce the olive 

 tree, and set the example of its culture ! I 

 Were the owners of slaves to view it only as 

 a means of bettering their condition, how 

 much would he better that by planting one 

 of these trees for every slave he possessed ! j 

 Having been myself an eye-witness to the 

 blessings which this tree sheds on the poor, 

 I never had my wishes so kiiidled for the in- 

 troduction of any article of new culture into 

 our own couutiy." (Letter to the Agiicul- 

 tural Society, So. Ca.) 



If the facts given above are sufficient to 

 prove the importance and practicability of 

 cultivatmg the olive among us, no impedi- 

 ment is presented by the difficulty of propa- 

 gating it, as it is readily increased by seed, 

 by cuttings, suckers, portions of the root, or 

 by grafting. The mode of raising by the 

 seed is only resorted to in order to produce 

 new varieties, or as stocks for grafting, as the 

 fniit fi-om seedlings, although yielding an oil 

 of a more delicate and higher flavor, is usu- 

 ally very small. Grafting improves the qual- 

 ity of the fiaiit, but is not so generally resorted 

 to as propagation by suckers and cuttings. 

 The last is the most practiced. Limbs from 

 an inch to an inch and a half in diameter, are 

 cut into lengths of from 12 to 15 inches. 

 Trenches 5 feet apart and 6 to 8 inches deep 

 being preparetl, the cuttings are placed in 

 them, about 18 inches apart, and in an oblique 

 position, so that when the earth is filled in, 

 from one to tw^o inches will remain above 

 the ground. On the exposed end a little gar- 

 dener's cement should be smeared, to exclude 

 the water ; and over the whole some moss or 

 loose sand is drawn, for some time, to dimin- 

 ish the evaporation. In dry weather the cut- 

 tings should occasionally be watered, until they 

 have taken root. Until the third year nothing 

 more is requii-ed than to cultivate among the 

 young plants, and to tinna them to a single 

 stem. When three years old, the young 

 trees should be planted out in the usual way, 

 at distances of from 30 to 48 feet. The holes 

 should be made large and deep, and had bet- 

 ter be dug several months before the trees 

 are put out. The subsequent cultivation con- 

 sists in removing the suckers, trimming out 

 the dead wood, in manuring moilerately once 

 in 3 or 4 years, digging around the roots an- 



* The italicising is my own. One who has culti- 

 vated rice tor 2o years, must feel the force and em- 

 phasis of this beautiful figure. 



(439) 



nually, and in plowing once a year the inter- 

 vals, unless a crop of grain is cultivated 

 among them. Much difference of opinion ex- 

 ists in France on the subject of pruning ; but 

 unless it is deemed desu-able to keep the trees 

 low for the facility of gathering the fruit, or 

 to duninish the risk of their being blown 

 down by high winds, all that appears to be 

 necessaiy is to remove the decayed wood, 

 and to keep the head of the tree moderately 

 open, for the free admission of light and heat.* 

 With us the liability to severe gales of wmd 

 will recommend low trimming ; and the 

 same evil wdll probably lead to the practice 

 of gi-aftiug on seedling stocks, the tap-root of 

 which will insure the stability of the future 

 tree. From cuttings, in thin soils, the roots 

 will be too superficial for safety. 



The manufacture of this oil is exti-emely 

 simple ; and requires no very complicated or 

 expensive machinery. The latter consists of 

 a mortar, a revolving stone, or ^ome other 

 conti-ivance for separating the pulp from the 

 stones, and of rendering it a paste ; a revolv- 

 ing stone, like a bark or cider mill for crush- 

 ing the stones ; a lever or screw press for the 

 pressing of the oil ii'om the pulp and stones ; 

 bags of coai'se cloth or hair to contain the 

 pulp ; and wooden or earthen-ware vessels 

 for receiving the oil from the presses, and for 

 separating it fi-om the mucilage. 



As soon as tlie olives are rijie, which is in- 

 dicated by their becoming of a dark color 

 ajid soft,t they are gathered ]jy hand, and 

 spread out over floors to the depth of a few 

 inches. In this situation they remain three 

 days, being turned daily, and the decayed 

 berries carefully picked out. They are then 

 placed in the mortar or under a stone, and 

 moderately triturated, until the pulp is re- 

 duced to a paste, and is detached from the 

 stones. The stones having been removed, 

 the pulp is then put into coarse and strong 

 bags, and placed under the press, which 

 should be worked very slowly at first. From 

 the press the oil mixed with mucilage runs 

 into wooden vessels, half filled with water. 

 After standing from 12 to 24 hours, to give 

 time for the mucilage to separate from the oil, 

 the latter is decanted into other vessels, and 

 remains undisturbed for about 20 days. It is 

 then ready to be decanted again and finally 

 put into the barrels in which it is to remain. 

 During this repose, nearly all the mucilage 

 will have been precipitated ; but the oil is 

 still hable to be troubled until it has been ex- 

 posed to the cold. 



The oil from this expression is of the first 

 quality. The pulp or cake remaining in the 

 bags from this first pressure, is then broken 

 up, moistened with wai-m water, returned to 



* Virgil appears to have been no advocate of the 

 pruning-hook : 



'• Contra, non nlla est oleis cultura; negue ilUs 



Procurvam erpectant falcem " 



[Georgica, lib. ii. v. 420. 



t On St. Simons the season of maturity is October. 



