1126 



OLIVE 



the early historical accounts whii h iic moie or k ss 

 authentic. It is known tli vt m Pi'i siiiuln tiiiit and 

 vegetable seeds were impoittd mi < ihl imi tium 

 Mexico by Jos^ de Galvez and it i i um 1 ili ii inmng 

 them were seeds of the Olive foi m m i \ i i new 

 missions were buUt, the Fathcis i I mi 1 cili\ iKes 

 grown from cuttings taken from tn < ^ il tin old San 

 Diego Mission. Hence the name " Mission by w liith 

 this variety became known, and it was the onlv variety 

 with which Californians were familiar until about : 



1521. Olive in flower and fruit. 



after which time many trees were annually imported 

 from Italy, Spain and France, though some were im- 

 ported in smaller numbers previous to this time. 



There is an immense area in California suited to the 

 cultivation of the Olive, both as to climate and soil. It 

 extends from the southernmost extremity to the foot of 

 Mount Shasta, nearly 600 miles, and in width from the 

 foot-hills of the Sierra Nevadas to the coast, varied accor- 

 ding to soil and other local conditions. Theoretically this 

 range is true, the Olive retiuiring a mean annual tem- 

 perature of 57°, the mean for the coldest month to be 41°, 

 and at no time must the temperature fall below 14°. But 

 while the Olive will grow and bear fruit inidf-rthr-sp condi- 

 tions, as with all other fruits then- arc .■.•liaiii ]..'culiar 



localities where soil and clini.-iii Tiiliin. ,1 ait- best 



adapted to its production in the f,'r. atcsi .Ir^i-.r of ex- 

 cellence and in the most remuncralh r loini. As with 

 other fruits, there was f*>fntrrly imi.-li ini^cMiii-cjition 

 regarding the requirenu-nl^ of tl'ir ( Mivr, h hirh has re- 

 sulted in a great deal of disappoiiilinnit ami |m .uniary 

 loss. Pessimists proclaimed tluit tli.- culiuir of tin- Olive 

 was a failure, that it "did not pay," but tlicy forgot that 

 lack of success might be due to errors in judgment on 

 the part of the planter. 



The Olive thrives best in a warm, dry atmosphere, 

 where the soil is rich and well drained. However, it 

 will grow and tear crops in a greater v.ari.ty of soils 

 than mo.st trees. While the tree may live hImh ihr 

 temperature falls to 14°, the chances are agaiiisi it, ami 

 any frost during blos.soraing, or great heat <ir stripiii,' 

