(9) 



Thus we sec that this inestimable produc- 

 tion has been widely diffused by the bounti- 

 ful hand of Nature. 



The beauty of the Olive is far from corres- 

 ponding to its intrinsic value. It varies in size 

 according to the soil and climate in which it 

 grows; and in France the temperature is not 

 warm enough for its perfect developement. 

 Pliny says that in Spain it was one of the 

 largest trees : Non alia major in Bcetica 

 arbor. On Mount Atlas, Dcsfontaincs saw 

 Wild Olives from forty-five to sixty feet in 

 height ; and Beaujour compares the Olives of 

 the plains of Marathon to the finest Walnuts, 

 for stature and expansion. Lofty Olives are 

 still seen in the Island of Corfu , shading the 

 spot where they once enriched the gardens 

 of Alcinous. 



In the olive -yards of France these trees 

 are generally from eighteen to twenty feet 

 in height, and from six inches to two feet in 

 diameter. About Aix, Montpcllicr, etc., they 

 are kept low, partly by the disasters to which 

 they are exposed from cold, and partly by 

 the care of the cultivator, to facilitate the 

 gathering of the fruit. They ramify at a small 



