an c'i'ent trees tiidUFSil ia now bnmzing nncior trw 

 sonny ekv of San "Fernando, and ne?t month will 

 furnish 10,OuO gulloaa of r.livas for. oil or p'.cklos, 

 HS may be desired by the owner. 



Mr. Cazanave is now htiildicR on the new San 

 Fernando Colony eronnds the largest olive 01 

 tory iu tho State, BO that he can nsa np B 

 olives grown iu Southern California. Thfl BigM 

 fheao rmcient trees with tbott rewarding frail 

 should be an incentive to others to plant tins kind 

 of frnit on the warm, hiqh mesaa, whera the sci 

 bugs never come, and the crops never fail, and the 

 tree outranks Methneelah and beats taut fora 

 thousand years. 



OLIVECULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



Suggestions as to Varieties, Modes of 

 Cuture, and Care of the Trees. 



TUB culture- of olives in South Califor- 

 nia on the dry mesas of the interior val- 

 leys and on the fog-covered hill-sides of 

 the coast hills, is attracting such univer- 

 sal attention just now, that we gladly 

 make room for the lengthy and exhaus- 

 tive bulletin on " Olive Culture," written 

 by W. G. Klee, present Inspector of 

 Fruit Pests, and issued by the I'liiversity 

 of California some time since : 



The olive is attracting a great deal of 

 interest in this State, and justly so. Cal- 

 ifornia is the only State in the Union 

 that possesses a climate suitable for it. 

 Abundant testimony exists to show that 

 that tree will thrive throughout the 

 larger part of California. The greatest 

 point to be made in favor of the olive is, 

 that if will grow on a soil too dry even 

 [for the' grape vine and too rocky for any 

 fruit tree. The hills and mountain 

 slopes, not fit for the pasture of even a 

 goat, can be made to produce olives/ 

 Precisely such will product! the fruit 

 much earlier than the ric'h valleys, 

 although in the latter the tree will attain 1 

 a larger growth. The olive will till the 

 largest gap inotir cultures, and its sphere 

 'is such that it, will not encroach on any 

 other culture. It is perhaps not as great 

 and valuable product for export that the 

 greatest importance attaches to the olive 

 in California, but rather as a food pro- 

 duct for home consumption. If has 

 often been said that the olive is truly the 

 ipoor man's tree. In a country like Cal- 

 ifornia, where a scanty rainfall is the 

 characteristic of many parts, pasturage, 

 and consequently the production of meat 

 and butter, must necessarily be limited, 

 relatively more so as the population in- 

 creases. The olive can largely supply 

 his growing deficiency. It is the richest 

 mil most nutritious of all fruits," for upon 

 { 'and bread alone a man may be sus- 

 aiiied so as to perform the hardest of 

 abor. In the Mediterranean region the 

 live is of such vast importance that a 

 allure of this crop is a public calamity. 

 IA few facts and figures will convey the 

 ibest idea of its financial value. The 

 crop of Italy, for instance, is estimated j 

 to be worth about I'OO.OOO.OOO francs; 

 Southern France, (H, 000, 000 francs; in 

 Spain it is variously estimated at from 

 84,000,000 to 100,000,000 francs and in the 

 Ottoman Empire at L'4,000,000 francs 

 annually. 



That both olive oil and pickles of the 

 '. finest quality can be produced in this 

 'State, is a fact not to be questioned, after 

 Mr. Kllwood Cooper, of Santa Barbara, 

 has taken the prize at the Paris World's 

 Fair. Years ago, when the Mission 

 fathers first, landed in California, they 

 brought with them two varieties of 

 olives, one of which especially has been 

 propagated throughout the State, in dif- 

 ferent localities. Although a most ex- 

 cellent and hardy variety, and, as we 

 have lately learned from Mr. F. Pohn- 

 ilorff's investigations, one of the be.-t 

 Spanish vaiieties, known by the name of 

 Cornezueto, it is here, as in Spain, 

 adapted to the warmer parts of the 

 country only. In a cooler climate the 

 maturiivg of the fruit falls so late in the 

 season, that it, interferes sensibly with 

 the blooming of *he next. The impor- 

 tance of introducing earlier ripening 

 varieties is, therefore, apparent, Hence 

 jl is a matter of congratulation that pri- 



fvate iiidh Mtials, as well as cn'ferpriMii:.' 

