30 STATE BOARD OF HORTICULTURE. 



of planting; after this but little pruning will be necessary till 

 they begin to bear." 



*"In planting an olive orchard, select two or more varieties 

 ripening at different times, which will give more time to 

 harvest and handle the crop. Planters will find it to their 

 advantage to plant two-year-old trees, or older; the roots of 

 the one-year-old trees are too tender and* immature to transplant 

 without danger of losing a large percentage of the trees. The 

 utmost care should be observed, from the time the trees are taken 

 from the nursery until they are planted in the orchard, to keep 

 the roots protected from the sunlight and air; never allowing 

 the roots to become dry in transplanting. Because the olive is 

 called a very hardy tree, many planters are careless in trans- 

 planting, thereby losing many trees which could have been saved 

 with little care. Too often the nurseryman is censured for the 

 loss. The roots of the olive tree are very sensitive and tender, 

 more so than of any other tree I have ever handled; still, with 

 a very little trouble it can be moved with as little loss as 

 other fruit trees. Often, after planting, the tree will lose all 

 its leaves and remain dormant until the following year; if the 

 bark remains green it will come out all right and do well. 

 The olive is a slow tree to start, but once started it makes a 

 vigorous growth. If part of the top shows signs of withering 

 and dying, it should be cut off, to prevent the sour sap from 

 poisoning the balance of the tree. I have kept olive trees 

 heeled-in for eight and ten weeks, losing very few trees, but this 

 should be done only to hold the trees dormant for late planting. 

 The less handling they can have and the sooner they can be 

 planted after taking from the nursery, the less danger there is 

 from the roots becoming dry, which always occasions loss; but 

 if properly packed they can be safely shipped long distances. 

 The trees should be severely pruned when transplanted. My 

 plan is to cut the main stalk back from a third to a half, 

 according to the height of the tree, and to cut all branches back 

 to three inches, and to plant the tree from six to twelve inches 

 deeper than it was set in the nursery. The most successful 

 olive men plant deep. Deep planting would prove disastrous 

 to fruit trees, but the orchardist will not find it so with the 

 olive, provided he keeps the ground well loosened about the 

 body of the tree. With the short pruning and deep planting, 



*P. M. Hunt, of Redlands. 



