544 GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



caii be propagated by seeds, but the sure way to secure 

 the type is to bud or graft. 



OLIVE.— (Olea Europea.) 



The Olive is a low- branching, evergreen tree, rising to 

 the height of twenty or thirty feet, with stiff, narrow, 

 bluish-green leaves. The fruit is a drupe, of oblong, sphe- 

 roidal form; hard, thick flesh of a yellowish-green color, 

 turning black when ripe. The tree is a native of Greece 

 and the seacoast ridges of Asia and Africa; it has been 

 cultivated from time immemorial for the oil expressed 

 from its ripe fruit. Where cultivated it answers all the 

 purposes of cream and butter, and enters into every kind 

 of cooking. Unripe olives are much used as pickles, 

 which, though distasteful at first to most persons, become 

 by custom exceedingly grateful, promoting digestion, and 

 increasing appetite. The ripe Olive is crushed to a paste, 

 when the oil is expressed through coarse hempen bags 

 into hot water, from which the pure oil is skimmed off. If 

 the stone is crushed the oil is inferior. Lime and potash 

 should be applied as fertilizers, should the soil be defi- 

 cient in these substances. 



Propagation ami Culture. — Olive plantations are gen- 

 erally formed from the suckers which grow abundantly 

 from the roots of old trees. 



It grows readily from cuttings and seeds. With the 

 aid of a sharp knife secure the cuttings from strong, 

 healthy young shoots, and remove all leaves except two 

 or three at the top. riant in boxes of moist s;ind, which 

 are placed in warm, shady localities. After rooting the 

 young plants are potted and given more sunshine for 

 several mouths, when they are transplanted in the 

 orchard. 



The cultivated. Olive may perhaps also be grafted on 

 our Olea Americana, or Devil Wood, which abounds on our 

 seacoast. The best trees are from seeds which commence 