 'nurservmen, have begun to import and 

 fifopagatc French and Spanish kinds. 

 B the experimental grounds of the 

 RJniversity, we have received, through 

 Mr. Polmdorff 's importation, two valu- 

 lable varieties, the Ne.vadtilo lilimi-n, an 

 byal-Bhaped olive of medium size, ripen- 

 ing very early, and the Manzanillo, a 

 rather large "olive, of more rounded . 

 Ishape, also of farly maturity. No less 

 than thirteen kinds are the generous gift ' 

 of Mr. Kock, of San Jose; while Mr. 

 Gould, of Auburn, a gentleman who has 

 been very active in proving the adapta- 

 bility of the olive to the foothill regions 

 lof the Sierra Nevada, has presented rive_ 

 [specimens of the Picholine. This is a 

 very hardy and rapidly growing variety. 

 In addition to these, six varieties have 

 been propagated from seed. While the 

 latter are not sure to develope anything 

 valuable, the differences in foilage and 

 habit of growth indicate widely different 

 types. All the kinds have been planted 

 along a road in a soil and exposure well 

 suited to their development, and we hope 

 before many years to ascertain some- 

 thing definite as regards their value. 



VARIETIES. 



As might be expected, a tree cultivated 

 |for such a long period of time, has de- 

 veloped numerous varieties. Owing to 

 their great similarity many writers upon 

 the subject, among them Gasparin, avoid 

 the study of these varieties and give this 

 advice: Cultivate the best variety foi 

 your locality, /. e., the one that gives the 

 Ibest oil in the greatest quantity. It 

 seems, therefore, that the best we can d< 

 in California is to try a large number ol 

 varieties, as it is safe to say that in oui 

 diversified climate no one variety will 

 \ everywhere succeed equally well, 

 son.. 



From the experience of the older coun- 

 tries, as well as that of California, it 

 seems that the olive will grow in a 

 variety of soils; the most important 

 point to be observed being that they 

 should be warm and well drained. The 

 most striking instance of this kind that I 

 can recall is from my own experience. 

 Some few years ago I brought a few 

 rooted olives to a place in the Santa Cruz 

 mountains. They were set out in the 

 best of soil, in rich and comparatively 

 moist ground. The growth here for two 

 years was almost nothing, although the 

 trees were well attended to. In March 

 of last year they were removed to ditler- 

 ent places, some being planted on a 

 high knoll, where the soil is very sandy 

 but contains considerable lime; others 

 ;in small pockets on a southeast slope, 

 the soil in this case being very rich in 

 humus. With the former, small rooted 

 cuttings but a few inches high were 

 planted. In many instances the holes 

 in which they were planted were made 

 in the rock, and the roots spread on 

 almost hare rock. Without any further 

 attention than being hoed to prevent 

 weeds from smothering them, all grew 

 right along, the older ones making sev- 

 eral feet of growth, where they had be- 

 fore made but a few inches. Of thq 

 feasibility of setting out such smalf 

 plants I shall speak later, hut desires 

 here to draw the attention to the fact 

 'that the. locality in question is a coinpar- 

 iatively cool one. This experience illi 

 trates the fact that in different sectioi 

 the exposure should be different. In a 

 warmer section, such as Winters or Yaca 

 valley, evidently the southern exposure 

 jon a sunny slope is not needed to pro- 

 'duce abundant growth. \Ve find this on 

 Mr. John It. Wolfskill's place, on Putah 

 Creek, perhaps the largest, trees for their 

 age in the State. Some of these growing 

 on level ground, and -1 years old from 

 khe cutting, when measured' by me sey- 

 'ral years ago, were over six feet in 

 girth. 



l'KOl'A(i.VriON. 