 winds at this time or while the fruit is young, is likely 

 to destroy prospects of a crop, or to materially diminish 

 them. Because the Olive was said to be able to grow 

 anywhere in California, and to prefer a rockv liillsidi-, 

 hundreds of thousands of trees liavo l,rmi plaiii. ,1 in 

 such uncongenial .surroundings, wlii. li of ii~, ir is mHTi 

 cient reason why the present cr<i|) nturn- d.. mii at all 

 come up to expectations accordim; to tli.' iMihlislio.l rsii 

 mate of acreage in trees compiled from (he books of 

 the county assessors. Such estimate shows the number 

 of Olive trees in California to be nearly 3,000,000, but a 

 large number of these trees are neglected, being un- 



OLIVE 



profitable because planted where neitlu r plant food nor 

 water is available in suthtient quautit\ Man} otiu r 

 groves were planted too near the coast, ^\here the ocean 

 fogs are prevalent during the summer months This 

 condition was not right, for while the trees would giow 

 and bear Clops the fiuit w is not of tin stmc quality as 

 thatpiodti 1 HI 1 1 I III II mill ti issuffciid 



more fi m I i I l),„^ ih 



mate th m i 



TheOhv I 1 lis throuOi 



outthekii„li li 1 I 1 , I Ii I 111 s I, I i,umandSac 

 lamento v illc\s, lu m.iu> ot the feiu lUci Coast Kange 

 valleys and tip to an elevation of 1,000 feet or more m 

 this lanee and in the warm belt of the foot hills of the 

 Sieii I Nc\ id I mount iins \s hue trees for their age 

 ml III liiii iili III i[ t I .r pickling may be 



I 1 ilermo in Butte 



II s icianiento vallej 



I h I III 1 I \ \ from the 



t „ nil. ml 11 I . I n n I ih, „rowthot 



the \ uii. I I III I liisi li.is i.iiiiiod, includ 



mg thi. lit I I 11 I In _ 1 1 diiiig ifa tedious, and there 

 tore not | | uln lih i^li a tree on a seedling root 

 mil be ni 1 i I u i ill u^ Incd Nurserjmen usu 

 ill) idopt til ti| \ I m "Tips ' are small branches 

 or ends usu illj thi Utiials taken from the tree when 

 It IS 111 its most dormant state cut 4 or 5 inches long 

 the upper hs partialh trimmed, while the lower ones 

 ire cut off close to the stem These are then planted in 

 I sand bed or the piopigating box until sufliciently -nell 

 rooted to trinsplint to the nurserj row Many growers 

 prefer to gion then tiecs from cuttings 14 inches long 

 mide from 2 or J jear old wood, and up to IV inches 

 in diameter. 



The Olive requires irrigating to the same extent as 

 other trees. In other words, if there is not sufficient 

 moisture by rainfall, then water must be applied artifi- 

 cially. As it thrives best in the warmer regions of the 

 state, where evaporation is very rapid, the inference 

 must be that irrigation is generally necessary for the 

 Olive. There is a saying in Italy, "No manure, no oil," 

 which means that the Olive needs suitable food, and 

 without water it cannot obtain it. 



Almost every known variety has been imported into 

 California, and, unfortunately, planted too extensively 

 before it had been determined by experiment which 

 was the better adapted to the varied, and to some ex- 

 tent foreign, conditions. Hence many orchards are un- 

 profitable because the varieties planted, from whatever 

 cause, do not bear crops in paying quantity. The "Mis- 

 sion" is still more largely planted than any other va- 

 riety, as it seems more universally adaptive, and is 

 valuable both for oil and for pickling. Some of the 

 other varieties which are known to be good, and which 

 may supersede the Mission, are, for oil, Atrorubens, 

 Manzanillo, Nevadillo Blanco, Pendoulier, Precox, 

 Razzo, Rubra; for pickling, Ascolano, Lucques, Macro- 

 earpa, Polymorpha, Regalis, Sevillano. Atroviolacea is 

 v.aluable for drying, losing its bitter taste in the pro- 

 cess; also the Sweet Olive, wlii.Ii has no bitterness. 



For extracting tl il tlir sam. imtliods are employed 



which were in vogue ll ands of \i-ars ago, with this 



difference, that the iin|.ni\icl mar himrv of the present 



day with steam pow.i- i. il - il n.sii.,,, ,,f labor to a 



nii'niniiiiii. Itisr^-. ' 1.' - 1... perfectly 



piled' oT'ie"al.ov,'flM.'..i'i: , - i, . ■ li, , . inulationof 



air.uiiiilthewaterin iliein .- m..~ilN . , a ,,. a ate.l. Crush- 

 ing is done under stone or iron rollers that are made to 

 revolve in a large stone or iron basin in which about 350 

 pounds of Olives are placed. From this pulp the first 

 or "virgin" oil is extracted by gentle pressure, the 

 poiiiaiM' is removed and again pressed to secure a sec- 

 nn.l L'ladc of oil, and .sometimes a third grade is se- 

 nna il. Ihe oil left still in the pomace is used by the 

 s..a|eniaker in the manufacture of Castile soap, and the 

 residuum is valuable as a fertilizer. There are many 

 details, all being important in them.selves, ab.solute 

 cleanliness and scrupulous care being observed in all 

 the operations. 



