THE OLIVE 



81 



level ground, will at the end of a year be three inches deeper than 

 when put out. Planting at more than the ordinary depth will be 

 injurious to the plant, and will often cause its death. For the per- 

 fect development of the olive, the soil must be pervious to the air ; 

 which is indispensable to the respiration of its whole organism. 



Experiments have shown how the development of the same plant 

 can be retarded or advanced, by planting it alternately deep and 

 shallow. From these experiences it is conclusive that to condemn 

 the olive to too great a depth in the ground is a grave error. 



The rectangular hole of two feet long, and two feet deep, and a 

 foot wide, will probably be the one commonly used in California, as 

 it is much the cheapest. 



Instead of holes a continuous trench may be dug, not less than 

 three feet in depth ; and the trees set out in it at the proper dis- 

 tance apart. Here the tender roots encounter no obstacle, the 

 trench giving them free play each way and the result is, an aston- 

 ishing development of the young tree. These trenches have 

 proved particularly good on side hills. When we reflect that the 

 life of this tree that we are starting on its road, will cover centur- 

 ies, any expense incurred in promoting its growth at the begin- 

 ning seems slight in comparison. 



The wild seedling olive is unknown in California, but as the 

 seed of the cultivated type almost invariably produces that of the 

 wild, not many years will pass before these will begin to spring 

 up on the hills about our valleys. The birds will be the dissem- 

 inators. The writer has noticed the robin in particular. On cold 

 winter days in the Santa Clara valley, this bird leaves the hills 

 and appears on the Quito Olive Farm in great numbers, eating 

 any fruit that offers itself, olives among others. The Spaniards 

 are led to claim that the olive is indigenous to Spain because it is 

 found growing wild on all their mountains, perhaps some future 

 Californian will make the same claim for us, for the seed of the 

 olive will certainly be spread far and wide in this way. 



