THE OLIVE IN PALESTINE. 601 



PALESTINE. 



REPORT BY CONSUL Q1LLMAN, OF JERUSALEM. 



Varieties. The finest olives of this country grow on Mount Lebanon 

 and in the hill country of Judaea. Those near the sea-coast are inferior. 

 Five kinds or varieties of olives are generally distinguished here: the 

 white; the large black, known as Bakkar (fat), good for pickling, as is 

 the preceding, but not good for oil; the small black, Zmehri, which is 

 good for oil; the large green, called Sourri (navel), from its resem- 

 blance to that part of the human body, and which is used for pickling, 

 and the small green, named also Sourri, and which is of like use to the 

 large variety. There is also the wild or uugrafted olive called Barri 

 (wild), the fruit of which is not used either for oil or pickles. The best 

 variety for pickled olives is the large black (Bakkar). That best for 

 olive-oil is the small black (Zmehri). All the varieties mentioned grow 

 throughout Palestine, and are found from the sea-coast, and the plains, 

 onjy a few feet above the level of the sea, to the elevation of 3,000 feet 

 or more. The trees have usually a full exposure to the sun, and hilly 

 or even mountainous country seems best adapted to them. The poorest 

 olives, for instance, are found at Jaffa, where their cultivation is being 

 gradually superseded by that of the orange, lemon, and grape. The 

 soil which prevails over the greater part of this country is a stiff red 

 clay, with a small proportion of sand occasionally, and in this the olive 

 flourishes. The subsoil is also clay, with rock frequently underlying. 



Climate. As to the temperature and rain-fall the remarks made in 

 connection with the orange, lemon, and fig apply equally here. It is, 

 however, said that in dry seasons the olive produces more abundantly 

 and better fruit. The trees bear a full crop only every second year. 

 This is attributed to the fact that in securing the fruit the trees are 

 beaten and roughly handled, breaking off the small fruit- bearing shoots, 

 , and so preventing an abundant production in the succeeding year, which 

 is known as the " off year," when but a small crop is secured. The 

 fellaheen (peasants) also say that in those years the grape produces 

 abundantly, the olive-tree yields but a poor crop, and vice versa. 



Irrigation. Irrigation is never used in connection with the culture of 

 the tree except when young and first planted. 



Cultivation. A plowing once a year, in the autumn, is considered 

 sufficient culture ; but as frequently other crops are planted between 

 the trees they thus receive more care and attention than they would 

 otherwise get. In exposed places, where the rains have washed away 

 the soil from the roots of the trees, small fences of stone are built to 

 protect them. These, surrounding the trunks, are filled with earth, and 

 are of good service in shielding them from the summer sun. Also, 

 where a tree is partially hollow with decay, it is the habit to build up 

 the aperture with stones, the object being to arrest the rot. 



