22 STATE BOARD OF HORTICULTURE. 



dollar so expended at least ten dollars may be expected in 

 increased growth and quantity of fruit. 



" When taken from the nursery (at two years from planting 

 of cutting), planted in orchard and properly cared for, the olive 

 tree should pay all expenses of cultivation the third year. There 

 are instances on record where cuttings planted in orchard have 

 produced sufficient fruit the third year to pay all expenses of 

 cultivation for that year; but this is not a safe basis for calcu- 

 lation, for it is only with large cuttings, taken from vigorous 

 trees, and planted in a voluptuous soil and under the most 

 favorable conditions, that such a result may be obtained. 



"In selecting a location for an olive plantation, great care 

 should be taken to secure a well-drained tract, for there is no 

 one thing which will so militate against success as a close, 

 clayey soil with imperfect drainage. 



" Exposure also cuts an important figure in the profits to be 

 derived from an olive orchard. A southern exposure hastens 

 maturity of the fruit, and it must always be kept in mind that 

 when the olive approaches ripeness it must be gathered, if first 

 quality of oil be expected; true, the quantity of oil is much 

 less, but the quality is much finer than that pressed from fully 

 matured fruit. A northerly exposure will prolong the period 

 of ripening many weeks; so, by selecting land having both a 

 northerly and a southerly exposure, a person, by his own labor, 

 can harvest at least one half more fruit than if either one of the 

 exposures were selected. It is often said that any kind of soil 

 is good enough for olive trees, and inferentially that the poorer 

 the soil the more profitable the crop. If this be so, it is con- 

 trary to all other efforts of nature of which I have any knowl- 

 edge; but it is not so. But it is a substantial fact, however, 

 that an olive orchard which has long been cropped, poorly 

 cultivated, and not fertilized, will make a record for unprofit- 

 ableness which the owner may not long disregard. In such 

 cases, generous fertilizing and good cultivation will cause a 

 response which cannot be mistaken. Good location and good 

 soil are two elements which will act as large factors in success- 

 ful olive- growing. 



" We labor under peculiar conditions in California. As a 

 rule, we do not care to see a drop of rain from the first of May 

 to the first of December. During what is termed the l rainy 

 season,' and after any considerable fall of rain, the ground 



