846 GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



Lime and potash are the chief sorts the olive requixes 

 in the soil. 



Prajpagation and Cuhurc^OlivQ plantations are gener- . 

 ally formed from the rooted suckers which rise abund- 

 antly from the roots of old trees. It also grows readily 

 from cuttings and seeds. Knots and tumors form on the 

 bark of the trunk, Avliich, being removed with a knife, are 

 planted like bulbs, an inch or two deep, when they take 

 root and become new trees. The cultivated olive may, 

 perhaps, also be grafted on our Oleci Americana, or Devil 

 Wood, which abounds on the seacoast. The best trees 

 are from seedlings, which commence bearing in five or six 

 years, but are not remunerative until ten or twelve years 

 old. The trees produce about fifteen or twenty pounds 

 of oil per year, and their longevity is greater than any 

 other fruit tree. The olive is hardier than the orange, but 

 is most hardy and prolific when grown on a dry calcareous 

 sandy or rocky situation. Such situations on the steep 

 cliff's of the Mediterranean, planted with olives in the dry 

 crevices of the rock, afford abundant and prolific crops. 

 It grows more luxuriantly in strong, rich, clayey loam; 

 but in such situations will not endure so great an extreme 

 of cold. The dry limestone soils of Florida would proba- 

 bly become exceedingly valuable if planted with the olive. 

 It should be tried wherever the orange will survive the 

 winter. In planting, the trees are usually set thirty-five 

 or forty feet apart. 



Varieties.— Of the many varieties of the catalogues, 

 the following are described in the French " Bon Jardi- 

 nier," as the hardiest and best. 



Oha Angulosa. — A hardy variety with scanty foliage ; 

 fruit reddish, with a long stem. It is preserved in some 

 places. " Oil of medium quality," says Gouan, but very 

 good according to others. 



