8 



PARIS EXPOSITION. 



The United States Department of Agriculture, Division of Pomology, are 

 soliciting cooperation of the fruit growers, to prepare a display of fruits for 

 the Paris Exposition of 1889. Should the convention desire to take any 

 action regarding this request it will be in order to do so. I therefore recom- 

 mend that the subject form a part of our programme. 



OLIVE CULTURE. 



No fruit in California at the present time claims so much attention as 

 the olive. A great deal has been written. Conflicting reports have created 

 an inquiry that cannot be satisfied, there being no experience to ratify 

 statements made. 



There appeared in the San Francisco " Call," of June seventh last, an 

 article by an Italian gentleman, Carlo Dondero, in which the statement was 

 made that the oil I produce could only be rated second or third quality; 

 that berries could not be dried by artificial heat, without injury to the 

 flavor; that the seeds could not be crushed without producing an inferior 

 oil; that the Mission olive makes an inferior pickle; that while it produces 

 only 10 to 12 per cent of oil, they have varieties in Italy that produce 35 

 to 45 per cent; that scale insects here threaten even the possibility of suc- 

 cess, while in Italy the experienced olive grower got rid long ago of these 

 pests by simple and cheap remedies. 



I called the attention of the Board to these statements at our last meet- 

 ing, July second. I was requested and instructed by the Board to com- 

 municate with the gentleman, and have brought from Italy a sample of 

 the superior berries referred to, as well as the superior oil, at the expense 

 of the Board, and have them at this convention for examination. 



In order that they should arrive on time, I fixed the date of picking the 

 fifteenth of October, at which time I picked some of the Mission variety, 

 with two other varieties now here to be compared. I also wrote to others 

 to pick olives on that date, and have them present. 



Mr. Dondero also assented to my request to write an essay on the olive. 



Arthur Tappan Marvin, of San Francisco, has compiled quite an elabo- 

 rate work, principally translations from Italian books, recently on sale, in 

 which certain statements are made, that may or may not be true, there 

 being no experimental fact to determine. At any rate, what has been said 

 about the Picholine being nearly allied to the wild olive, and comparatively 

 worthless, has created alarm amongst the growers. 



This variety has been planted by the thousands. It is important and 

 necessary that we should investigate these statements, so as to prevent the 

 planting of new orchards of worthless varieties, or should the publications 

 have no foundation in fact, then to allay the alarm created by them. 



If there are varieties in Europe so greatly superior to the Mission, we 

 should make every effort to get them for general cultivation in California. 



FOREST CULTURE. 



I again urge that we ought to encourage forest tree planting for the pro- 

 tection of our fruit trees. 



Our fruit industry is rapidly increasing from year to year. Our fruits 

 are sought by the people in almost every part of the country; we have a 

 growing demand with an increased interest in our products. 



