610 PRtTlT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



» 

 Maturity. — The trees begin to bear after seven or eight years. 

 Field. — The average yield of a tree is 100 to 150 kilograms. 

 Planting and propagating. — They are planted about 25 to 30 feet 

 apart, in regular rows. They are planted as wild saplings, which grow 

 abundantly on the mountains ; after a year or two they are grafted. 

 The Government makes no statistics, neither are there any issued by 

 dealers or producers. 



Insect pests. — There are no insect pests here that injure the trees. The 

 greatest danger to olives is the hot wind (sirocco), which occurs some- 

 times during and after blossoming, which causes the blossom on the 

 young fruit to fall off, so that some years the entire crop is lost thereby. 



Jacob Schumacher, 



Consular Agent. 

 United States Consular Agency, 



Acca and Haifa, December 5, 1889. 



SHWAYFAT. * 



Varieties. — The best olives for pickling are the black olive, called 

 Sliatawy, and the green, called Sourri ; the best for oil are the black, 

 of the Shatawy kind, which have small pits and thick flesh if sufficient 

 rain-fall takes place, while the Sourri green olives are good for oil, 

 with or without sufficient rain. Other choice varieties are the Damas- 

 cus and Egypt olives, both of large and small size. 



Situation.— They grow in the littoral in general and in high places up 

 to an altitude of 3,000 feet and even higher. The particular region in 

 the vicinity of Beirut, where olive trees grow, is the village of Sliway- 

 fat, in the " Shoof " district, as well as in the neighborhood of Tripoli, 

 the southern part of the Lebanon, and in the interior. The exposure to 

 the sun is of vital importance. Hilly, rolling, and level, but the latter 

 is the best. 



Soil. — Olive trees grow in all kinds of soil, but the red is preferable. 



Climate. — Such as the degrees of heat which prevail in Beirut 40° to 

 90° Pahr., and in the mountains 30° to 88° Fahr. 



Eaiu-fall from 30 to 40 inches is needed ; less than 30 would injuri- 

 ously affect olive trees, especially in the littoral. Rain-fall influences 

 the growth of the tree and its production; as to quantity of the same 

 it is stated above. The October rains benefit the fruit, and the rains in 

 December and January benefit the trees. 



Irrigation. — Olive trees prosper best with rain-water ; irrigation di- 

 minishes the quantity of oil in the fruit, while it increases the growth 

 of the tree. 



* This report was prepared by the proprietor of an olive grove at Sliwayfat, near 

 Beirut, for Consul Biasinger. 