The mode almost, exclusively used in 

 California is Irom cuttings, which are set 

 either in the permanent site or in nursery 

 rows. We quote "Mr. Cooper in his 

 treatise on "Olive. Culture:" "The 

 common and preferred method is toi 





plant' the cuttings taken from trees 01 

 j sound wood, from three quarters of an 

 noli to an inch and a half in diameter, 

 ami from 14 to Hi inches long. These 

 uttings should be taken from tie 

 during the months of December and 

 Jannaiy, neatly trimmed without bruis- 

 ing, ainl carefully trenched in loose 

 sandy soil. A shady place is preferred. 

 Tliey should be planted in permanent 

 sites from February 20th to March L'Oth, 

 depending upon the season. The ground 

 should be" well prepared, and sufficiently 

 dry so that there is no mud. and the 

 weather should be warm. In Santa 

 Barbara, near the coast, no irrigation is 

 necessary; but very frequent stirring of 

 the top soil with a hoe or iron rake for a 

 considerable distance around the cuttings 

 is necessary during the spring and sum- 

 imer. About three-fourths of all that are 

 1 well planted will grow. My plan is to 

 set them 20 feet apart each way, and 

 place them in the ground butt end down, 

 and at an anale of about 45, the too to 

 [he noith barely covered. Mark the 

 place with a stake. By planting them 

 obliquely, the bottom end will be from 10 

 inches to one foot below the surface." 

 | This mode of propagation, especially, 

 in a changeable climate, is liable to sev-j 

 eral objections. One is that the large! 

 cuttings often remain dormant for several 

 years, thus causing an uneven stand] 

 By first rooting the cuttings in nursery 

 rows this, of course, is avoided, but 

 never will so fine a root system, almosa 

 equal to that from seedling plants, ha 

 developed as by starting the trees frortj 

 small herbaceous cuttings. For at leas] ,<; 

 the cooler parts of the State we do noj 

 hesitate in recommending this method?. 

 Take from young, growing trees the. 

 young tops, when neither very soft norl j 

 perfectly hard, having three to four sets? i 

 of leaves and cut with a sharp knife 

 below a joint. Put in a little frame with 

 sand. In the course of three or four 

 months the little cuttings will have rooted, 

 and should then be potted in small pots, 

 where they should remain until well 

 rooted. In a lew months more they will 

 be found ready to set out When verjjj 

 warm weather prevails a thin mulching 

 around the little tree may be advisable! 

 but when a moderate temperature pre^j 

 vails a few waterings in a month will be 

 all that is necessary and even this in 

 only an unfavorable spring. It should 

 be added that nothing is gained by set-?- 

 ting out the tree before the soil is warm, 

 ;as it will not grow. The trees referred 

 to previously as planted in the Santa 

 Crux, mountains, were propagated in this 

 manner, and have received no irrigation 

 since setting out. Trees raised from 

 such small cuttings resemble closely 

 young seedlings, and form a beautiful 

 root system. 



To get cuttings from large truncheons, 

 such as are imported from Spain and 

 other countries, proceed in the following 

 manner: Cut the truncheons in pieces 

 about 18 inches long, split these pieces in 

 two, put the halves so made into the 

 ground horizontally, with the bark sidei 

 up, covering with soil four to five inches) 

 deep. Let such bed be in a warm, well- 

 drained place, kept moderately moist. 

 'In a few months a large number of 

 young 'shoots will break through thej 

 ground. When of suitable, size and; 

 hardness, as before described, take the 

 cuttings and treat in the manner pre-1 

 viously mentioned. 



GROWING OLIVES K1JOM SKKD. 



This is a mode little practiced so far in! 

 this State, but worthy of adoption. Ofl 

 course the process necessitates grafting 

 .or budding. It is the general practice in 

 France to do this after the tree has. 

 formed its main branches, either bud- 

 ding or grafting into these during the! 

 month of May or June. 



The advantages of seedling stocks over! 

 cuttings are many: First, vigor of the 

 tree, which produces for a longer time, 

 and more regularly; second, its great' 

 hardiness and ability to accomodate 

 itself to the most arid and rocky soil; 

 third, great abundance of horizontal as 

 well as deep-growing roots, especial}' 

 deep-growing ones, the latter enabling 



