8 



THE OLIVE TREE. 



"These five-foot long truncheons were planted 

 in holes about three feet in diameter, and two 

 feet six inches deep. Some good topsoil and 

 occasionally a little rich loam was placed in the 

 bottom, and on the top of this a handful of per- 

 fectly sound barley, such as would germinate 

 as far as it could soon after the planting was 

 completed. Before, however, the truncheon 

 was placed in position the thick end was cut 

 with some sharp instrument, such as a saw, into 

 four or five nicks, about one-third of an inch 

 deep, and these nicks, or saw cuts, were filled 

 with grains of barley thrust carefully into them, 

 for the obvious purpose of supplying plant food 

 as soon as the truncheon might need it. Being 

 prepared in this manner, it was placed firmly 

 upon the barley already placed in the bottom 

 of the hole, and filled up in the usual way, the 

 best soil first, and well trodden about the root 

 end. Great care is taken lest the plant should 

 become loose through shrinkage of the soil, 

 especially the clay. Finally it would have to 

 be watered, had the weather not been very wet, 

 and last of all grass was placed about the stem 

 to keep heat out and moisture in. Distance 

 asunder, forty feet. 



"The above comprises the detail of trun- 

 cheon planting except in one particular. The 

 Italians cut the small end slanting that water 

 may not lodge upon it; but the Portuguese saw 

 it fairly across, and place on the top a little 

 finely tempered clay, as in grafting, and secure 

 it by means of a rag tied over it ; or, better still, 

 paint the top and large knots with shellac, or 

 other such material. 



"In this way, as I have said, several hun- 

 dreds have been already planted at the Royal 

 Park Gardens. 



"Considering that it is a primary object with 

 the commission to afford practical evidence of 

 the advantage of one kind of cultivating the 

 olive tree over another, I proceeded to cause 

 several hundreds to be planted of two feet six 

 inches in length, in a way not distantly resem- 

 bling the one just detailed. They are put out 

 a foot or two asunder in rows, in beds of rich 

 sandy loam, and excellently sheltered from the 

 hot north winds. 



"Then I caused another lot, comprising sev- 

 eral hundreds, to be planted, of lengths varying 

 from two feet to fifteen inches, in the same soil, 

 but closer together and of varying thickness, 

 say from two and a half inches to half an inch. 



"There was only one other way which I have 

 not directed to be tried that of taking a root 

 and splitting into bits, from the upper part 

 downward, and planting these. It is said this 

 , plan never fails. But the difficulty was in this 

 country to find a root of any considerable size ; 



so the idea was abandoned for the present. 

 The advantages of truncheon planting are, 

 that the plant is put once for all in its perma- 

 nent situation ; that it needs little or no care 

 when once it begins to grow ; that it bears fre- 

 quently the second year, nearly always the 

 third, and forms a regular tree, as it should do, 

 not a bush, and secures the identity of a given 

 variety, which cannot be depended upon in 

 seedlings. 



"All the other methods necessarily take more 

 time. A year is always lost in the setting of 

 the plants out ; and it is rarely under from six 

 to nine years that they come into full bearing, 

 and in this colony especially they are liable to 

 grow into scrubby bushes. I would mention 

 here that I have had a number of truncheons 

 planted in situations most fully exposed to the 

 north winds, and others under the most com- 

 plete shelter, with a view of affording instruc- 

 tion as to exposure. For hill -side planting 

 Sunbury must answer, for gentle slopes -Essen- 

 don, while the land at the Royal Park is rather 

 flat. 



"The cost of purchase and of planting over 

 one thousand six hundred olive cuttings was 

 about $225, or about seven pence each, taken 

 one with another. The commission paid six- 

 pence each for truncheons five feet long. 



"Sea air is known to be beneficial to the per- 

 fection of the olive ; and that we have in per- 

 fection. So beneficial is a touch of salt to the 

 tree that in planting in Portugal it is considered 

 advantageous to put down a spadeful of sea 

 sand obtained from near low-water mark." 



GATHERING FRUIT. 



In gathering the olives when quite ripe (in 

 October or November in this State), the Portu- 

 guese spread tarpaulins, canvas, etc., around 

 the root of the tree, and then thresh off the ber- 

 ries with long light sticks. This seems to do 

 the tree no harm. In South Australia they are 

 generally gathered by children. 



CONSUMPTION OF OLIVE OIL. 



During the year ending June 30, 1877, there 

 were imported into the United States 348,431 

 gallons of olive oil, valued at $491,431, on which 

 a duty was paid of $232,776.75. The quantity 

 and value of pickled olives^ imported during the 

 same period are not given in the published 

 Treasury reports, as this article is free from 

 duty. 



Of the above, San Francisco imported 47,- 

 192 gallons, valued at $97,118, on which a duty 

 was paid of $i per gallon, or $47,192. The 



