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struck much like vine cuttings in a nursery; many plant truncheons 
or lengths of wood about one inch in diameter and a couple of feet 
long, sawn half through into sections a few inches long. These are 
laid in shallow trenches with a few inches of loam on top and kept 
moist. A number of shoots spring from these truncheons, which are, 
when planting out, sawn completely off into short sections carrying 
growing wood and roots. In Spain, where olive wood is easy to 
procure, a common method of planting is to dig a hole and plant a 
piece of olive wood a couple of inches cr so in diameter much as if 
it is a fencing post; a mound of earth is banked up around the stick 
and a tile or two agave or aloes leaves are inserted at the base of the 
mound to serve as a channel into which water is poured in the sum- 
mer to maintain the ground moist around the stem. In this manner 
a bunch of shoots soon grow on the top of the green stick which 
readily takes root, and a tree two or three feet high is obtained in 
one season, which bears fruit when two or three years old. The 
olive is best planted in rows wide apart, say, 40 to 60 feet, with in- 
termediate rows of quick growing and shorter lived trees, such as 
peaches, loquats, Japanese plums, passion fruit, ete.; these being 
removed when the olives spread out. 
Grafting and pruning have been dealt with in a previous chap- 
ter. 
Olive trees are much neglected as far as cultivation goes; hence 
the impression that the tree is slow of growth and tardy bearing. 
They, however, respond to manuring and to cultivation, and when- 
ever necessary to irrigation—preferably few and copious—as readily 
as most orchard trees do. The olive, like the almond tree, is parti- 
cularly suitable for planting along drives or boundary fences and 
also in odd corners and sloping banks, provided the soil be deep and 
friable. If rocky or underlaid wich a hardpan the spot where it is 
intended to plant may be loosened by the use of explosives, such as 
gelignite. 
The olives ripen in the latter part of the autumn; the harvest- 
ing being somewhat costly, particularly if the crop is light and the 
trees high, and amount on an average to 3s. 6d. to 4s. Gd. per ewt. 
If for pickling the fruit is picked when just turning—for green 
olives—or-when dark for ripe pickles. In any case it is essential to 
avoid bruises, and for that purpose baskets lined with hessian are 
used or buekets with a little water in them. Where the pickling fac- 
tory is distant haulage in barrels containing water are used. 
For oil the harvesting is best done by shaking the branches, 
also by beating down the ripe fruit, which are collected over sheets 
spread under the trees. This treatment often reduces the subse- 
quent crops by breaking the bearing shoots. The stray olives are 
picked by hand; a special ladder, illustrated (page 128) in the 
chapter on picking fruit, being used for the purpose. At the factory 
these are put through a winnower to remove dirt, leaves, etc. 
