ECONOMIC PLANTS WORTHY OF INTRODUCTION. 19 



In spite of all that has been said and written about the Oleastrum, 

 the Zeboudj of the Kabyles (Algeria), the writer believes that it is 

 only an olive escaped from cultivation. The wild olive certainly 

 originated in the hills and mountains of Syria and Palestine, rather 

 than in those of Algeria. At any rate, there are different varieties 

 or races of wild or half-wild olives in our hills adapted to all kinds 

 of soil and to widely different climatic conditions. Though they 

 would not be ranked botanically as varieties, there are three distinct 

 races among our wild olives which are used either for direct planting 

 or in our nurseries. 



The first is a form with thin, brittle, blackish bark. This form is 

 not much liked; it is difficult to propagate, grows slowly, is hard to 

 graft, and the fruit produced by these grafts is said to be not very 

 rich in oil. 



Second, there is a form with waxy green bark. This is easily 

 propagated, grafts readily, is very much liked, and when used as a 

 stock gives a very large yield of oil, but it is of rather slow growth 

 and it fruits late. 



The third form has a thick, white or gray bark, which separates 

 readily. It is particularly well adapted for grafting, is easily 

 propagated, grows rapidly, and fruits early. It is said that the 

 trees of this race do not live as long as those of the preceding one. 



All of this information is not guaranteed, as some of it was obtained 

 from the Arabs, but that part which relates to propagation, growth, 

 and grafting is from personal observation. 



There is, as is to be expected, a great multiplicity of forms in the 

 cultivated varieties of olives (see fig. 4). In southern Palestine we 

 have olives which grow under much the same conditions as the 

 Chemlali of Sfax (Tunis), the soil and climate being about the same 

 and the rainfall as limited. I may note, however, that the varieties 

 from Gaza, Ramleh, or Lydda, which grow in southern Palestine on 

 Quaternary soil, do not contain the excess of margaric acid which is 

 characteristic of those from Sfax. This is a great defect in those 

 varieties and is the cause of their oil being rated as inferior. To be 

 sure, the oil of southern Palestine is also rancid and mediocre in 

 quality when prepared in the Arab fashion, but excellent when well 

 prepared. 



Just as the name " Chemlali " is applied in Algeria and Tunis to 

 several different forms, so also in Palestine the name " Nabali " has 

 a somewhat indefinite use. The Xabali of Et-Tireh, near Haifa, grow- 

 ing on calcareous Cenomono-Turonian formation, and the Nabali of 

 southern Palestine, growing on Quaternary soil, are altogether differ- 

 ent. The first is richer in oil and is of superior quality. One form 

 in this locality is particularly in demand because it is more productive 

 and yields more oil, and that also of a finer quality. But we are not 



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