920 FRUIT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



Budding is preferred to grafting. Another method pursued here is to 

 cut a healthy, smooth branch of about 1J inches in diameter into lengths 

 of about J foot ; they are then buried in the ground in January at a 

 depth of rather over a foot, and in the following April are planted out, 

 slightly inclining, leaving only an inch or so above the surface. Another 

 plan is clasping a pot or box round a young branch of a tree, keeping 

 it well filled with earth, and after the third year, when it will have 

 formed strong roots, severing it from the parent stem, and planting it in 

 January or February. 



As a rule the trees here have not been troubled with any serious 

 malady. Although in some parts of Greece, notably in Poros, whole 

 orchards have gradually dried up, no remedy has so far been discovered. 

 The trees are planted 15 to 18 feet apart. Here the orchards succeed 

 best in a sheltered part of the plain or valley, at some distance from 

 the sea ; the best results are on a light, sandy soil, though on some rich 

 boggy soil I have seen some marvelous specimens of both orange and 

 lemon. The best orchards, as a rule, are at least a mile away from the 

 sea. 



In very hot weather the trees are irrigated at night from wells or cis- 

 terns, but there is no regular system in use, and in certain localities it 

 is not necessary. The ground is dug thrice a year, in March, May, and 

 October. Very little pruning is required beyond keeping the trees in 

 good shape, and free from dead twigs or branches. Manure is laid on 

 every two or three years if the soil is poor. No crops are grown under 

 the trees in properly cultivated orchards, and only the peach tree is in 

 some orchards planted, as it. does not last many years, and the soil is 

 not weakened by it. 



A first-class orchard yields about $400 per acre annually, expenses 

 being about $35, including manure. 



OLIVES. 



There are two varieties here, the indigenous and a variety introduced 

 from Corone, in Messenia; the latter is the most prolific. Both bear a 

 small, greenish -black fruit. 



Process of cultivation much the same as the orange tree. The ground 

 is plowed regularly twice a year, in March and December, and every 

 fourth year during the summer manure is sown, resulting in a crop of 

 hay in the following spring. 



The Queen olive is not produced here. 



The trees come into full bearing after the twentieth 5~ear. There are 

 fruitful trees several centuries old. The average annual yield per acre 

 of mature trees is 33 gallons of liquid oil ; 325 pounds' weight of olives 

 yield 4 gallons of oil ; much depends upon the quality of the soil and 

 the season. 



The trees are planted about 20 to 24 feet apart, Ojlives intended for 



