THE OLIVE TREE. 



UNITBRSITY 

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trees planted in the fences, or on waste bits of 

 land, or for shelter in vineyards and orchards, 

 and here and there on cultivated lands, etc. 

 This is the oil which in Europe brings less than 

 a dollar per gallon, yet here worth more than 

 wine. 



MANURING. 



If the ground be of the description above 

 mentioned, not much will be required in the 

 way of manure unless it be impoverished by 

 some means, such as planting vegetables too 

 near the olive trees. For such as are set out 

 in wheat fields the ordinary cultivation and ma- 

 nuring will suffice, and the same may be said 

 in respect to gardens and orchards. If manure 

 of any kind is to be applied, it ought to be just 

 before the fall of the annual rains. But, under 

 any circumstances, in this climate, there ought 

 to be placed immediately around the plant, or 

 truncheon, a good mat of grass, dead weeds, 

 leaves,' or in fact any kind of light rubbish, to 

 prevent evaporation, and to keep the ground 

 cool and damp during the hot weather. In 

 Australia this kind of protection has long been 

 found most beneficial for all sorts of young 

 trees, and is now in universal use. 



Having now said nearly all that needs be said 

 about soil, climate, and one or two precaution- 

 ary matters, we will proceed to describe the 

 methods of raising olive plants. 



They^rj 1 /, then, would naturally be by means 

 of the fruit, and that is easily disposed of. It 

 must be borne in mind, however, that it is de- 

 sirable to crush the berries lightly, so that the 

 juice may soon run away, as it seems to endan- 

 ger the success of the seed. If the seed (hard 

 kernels ) be soaked in lukewarm water for three 

 or four days previous to planting, they are likely 

 to germinate sooner. Large birds, such as tur- 

 keys, by eating them and partially digesting the 

 stones, or kernels, have in this way distributed 

 the olive in many countries. The most suitable 

 plan for these countries is to make a seed - bed 

 in a warm, sheltered nook, where the soil is 

 rich and fine, covering it lightly with a loam or 

 fine mold, and over this a pretty fair covering 

 of decaying leaves and small twigs, so as to 

 protect the seed from frost, severe winds, and 

 such vermin as mice. Laid out this way in 

 October or November, they will germinate in 

 April or May. Of course, there will be differ- 

 ences- in the time of starting, according to the 

 preparation, or sometimes the kind of seed. In 

 olive countries this method is rarely resorted 

 to ; partly because where more than one varie- 

 ty is cultivated in a grove the seed is sure to be- 

 come hybridized, and because there are other 



methods more certain of rapidly yielding a re- 

 turn and less expensive. There being in Cali- 

 fornia already abundance of the "Mission" 

 olive, two methods of rapidly rearing the olive 

 grove present themselves. The first is by split- 

 ting up the root of an old or useless tree ; cut 

 the stem a few inches above the ground, chop 

 the root out of the ground and split it into 

 pieces two or three inches in diameter, and 

 plant these in the places where they are to re- 

 main permanently, keep them free from weeds, 

 and otherwise handle them as if they were seed- 

 lings. Where a tree can be spared for the 

 purpose, this method is of great use, as, if left 

 to its natural growth and not worked back by 

 pruning, it will yield both fruit, and, what is of 

 more importance, abundance of branches (thick 

 sticks, in fact) which we call "truncheons." 



TRUNCHEON PLANTING. 



This method is, by far, the safest, easiest, 

 most economical, and certain to preserve the 

 kind of fruit in purity. It cannot be otherwise, 

 unless it be grafted to other varieties, since it 

 is only the continuation of the parent tree. To 

 this method, then, I wish to invite very especial 

 attention, while I describe the particulars to be 

 observed in order to insure success. And as I 

 have had considerable experience in this way 

 of raising olive trees, and know about the suc- 

 cess which has attended it under my own di- 

 rection, I can speak with perfect confidence. 

 I cannot do so better, I think, than by making 

 an extract from the report which I furnished 

 to the Government of Victoria, Australia : 



"Having been intrusted by the commission 

 with the duty of procuring plants of the olive 

 tree, and superintending the planting of them, 

 I have now the honor to report upon the sev- 

 eral steps I have taken, and the methods 

 adopted in selecting cuttings and preparing 

 them for planting, as well as the actual process 

 from first to last of placing the plants in situ. 

 Besides planting at the industrial schools 

 ground at Sunbury, where, it is to be hoped, 

 the boys will in future be familiarized with olive 

 cultivation, and a few, as hereinafter mentioned, 

 set out near Sunbury and at Essendon for the 

 purpose of trying a special method of planting 

 in those localities, the principal experiments 

 on a large scale are being carried out at the 

 Acclimatization Society's Gardens, Royal Park, 

 and within easy reach of persons visiting or re- 

 siding in and near the city. I procured in the 

 first instance one hundred truncheons of at 

 least five feet in length, and from two to three 

 inches in diameter, from South Australia, from 

 olive trees which I saw in bearing in April. 



