51 



nearly round, slightly truncated at the top, infun dibuliform (funnel-shaped) ; 

 very green till nearly ripe, then of a vinous red, and finally of a deep black, 

 somewhat dull; very hoary at maturity; olive soft, with pretty thick skin; 

 pulp fleshy and little juicy; pit very big, of same form as the olive, with 

 surface but slightly furrowed ; very early. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



The Verdale is much cultivated inLanguedoc, notably about Montpellier, 

 Beziers, and in Gard; it is exclusively cultivated in some communes (for 

 instance at Aniane, Herault), where green olives for table use are prepared 

 on a large scale. The Verdale is also found in Vaucluse and in Bouches-du- 

 Rhone, but not so extensively as in Languedoc. It is a very early olive, but 

 little productive of oil; it also rots pretty quickly when fully ripe. On the 

 other hand, the Verdale deserves to be propagated when green olives are 

 wanted, for it is a nice olive, generally much appreciated for the table, and 

 is the subject of a very important trade; it must, however, be set out only 

 in good ground, or in ground of medium quality, as its productions fall out 

 in bad soil. The Verdale is pretty sensitive to cold, and the dropping off 

 of the olives frequently diminishes the crop. 



Oliviere. 

 (Figure No. 5, Plate III.) 



Synonymes. — Ouliviere, Oulliviere, Oulivieira (Herault). Pointue (Herault); Pounchudo- 

 barralenquo( Provence). Gallinenque, Galinenque. Rozier, Amoreux (Languedoc). Liviere, 

 Laurine. Rozier. Mickelenque. Amoreux (Gard). ( ?) Bouteyenque. Amoreux (Beaucaire) 

 Plant d'Aiguieres. Amoreux (Marseille). Angelon Sage Reynaud (Gard). (?) Ouana 

 (Roussilion). Olea europaea midia oblonga angulosa Gouan Flor. Monsp. Olea europaea 

 laurifolia. Risso. Olea fructu majusculo et oblongo. Tournefort. 



DESCRIPTION. 



This tree is hardy, never of a very large size, and spreads out; trunk 

 cylindrical; bark blackish gray, full of fissures about the trunk and heavier 

 limbs; comes off in short regular strips; the heavy limbs are either hori- 

 zontal or inclined downward, their many branches falling to the ground; 

 the whole tree looks like a cylinder much broader than high; has usually 

 but few shoots. 



The young branches are vigorous, bent round, spirally arranged, and 

 grow out at an acute angle; they change from a clear ashy gray to a black- 

 ish gray after the first year; the wood quite quadrangular at the outset 

 becomes cylindrical as the branches grow older; besprinkled with light 

 brown freckles, slightly striated; medium size knots. 



Leaves oblong, oval, lanceolate, large to very large (mean length eight to 

 nine centim., ten to eleven centim. in exceptional cases; mean width one 

 and one quarter to one and one half centim. up to two centim. on the 

 hardier stock). Upper face of shining light green; thick, even white 

 coating on lower face; limb thick, with edges much drawn back, forming 

 a channel; nerves only appearing on upper face; mucron long, acute, bent 

 round toward the under face of the leaf; petiole middling, inserted at a 

 very acute angle, especially at the end of the branches where the leaves 

 are habitually accumulating. 



