THE OLIVE IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE. 621 



The two latter kinds are excellent varieties for profit, and are recom- 

 mended for general purposes. In many respect.s the Cayou is prefera- 

 ble, chiefly because, being a lower and smaller tree, it requires less room 

 and is easier to attend to. Its height is usually from 12 to 16 feet. 

 They can be planted at a distance of, say, 15 or 16 feet apart eacli way ; 

 thus, from 150 to 160 would go on an acre. The Pendoulier, being a 

 much larger tree, requires about 30 feet square to itself in order to 

 develop fully ; thus, about 40 would go on an acre. 



CULTIVATION. 



The cultivation of the olive tree is very simple, and it is this 

 that makes it pay. The chief points are digging, fertilizing, prun- 

 ing. The ground ought to be well dug up around the tree to at least 6 

 feet from the stem, aud if possible kept loose throughout the rainy sea- 

 son. A good plan is to dig a trench around the tree and on sloping 

 ground to connect these trenches one to the other by ditches, all to be 

 closed up whea the wet season is over. No irrigation is then necessary 

 Artificial watering would only be called for in spring if the whole win- 

 ter had passed without any rain at all, a circumstance that rarely, if 

 ever, happens. 



FERTILIZING. 



Fertilizing ought to be done at the same time as digging, that is, dur- 

 ing winter and spring. In places and farms where stable manure is 

 obtainable at a reasonable price it can be used to considerable advan- 

 tage ; in towns and in the proximity of oil-mills the refuse of these mills 

 is a good fertilizer, and the dirty water that comes from the mills can be 

 used, mixed or diluted with pure water. Powdered oil-cake is an excel- 

 lent stimulant, and ought to be well mixed with the earth. Finally, the 

 dead leaves that fall from the olive tree itself and the small branches 

 cut off when pruning, well dug into the ground, are largely used as 

 fertilizers, and are by no means to be despised. Strong fertilizers must 

 not be used too frequently. 



Pruning. — The question of pruning is one that requires study, as it 

 depends a great deal upon circumstances. An olive tree usually gives 

 a crop every second year, therefore it ought to be pruned every second 

 year, and then, of course, shortly after the gathering of the crop, say 

 during January and February. But as cultivation in many cases makes 

 the tree produce a crop every year, it is right in this case to prune the 

 tree slightly every year. When the trees are pruned every year it 

 must be done carefully and lightly ; in fact it must only consist of a 

 slight thinning out. The chief thing to be borne in mind whea pruning 

 is, that those twigs that have blossomed and produced fruit once never 

 do again, therefore that pruning must consist in cutting away useless 

 twigs and branches to give light and air and make room for fresh and 

 fruitful twigs and shoots. 



