13 



fair crop of oil is obtained from trees four years from 

 the nursery, and a full crop from trees eight years 

 planted. 



Ancient writers upon the Olive state that the tree 

 will not thrive remote from the influence of the sea air ; 

 and this opinion has been handed down from generation 

 to generation, and is entertained, even at the present day, 

 by men whose authority upon the general subject cannot 

 be lightly regarded. The fact, however, that the Olive 

 forms a staple product throughout Spain, even in those 

 parts which are so remote from the coast as to be quite 

 beyond the influence of the sea air, seems to set the 

 matter at rest. The idea is probably traditional, and 

 takes its origin in the fact that in the early history of 

 the Olive, the countries where it was grown were*chiefiy 

 maritime. It is still not inconsistent to suppose that sea 

 air is beneficial to the tree; and the practice which obtains 

 among some of the Portuguese oil-growers of using sea 

 sand in making their plantations, may be well worth 

 our attention in considering the suitableness of the Olive 

 for some parts of Queensland. Baron Eerdinand von 

 Mueller tells us that " the Olive is a hardy plant, and 

 " hardly subject to any diseases which might render the 

 " yield precarious while it possesses this great advan- 

 tage, that it will not perish from neglect — at best, it 

 does not require much labor or care ; and, unlike the 

 vine, the mulberry, and other trees, if long neglected, 

 will revive again as soon as the ground about it is again 

 stirred and it receives attention, and will respond to the 

 care bestowed upon it by yielding as before. It will be 

 found presently, when we come to deal with the subject 

 of soils, that by means of the Olive much land can be 

 utilised which has been hitherto regarded as compara- 

 tively valueless ; and when we bear in mind the longevity 

 of the tree, its great productiveness, the manifold uses 

 for food, and in various industries to which its products 

 can be put, it is as undoubtedly the interest of the 

 colonists of Queensland to test, as it is the duty of the 

 Institution of which, as I write, I am the representative 3 



