CALIFORNIA OLIVE INDUSTRY. 



By B. M. LELONG, Secretary of State Board of Horticulture, and Chief 



Horticultural Officer of California, aided by growers 



throughout the State. 



Historic records tell us that the olive tree was introduced 

 into California in 1769, from San Bias, Mexico, by an expedi- 

 tion of Franciscans sent to take charge of the Jesuit missions 

 in California. It appears from the ship's manifest that one 

 Jose de Galvez, who was " Visitor-General " and secular head, 

 with Father Serra, proceeded to make arrangements for the 

 establishment of settlements. He seemed to be farseeing, 

 for it was found that he had caused to be shipped to "Alta" 

 California, flower, vegetable, and fruit seeds for garden and 

 orchard, and grain for the field: The ship's manifest does not 

 show that any trees or cuttings were brought. 



The first seeds of the olive are said to have been planted at 

 the Mission San Diego, and those seeds (which Galvez had been 

 so provident in sending) grew and prospered. The Fathers 

 built new missions, and among the first trees planted was the 

 olive, grown from cuttings taken from trees of the San Diego 

 mission. All the mission orchards were very small, and some 

 had but few trees, but those trees played an important part in 

 the horticultural history of our State, for they laid the foun- 

 dation of a gigantic industry and furnished stocks for many 

 groves, which to-day may be styled the " prehistoric " orchards 

 of the State. 



For many years, a century or more, only one variety 

 of olive, the "Mission," so called from its having been first 

 grown at the various historic missions, was known in the 

 State. Many of those trees still live and bear remunerative 

 crops under favorable conditions. That the larger part of 

 these primitive trees were grown from seed there is but little 

 doubt, for in almost every mission olive orchard there are trees 

 growing side by side of entirely distinct types. Some are of a 



