134 



THE OLIVE 



The temptation to do this is great, It is evident that it is the cheap- 

 est way to get in the crop. But it is penny wise and pound foolish, 

 If the crop of that year was the only one to deal with, well and 

 good, there would be nothing to say against it, but the beating makes 

 it impossible for the tree to bear the following year. 



Hence it is plain that instead of being the cheapest mode of deal- 

 ing with a crop, it is the most exjjensive as it is one of the direct 

 causes of the olive bearing only every other year. 



Each leaf shelters a bud which in time will be a twig or a blos- 

 som, if the leaf is knocked off the bud is killed, for its life depends 

 upon the preservation of the leaf, and these leaves are more plenti- 

 ful on the fruit branches than any other part of the tree. No mat- 

 ter how carefully the fruit be polecl off, damage is sure to be done. 

 Olives should be picked by hand from ladders. 



If the berries are to be immediately crushed they may be thrown 

 upon a canvas cover placed about the tree to receive them ; but if 

 they have to be carried any distance or kept for any length of time 

 it will be best to handle them more carefully, as the bruises received 

 on being thrown to the ground cause an early decay of the berry to 

 the great detriment of the oil. 



Different kinds of olives ripen at different periods and in order to 

 make the best oil the berry should be gathered at the exact period 

 of its maturity and at no other. So a very large olive orchard 

 should be made up of different varieties coming in at successive pe- 

 riods, but a small one should consist of only one variety. 



Soil and locality also affect the quality of the oil. The same olive 

 on different soils or on a hill and on a plain will give a very differ- 

 ent oil ; and these should not be mixed, but made separate^, or the 

 quality of the whole may suffer. 



The olive takes on four changes of color, although all the varie- 

 ties do not strictly follow this rule: Green is followed by yellow, 

 then a reddish purple which is succeeded by a wine red and lastly 

 a black red or glossy black. If the berry is left upon the tree the 



