1126 



OLIVE 



OLIVE 



the early historical accounts, which are more or less 

 authentic. It is known that in 1769 sundry fruit and 

 vegetable seeds were imported into California from 

 Mexico by Jose" de Galvez, and it is assumed that among 

 them were seeds of the Olive, for in after years, as new 

 missions were built, the Fathers planted Olive trees 

 grown from cuttings taken from trees at the old San 

 Diego Mission. Hence the name "Mission "by which 

 this variety became known ; and it was the only variety 

 with which Californians were familiar until about 1880, 



1521. Olive in flower and fruit. 



after which time many trees were annually imported 

 from Italy, Spain and Prance, 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 requiring 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 under these condi- 

 tions, as with all other fruits there are certain peculiar 

 localities where soil and climate combined are best 

 adapted to its production in the greatest degree of ex- 

 cellence and in the most remunerative form. As with 

 other fruits, there was formerly much misconception 

 regarding the requirements of the Olive, which has re- 

 sulted in a great deal of disappointment and pecuniary 

 loss. Pessimists proclaimed that the culture of the Olive 

 was a failure, that it "did not pay," but they 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 bear crops in a greater variety of soils 

 than most trees. While the tree may live when the 

 temperature falls to 14, the chances are against it, and 

 any frost during blossoming, or great heat or strong 

 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 rocky hillside, 

 hundreds of thousands of trees have been planted in 

 such uncongenial surroundings, which of itself is suffi- 

 cient reason why the present crop returns do not at all 

 come up to expectations according to the published esti- 

 mate of acreage in trees compiled from the 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- 



profitable because planted where neither plant-food nor 

 water is available in sufficient quantity. Many other 

 groves were planted too near the coast, where the ocean 

 fogs are prevalent during the summer months. This 

 condition was not right, for while the trees would grow 

 and bear crops, the fruit was not of the same quality as 

 that produced under a sunny sky, and the trees suffered 

 more from attacks of scale (Lecanium) in a foggy cli- 

 mate than in the warmer interior valleys. 



The Olive grows to perfection in good soils through- 

 out the length and breadth of the San Joaquin and Sac- 

 ramento valleys ; in many of the smaller Coast Range 

 valleys, and up to an elevation of 1,000 feet or more in 

 this range, and in the warm belt of the foot-hills of the 

 Sierra Nevada mountains. As fine trees for their age 

 and as fine fruit, either for oil or for pickling, may be 

 seen as far north as Oroville and Palermo, in Butte 

 county, and all through the northern Sacramento valley, 

 as in the counties in the extreme south. 



The Olive is propagated in various ways: from the 

 seed, from tips, from long cuttings, from sprouts, 

 suckers, and by layering. The seeds require some time 

 to germinate, frequently two seasons, and the growth of 

 tne young plants is slow at first. This method, includ- 

 ing the after-budding or grafting, is tedious, and there- 

 fore not popular, although a tree on a seedling root 

 will be more robust and long-lived. Nurserymen usu- 

 ally adopt the "tip " system. "Tips " are small branches 

 or ends, usually the laterals, taken from the tree when 

 it is in its most dormant state, cut 4 or 5 inches long, 

 the upper Ivs. partially trimmed, while the lower ones 

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

 a sand-bed or the propagating box until sufficiently well 

 rooted to transplant to the nursery row. Many growers 

 prefer to grow their trees from cuttings 14 inches long, 

 made from 2- or 3-year-old wood, and up to 1% 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- 

 carpa, Polymorpha, Regalis, Sevillano. Atroviolacea is 

 valuable for drying, losing its bitter taste in the pro- 

 cess; also the Sweet Olive, which has no bitterness. 



For extracting the oil the same methods are employed 

 which were in vogue thousands of years ago, with this 

 difference, that the improved machinery of the present 

 day with steam power reduces the question of labor to a 

 minimum. It is essential that the Olives be perfectly 

 ripe and sound ; when picked they are spread upon trays 

 piled one above the other, allowing for free circulation of 

 air, until the water in them is mostly evaporated. 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 

 pomace is removed and again pressed to secure a sec- 

 ond grade of oil, and sometimes a third grade is se- 

 cured. The oil left still in the pomace is used by the 

 soap-maker in the manufacture of Castile soap, and the 

 residuum is valuable as a fertilizer. There are many 

 details, all being important in themselves, absolute 

 cleanliness and scrupulous care being observed in all 

 the operations. 



