THE OLIVE IN PALERMO. 675 



PALERMO. 

 REPORT BY CONSUL OABBOLL. 



Varieties. — Among the six principal varieties cultivated in Sicily 

 " Ogliaja" yields the most oil, as will be seen from the followiDg table, 

 viz: 



The names of other choice varieties for pickles (eating) and oil, 

 worthy of culture and for proflt, are Caltabellottese, Bianchetta, Zeba 

 or Zaituni, and Oerasola. 



The trees which produce the above oils are grown in Sicily and most 

 parts of Italy. 



There is no stipulated distance from the sea. The olive-tree grows 

 either on the coast or inland, but groves adjacent to the sea or large 

 bodies of water are more productive than those situated inland, the 

 olives yielding more oil. The reason assigned for this is the influence 

 of large bodies of water in modifying the extremes of temperature. 



The limit of cultivation in the province of Palermo is stated at 827 

 meters (about 2,690 feet) above sea-level. As the trees suffer from ex- 

 tremes of temperature and from lack of moisture in either soil or air, 

 the success ot cultivation at various altitudes, depends largely on nature 

 of soil, exposure to the sun, and distance from the sea. 



Sunlight. — The posit on of an olive grove in relation to the sun aj)- 

 pears to be of great importance. In an eastern exposure the diurnal 

 changes from cold to warm, and vice versa, are very rapid, while with a 

 southern, and still more with a western and northern exposure, the di- 

 rect solar rays are preceded, in the morning, by the gradual diffusion of 

 the sun's warmth, and in the evening the change to the cold of the 

 night is similarly graduated. From this it appears that in the northern 

 limits of the growth of the olive the most unfavorable position is an 

 eastern exposure, experiments proving that in seasons of extreme cold, 

 the first trees to perish are those most fully exposed to the east. 



In the southern limit of growth, however, the eastern, western, or 

 northern exposures are more favorable than the southern, since, in the 

 latter case, the trees suffer from the extreme heat. In the intermediate 

 and more temperate zones exposures to the southeast or southwest seem 

 to be preferable. Aside from solar exposure it is important to choose a 

 position sheltered from violent winds. In some parts of this islatid the 



