SUMMARY. 



39 



(8) Only one variety of olive, the Chemlaly, a small-fruited oil- 

 producing variety, is extensively grown in the Sfax region. It is a 

 very productive variety and its fruits yield an unusually high per- 

 centage of oil. 



(9) Wide planting and thorough cultivation are the most impor- 

 tant principles of olive culture at Sfax. The trees are planted 65 to 

 80 feet apart in each direction, giving space for only seven to ten 

 trees to the acre. 



(10) The olive is propagated at Sfax by means of large truncheons 

 or pieces of old wood; each containing several buds. These are set 

 to a depth of about a foot in holes, which become gradually filled as 

 the young trees grow up. During the first summer or two, two or 

 three waterings by hand are usually given. All shoots but the best 

 one are trimmed away within three years after setting out the 

 truncheon. 



(11) A good dust mulch is always maintained on the surface of 

 the orchard, and weeds, of which Bermuda grass is the most trouble- 

 some, are kept down by frequent cultivation. As a rule, the soil is 

 stirred by a shallow plowing three times a year. The most impor- 

 tant plowing is the one that immediately follows the harvest. After 

 the trees begin to bear, no other crop is allowed to grow among them. 



(12) Great care is taken in the matter of pruning, the trees being 

 given a broad, symmetrical top. The interior branches are thinned 

 out so that plenty of light and air can reach all the fruit-bearing 

 twigs. The comparatively sterile, rapidly growing, erect branches 

 are removed. Skillful pruning is an important factor in the large 

 yields obtained. 



(13) The harvesting is done by hand, more than usual care being 

 taken to avoid bruising the fruit or breaking the branches. 



(14) After eight or ten years the trees generally yield enough 

 fruit to pay the current expenses of the orchard, and when about 25 

 years old they are in full bearing. The average yield per tree is then 

 about 24 gallons of fruit, which gives 6 gallons of oil. 



(15) There is apparently a relation between the yield of the olive 

 and the rainfall of the previous year, but none between the yield and 

 the rainfall of the year in which the crop is made. 



(16) In another part of Tunis, where the rainfall is about 16.5 

 inches and the country more hilly than around Sfax, the rain that 

 falls on the slopes is collected in trenches and conducted into small 

 basins in which the trees are planted. 



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