66 THE OLIVE 



up the mud cover, a little hole is made, through which to give them 

 water during the first year. 



Where irrigation is practiced, they do not need to be covered; 

 but otherwise even a layer of grass and weeds, to prevent the direct 

 action of the sun and air on the bark of the truncheons, is of great 

 use. The height whicli the truncheon should show above ground, 

 should be forty to eighty inches, the greater, in the warmer climate, 

 and the less, in the colder place. The growth of the truncheon is 

 such, that it gives a crop in the third year ; whereas the cutting 

 does not bear until from the sixth to the eighth, and then not so 

 plentifully as the truncheon. But the olive tree from a truncheon does 

 not root as well, and is never as vigorous, as that groAvn from a cut- 

 ting. 



To grow truncheons, instead of despoiling and deforming the 

 trees, is the much wiser course. For this purpose make a trench 

 twenty inches deep. Select branches that will average more than 

 two inches in the narrowest part, and cut them into lengths of 

 twenty inches. Place these upright in the trench, one yard apart, 

 and cover with earth. If on watering^ or after a rain, the upper 

 ends are uncovered, carefully cover them again, to protect them from 

 the sun. Towards the end of spring, the truncheons will sprout, and 

 the thicker, cleaner, and newer the}^ are, the more vigorous will be the 

 shoot. 



As soon as the young" sprouts are seen, the ground should be 

 spaded over, the earth carefully scraped away from the plants, and 

 fresh earth added. In the beoinnins; of Julv, the o^round should be 

 Avorked over, and again in the early part of August. In parts of the 

 country where irrio-ation is necessarv, thev mav be irrio-ated, but 

 generally frequent cultivation, and freedom from weeds, is sufficient 

 to insure a favorable growth. In the sj^ring of the second year, open 

 the trench, uncovering the mother cutting. Sever at the neck of 

 the plant all superfluous shoots. The aim should be, to leave one, 

 two, or three, vigorous ones so distributed around the parent cutting, 



