OLE 
Xhe fifth fort is of humbler growth, feldom riling 
more than four or five feet high, fending out branches 
from the root upward, forming a bulhy ihrub j the 
branches are taper, and covered with a gray bark ; 
the leaves are oval, very ftiff, and fmaller than thole 
of the other (pedes. This has not produced any fruit 
in England. 
All thefe forts are preferved in the gardens of the 
curious, but they are rather too tender to thrive in the 
open air, in the neighbourhood of London, where 
they are fometimes. planted again#: walls, and with a 
little; protection in very fevere froft, they are main- 
tained pretty well j but in Devonfhire there are feme 
of thefe trees, which have grown in the open air ma- 
ny years, and are feldom injured by the fro#, but 
the fummers are not warm enough to bring the fruit 
to maturity. There were feverai of thefe trees planted 
again# a warm wall at Cambden-houfe near Kenfing- 
ton, which fucceeded very well, till their .tops were 
advanced above the wall ; after which they were ge- 
nerally killed in winter, fo far down as to the top of 
the wall. Thefe in 1719 produced a good number 
of fruit, which grew fo large as to be fit for pickling ; 
but fince that time, their fruit has feldom grown to 
any fize. 
The Olive was, by the ancients, confidered as a ma- 
ritime tree, and they fuppofed it would not thrive at 
any difiance from the fea •, but by experience, we find 
they will fucceed very well in any country, where the 
air is of a proper temperature of heat, though the 
trees are found to bear the fpray of the fea better than 
moft other forts. 
In Languedoc and Provence, where the Olive-tree is 
greatly "cultivated, they propagate it by truncheons 
fplit from the roots of the trees i for as thefe trees 
are frequently hurt by hard frofts in winter, fo when 
their tops are killed, they fend up feverai (talks 
from the root ; and when thefe are grown pretty 
ftrong, they feparate them with an ax from the root, 
in the doing of which they are careful to preferve a 
few roots to the truncheons ; thefe are cut off in the 
fpring, after the danger of froft is over, and plant- 
ed about two feet deep in the ground, covering the 
furface with litter or mulch, to prevent the fun and 
wind from penetrating and drying of the ground ; 
when the plants have taken new root, they are care- 
ful to ftir the ground and deftroy the weeds. 
This tree will grow in almoft any foil, but when it is 
planted in rich moift ground, they grow larger and 
make a finer appearance, than in poor land •, but the 
fruit is of lefs efteem, becaufe the oil made from it is 
not fo good as that which is produced in a leaner foil. 
The chalky ground is efteemed the bed for thefe trees, 
and the oil which is made from the trees growing in 
that fort of land is much finer, and will keep longer 
than the other., 
In the countries where the inhabitants are curious in 
the making of their oil, they are frequently obliged to 
get truncheons of the ordinary forts of Olives to 
plant ; but after they have taken good root, they 
graft them with the fort of Olive which they prefer, 
to the others. In Languedoc they chiefly propagate 
the Cormeasu, the Ampoulan, and Moureau, which 
are three varieties of the firft fpecies : but in Spain 
the fecond fort is generally cultivated, where they 
have more regard to the fize of the fruit, and the 
quantity of oil they will produce, than to their quality. 
If the culture of thefe trees was well underftood by 
the inhabitants of Carolina, and properly purfued, it 
might become a valuable branch of trade to them j 
for there is no reafon to doubt of their fucceeding, the 
fummers there being hot enough to ripen the fruit to 
its utmoft perfection. 
In this country the plants are only preferved byway 
of curiofity, and are placed in winter in the green- 
houfe for variety, fo I, (hall next give an account of 
the method by which they are here propagated, with 
their manner of treatment. 
Thefe plants may be propagated by laying down 
OLE 
their tender branches (in the manner praCtiled for 
other trees,) which (hould remain .undiffurbed two 
years •, in which time they will have put out roots, 
and may then be taken off from the old plants, and 
tranfplanted either into pots filled with frefh light 
earth, or into the open ground in a warm iituarion. 
The beft ieafon for tran (planting is the beginning 
of April, when you fhould, if poffible, take the op^ 
portunity of a moift feafon ; and thefe which are 
planted in pots, fhould be placed in a fhady part 
* of the green-houfe until they have taken root • but 
thofe planted in the ground (hould have mulch laid • 
about their roots, to prevent the earth from drying 
too faft, and now and then refrefhed with water ; but 
you muft by no means let them have too much moif- 
ture, which will rot the tender fibres of their roots, 
and deftroy the trees. When the plants have taken 
frefh root, thofe in the pots may be expofed to the 
open air, with other hardy exotics, with which they 
(hould be houfed in winter, and treated as Myrtles, 
and other lels tender trees and fhrubs • but thofe in 
the open air will require no farther care until the 
winter following, when you (hould mulch the ground 
about their roots, to prevent the froft from pene- 
trating deep into it j and if the froft fhould prove, 
very fevere, you fhould cover them with mats', which 
will defend them from being injured thereby j but 
you muft be cautious not to let the mats continue 
over them after the froft is paft, left by keeping 
them too clofe, their leaves and tender branches 
(hould turn mouldy for want of free air j which will 
be of as bad confequence to the trees, as if they had 
been expofed to the froft, and many times worfe ; 
for it feldom happens, if they have taken much of 
this mould, or have been long covered, fo that it 
has entered the bark, that they are ever recoverable 
again ; whereas it often happens, that the froft only 
deftroys the tender (hoots •, but the body and larger 
branches remaining unhurt, put out again the fuc- 
ceeding fpring. 
Thefe trees are generally brought over from Italy 
every fpring, by the perfons who import Orange- 
trees, Jafmines, &c. from whom they may be pro- 
cured pretty reafonable ; which is a better method 
than to raiie them from layers in this country, that 
being too tedious •, and thofe which are thus brought 
over, have many times very large (terns, to which 
fize young plants in this country would not arrive 
in ten or twelve years. When you firft procure thefe 
items, you (hould (after having feaked their roots 
twenty-four hours in water, and cleaned theqi from 
the filth they have contracted in their paflage) plant 
them in pots filled with frefii light iandy earth, and 
plunge them into a moderate hot- bed, obferving to 
fereen them from the violence of the fun in the 
heat of the day, and aifo to refrefh them with water, 
as you (hall find the earth in the pots dry. In this 
fituation they will begin to (hoot in fix weeks or two 
months after, when you (hould let them have air in 
proportion to the warmth of the feafon j and after 
they have made pretty good fnoots, you (hould in- 
ure them to the open 'air by degrees, into which 
they (hould be removed, placing them in a fitua- . 
tion where they may be defended from ftrong 
winds j in this piace they (hould remain till October 
following, when they muft be removed into the 
green-houfe, as was before directed. Having thus 
managed thefe plants until they have acquired ftrong 
roots, and made tolerable good heads, you may. 
draw them out of the pots, preserving; the earth to 
their roots, and plant them in the open air in a 
warm fituation, where you muft manage them as was 
before directed for the young ones •, and thefe will 
in two or three years produce flowers, and in very 
warm feafons feme fruit, provided they do well. 
The Lucca and Box-leaved Olives are the hardieft, 
for which reafon they fhould be preferred to plant in 
the open air, but the firft fort will grow to be the 
largeft trees. 
OMPHA- 
