96 



THE OLIVE 



more severe measure of cutting back. It is necessary to clean up 

 the trees with the knife after the crop is in, every year, say in Jan- 

 uary or February, and if the operation is carried a little further, and 

 the tree is really pruned every year, it will be found advantageous. 



If the regular pruning is deferred to periods of two or three years, 

 the wounds given the tree have to be so much the larger, and are so 

 much the more difficult to recover from, or detract so much from 

 the force of the tree. Then also, the season after a full pruning is 

 one of a very light crop, making a very heavy crop the second year. 

 This results in making either a very expensive crop to gather, that 

 is if it is done carefully, or if not, by being done hurriedly, the 

 branches are broken and damaged, and the prospect of the next 

 years fruitage is destroyed. 



The olive is sometimes called a biennial, but a moments reflection 

 must convince anyone familiar with the tree, that it is an annual. 

 Does it not make a yearly effort to flower and fruit ? Then encour- 

 age it and the result will be an annual crop. Annual pruning will 

 give a moderate crop every year, will distribute the labor of prun- 

 ing and harvesting more evenly, and will be most advantageous to 

 the trees. 



Light pruning necessitates heavy manuring in order to success- 

 fully carry the excess of wood and branches. Real scientific prun- 

 ing can be safelv said to be almost unknown. There are more hum- 

 bugs in this branch of horticulture, than in any other. Because a 

 certain line of treatment may be desirable in a given locality, it 

 does not follow that it is so in another. Certainly a very undesir- 

 able arrangement would be that the pruner should have the wood, 

 as he then sets to work and makes all he can, utterly regardless of 

 the result to the trees. 



Successful pruning is founded upon the following propositions : 



First : That the olive fruits on two years old wood only. 



Second : That the flowers do not develop except when exposed 

 to the sun for a number of hours of the day. 



