644 



FRUIT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



From the analysis made by Duracher and Malagati, the following 

 has been obtained, viz : 



From the above table it seems that the olive tree contains mostly all 

 the materials generally needed by other plants, and that lime, flint, and 

 phosphoric acid are the most in nroportiou of other materials. Conse- 

 quently in manuring said plant, the compost is to be made accordingly, 

 in respect to others shown on the table. But many of said materials 

 are contained in the soil, and in such cases it would be superfluous to 

 add others. Therefore, it is necessary to learn the composition of the 

 soil in order to know and to be sure how to properly manure the plants. 

 Besides the above materials, well-decomposed excrements of any ani- 

 mals, as well as wood-asnes, etc., make also a good compost for manur- 

 ing, and the proper time to do it is after the winter season, when through 

 the watering vehicle the materials are absorbed in the ground. At 

 last, in manuring the plants the material shown on the table must not 

 be neglected, and of which potash, soda, magnesia, lime, silices and 

 phosphoric acid must be more in proportion, as such composts greatly 

 benefit the olive culture. The quantity of manure to be given to each 

 tree varies according to its size, quality, and composition of ground ; 

 and it is therefore impossible to establish a certain quantity, and the 

 best thing to do is to manure annually with a little compost, except in 

 cases where a plant shows dullness, when a good dose of manure could 

 be given in order to make it revive again. 



Propagation. The olive culture can be propagated by (1) semi 

 (seeds) ; (2) ovoli (springs) j (3) talee (stocks) $ (4) polloni (sprouts) ; 

 (5) tronco vecchio (old trunk) ; (6) olivastrelli (olivasters). 



All the plants derived from any of those propagated must be Drafted, 

 as they generally grow from a wild state. Exception, however, is to be 

 made in the case of young trees derived from stalks taken from the 

 upper grafted trees, or from plants which needed no grafting, and those 

 which are obtained from springs, sprouts, and old trunks. 



Propagating by seed. This system, although requiring more time for 

 growing and fruiting, as a method of propagation deserves to be appre- 

 ciated, for the reason that plants originating from seeds are of longer 

 duration, become larger, and better withstand cold weather, insects, 

 and diseases. 



