ird year in the orchard siimle tree 

 been known to bear 1000 olives, Iml 

 ni.s is far above the average. At live 

 of age they become quite profit- 

 able, and when seven years old and 

 ever after yield abundantly. They are 

 long lived and grow to immense size. 

 In Italy there are olive trees said to be 

 one thousand years old. 



PLAOTING. 



When first planted about one hundred 

 trees are set out on each acre, and it 

 necessary in after years they can be 

 thinned out. The wood is durable and 

 highly prized. On stony hill land they 

 are planted farther apart; and when 

 planted in consociation with grape 

 vines that the land may be made pro- 

 ductive before the trees come into bear- 

 ing they are set sixty to seventy feet 

 apart, witu rows of grape vines between. 

 As the trees increase in size the vines 

 are removed. In California the average 

 number per aere is about one hundred. 

 The fruit is gathered usually from No- 

 vember to January, or later. When 

 pickled whole they are divided into 

 different grades, and will average 

 seventy-five cents per gallon in value, 

 and are usually put up in barrels. The 

 best are worth $1.25 per gallon. If 

 made into oil the olives are crushed 

 thoroughly and pressed. Water is 

 then added, when they are again pressed 

 b.nd a second quality made. They are 

 pressed a third time making a third 

 jiiality, and a fourth grade is also made. 

 In Italy the residue is pressed into bricks 

 and used for fuel, but in California this 

 ps unnecessary. The oil is worth about. 

 $5 per gallon, and the receipts from a 

 California olive grove reach as high as 

 $2,000 per acre. But with a yield of 

 200 gallons to the acre (which is a small 

 amount) valued at $5 per gallon, the 

 returns from each acre would amount 

 to $1000. In Italy occasional cold years 

 blast the crop and in some instances df- 

 stroy tfie trees, but in California loss 

 from this source would be unknown. In 

 the interior of California they should 

 also be free from the ravages of insect 

 pests or diseases. And when attacked 

 the trees may be cut back to the stump, 

 from which will shoot a new and healthy 

 growth. In France it is calculated that 

 about 1,250 gallons may be produced 

 each year from an acre. In California, 

 with a more even climate and more fer- 

 til soil the yield should be much larger. 

 There is no likelihood of over pro- 

 luction, for there is a comparatively 

 imited portion of the world adapted to 

 the cultivation of the olive, the demand 

 for which is increasing constantly. The 

 olive crop of Prance is worth $100,000,000 

 annually. The United States imports 

 "rom Europe 500,000 gallons yearly, 

 which is paid a duty of $600,000. 



,k of the methods of cultiva- 

 preparing the fruit for the market, 

 making the oil, the expense and profits, 

 :etc., will not be attempted in the present 

 article, but the DELTA will have more to 

 say concerning the olive in future issues, 

 for some day, certainly, this valuable 

 and beautiful tree will be largely grown 

 in California, and should he in Tularc 

 count v. 



TU 



America's 



Ancient Fruit. Now Onr of 

 _ t?$c Orc'iit Products. 



New York Mall and Kxpress. 

 From ancient witlings, Including the Hoi 

 I Scriptures, it can be ascertained that the olive 

 j Is one of the oldest known fruits. The Mount of 

 Olives, near Jerusalem, Is famous In history. 

 Long befoie butler was known olive oil was' 

 i used in the preparation of food. I.aree qnantM 

 ties of the oil have from tinr; to time been 1m-' 

 , ported here fiom the shores of the Mediterranean. 

 f.Sea, whence most of the product has been ob- 

 t tained. The climate of California, not being un- 

 ; like that o! the Mediterranean, was considered 

 suitable for the growth of the olive, and an ex- 

 periment was made which has proved success-; 

 | fui. The tree itself is pretty and rnamental. 

 In springtime It is covered with a profusion ot 

 while (lowers, and in the winter it has an ever- 

 green foliage. When ready for the harvest it is 

 so prolific that the branches bend under the 

 , weigh tof the fruit. Olive wood is also beautiful, 

 and was chosen as uarts of the ornamentation ot 

 the spacious and magnificent .Solomon's tem- 

 ple. The oil is considered by many as something 

 sacred. As such It is used in consecrations and 

 coronations. The ancients used the xpiay ot 

 olive leaves to crown their great men, as It was 

 believed to he an emblem ot purity and peace. 

 It was considered the highest honor to be 

 crowned witli olive leaves. In time of war an 

 olive bianch borne in the hand was a token of 

 peace, and is even now spoken of as such. 



