\ 



( 3o ) 



and the washings of the utensils and the oil- 

 vessels. 



The manure is spread in the fall, in the 

 winter , or before the tillage in the spring. 

 Its effects are most sensible when it is ap- 

 plied at the beginning of winter, as during 

 this season, its virtues are imbibed by the 

 soil, and communicated to every fibre of the 

 roots. Through the spring and summer, on 

 the contrary, it sometimes remains nearly 

 inert beneath the surface. But in climates 

 where the Olive is liable to injury from cold, 

 the most serious accidents are to be feared 

 from keeping its roots too warm in the win- 

 ter ; its vegetation being in this manner 

 quickened, so that the sap is set in motion 

 by every genial sun that softens the bosom 

 of Nature , it is exposed to the most immi- 

 nent danger from the returning frost. The 

 fatal effects of cold are frequently less attri- 

 butable to its intensity than to its sudden- 

 ness : a plant which has become relaxed by 

 the tepid breath of a deceitful Zephyr, is sur- 

 prised and killed by the frozen blast of the 

 north wind. To maintain an even temper- 

 ature at the roots during the winter, earth 



