No. 144.] 623 



ceptiiig the driest and most barren spots, where the underlying 

 rock shows itself more frequently than earth. Its roots, twisting 

 in every direction, accommodate themselves to the lightness or 

 depth of the soil, while the trunk, remarkable for its smooth and 

 light colored bark, attains, in sheltered positions, a colossal size. 

 The bran0hes, furnished with greyish colored leaves, spread ma- 

 jestically around the trunk, and when loaded with fiuit, hang 

 down qu^te to the ground in the form of a tent. The fruit ripens 

 rapidly, and such is its abundance and weight that it is necessary 

 at once to gather it. The pods are sweet and rich in sugar, and 

 animals feed on them with avidity, and become quite fat and in 

 good condition for work. 



There are several varieties of the tree. The produce is neces- 

 sarily in proportion to the attention given. It blooms twice a 

 year — about the first of February, and the middle of September, 

 and when well watered arrives at a considerable height, and 

 sometimes covers a space of one hundred feet in diameter, bearing 

 upwards of a ton of pods. It will doubtless succeed in the south- 

 ern and perhaps in the middle States. 



The Olive (Olea europcea.) Of the olive, it has been said with 

 much truth : "Olea prima omnium arborum est ;" and when we 

 consider its productiveness, longevity, and usefulness, a little en- 

 thusiasm on the subject, perhaps, would not be altogether mis- 

 placed. The present imprvrtation is by n.) means the first attempt 

 to cultivate this tree in this country, as it had already been 

 introduced into California by the Jesuits one hundred and fifty 

 years before. In about the year 1755, also, Vlr. Henry Laurens, 

 of Charleston, imported from remote parts of the globe, a great 

 variety of useful and ornamental productions, among which were 

 olives, capers, limes, ginger, Guinea-grass, the Alpine strawberry, 

 (which bore fruit nine months in tiie year,) red raspberry, and 

 blue grapes; also, directly from the south of France, apples, 

 pears, plums of choice varieties, and the white Chasselas grape, 

 the latter of which bore abundantly. The fruit raised from the 

 olive tree was prepared and pickled, equal to those imported. 