The olive tree llvesfor along time. Some ot 

 the trees on the Mount of Olives, in Jiulea, are 

 said to be fifteen feet indlamater and over two 

 thousand years old, while that in the Vatican at 

 Rome has a record of over a thousand years. 

 The olive Is very hardy aud will euduio treat- 

 ment which would kill other trees. If infected 

 with insects the entire head can be cut off and 

 thrown away, while the tro.nk will sprout attain 

 with renewed vigor. In Southern California it 

 has prospered beyond expectation. Being sen- 

 sitive to excessive heat or cold. Its home is In 

 the semi-tropical bell, represented by tlie I'acilic 

 Slope of tho United States. It prospers best near 

 thesea, but can be cultivated a short distance 

 Inland. With ordinary culture the olive in 

 Europe will produce over twenty gallons of oil 

 per acre, besides allowing a large quantity ot 

 the fruit to be used for eating. Although yet 

 In its infancy in tills country, experts have said 

 that the oil produced In California is equal 10 

 any which has been Imported. Growers say the 

 California coast from Toint Conception to San 

 Diego, is equal to that between Geneva aud 

 Naples for tlie production of olives. The ira- 

 I portatlons amount to a large sum annually, aud 

 if the best olive oil can, as is claimed, be pro- 

 duceiUiere and in sufficient quantities, that pro-; 

 duct 9>1 form another addition to the wealth of j 

 the Uryted States. So far as the curing of the: 

 fruit is concerned, expeiience is likely to teach 

 the proper treatment, as it has with the raisin 

 crop. The cuttings of two trees planted in 1876 

 yielded well in 1884 the ordinary time required 

 for bearing being ten years. The crop of these 

 two trees was then seventy-live gallons of fruit, 

 which sold readily at. Jl per gallon after being 

 prepared for the table. When taken from the 

 tree grower realized seventy-live cents per gal- 

 k Ion. The same trees were loaded down with 

 fruit this season, and in February will produce a 

 large crop that can be readily sold at the place 

 of growth at eighty-live cents per gallon. I he 

 trees are placed upon hillsides, about inlriy-flve 

 or forty feet apart, to allow tor expansion, as 

 they will live and produce for ceutuiies. An 

 acre of ground will hold about forty trees. 

 The small fruit is used for oil, while the large 

 or queen olive Is pic % led for eating. 



Olive tiees can be planted on rocky lauds 

 where the Vine would fall, and the cost of plant- 

 ing the former is about cue-third of the latter. 

 The crops are more easily gathered than graues, 

 while the outfit for preparing olive oil Is about 

 one-tenth of that necessary to produce wine. 

 TJie insect pests can be fought much easier and 

 , with less cost than the phylloxera or other 

 . enemies of the vine. Being so prolific It becomes . 

 sooner profitable to the grower, and each year 

 ] after bearing the olive tree produces a good crop 

 until it icaches its [nil development, when it 

 pays a much larger revenue than a vineyard, 

 bcai ing a crop ot from Unity to forty gallons of 

 fruit per tree. The olive oil is also not so 

 .much affected as the vine by drought. I'roirf 

 the, experiments already made and nicli i-muiis 

 it is believed that the American olive groves will 

 in a few years become successtul rivals to those 



of tlie Mediterranean. _, 



^^ San Fernando Olives./ 



,y^ f-Xos Angeles Herald. '/t^/jQ \ 

 To a lover of the ancient, historical 

 most u-eiul tree, the olive, the syinbi-1 

 that the earth was tillable by the chil- 

 dren of men: and has shown by its 

 persistence of life that it meant to stay 

 and demonstrate the truthpf thepro;io- 

 sition contained in the rainbow, by 

 laughing at the centuries as they pass, 

 a sight of the sturdy olive trees oi 

 Fernando, that have faced the s 

 of 100 years andareoow more 

 1 with fruit than was ever before \vit- 

 'nessed in California, is peculiarly ex- 

 hilarating and instructive. 



All around the ancient inclosure 

 built by the Franciscan Fathers n cen- 

 tury ago stand the olive trees whi'-h 

 they planted with reverent hands bc- 

 , fore the Constiution of the I 



was adopted. Like that Const* 



tution, they have borno fruit only t'oi 



the good of mankind, and to-day art 



fully bending bcne:itli r, Imd o' 



nutritious fruit Tor the benefit of the 



