460      Cultivation  of  the  Olive,  near  Ventimiglia.  { AM6ct°ui,' iP872RM' 
around  it,  so  as  to  stimulate  it  to  shoot  out  roots.  After  three  or 
four  years  the  little  tree  begins  to  fruit,  and  arrived  at  an  age  of 
about  20  to  25  years,  the  roots  which  have  been  thrown  out  by  the 
graft  send  up  suckers,  any  which  come  from  those  of  the  parent  oli- 
vastro  being  of  course  extirpated.  These  suckers,  when  about  two 
years  old,  will  be  strong  enough  to  bear  separation  from  the  parent- 
root  and  to  be  planted  as  independent  trees.  Such  young  trees  fruit 
in  three  to  five  years  after  planting.  When  a  sucker  is  thrown  out 
from  a  large  naked  root,  it  may  be  surrounded  by  a  heap  of  earth 
into  which  it  will  strike  roots,  and  in  due  time  may  be  separated  as 
already  explained. 
The  quality  of  the  oil  obtained  from  the  cultivated  olive,  very  much 
depends  on  the  degree  of  maturity  of  the  fruit.  The  riper  the  latter, 
the  better  will  be  the  oil  it  yields. 
Near  Marseilles  the  olives  are  gathered  in  October  and  November,, 
while  they  are  still  unripe,  and  the  oil  is  consequently  of  very  infe- 
rior quality.  This  plan  of  anticipating  the  crop  is  adopted  on  account 
of  the  cold  mistral,  which  spoils  the  olives  sometimes  completely,, 
freezing  them  and  rendering  them  nearly  worthless  for  oil.  To  make 
the  trees  thicker  in  foliage,  and  thus  capable  of  affording  a  natural' 
shelter  to  their  fruits,  the  peasants  prune  the  tops  every  year  after 
the  gathering.  In  this  district  of  Italy  comparatively  little  pruning 
is  needed,  the  trees  on  many  properties  being  allowed  to  grow  quite 
au  naturel. 
About  La  Mortola  and  the  adjoining  district  of  Latte,  as  well  as  on? 
all  the  lower  slopes  of  the  Riviera,  the  olives  are  frequently  attacked 
in  the  month  of  July  by  an  insect  called  moschino,  which  lays  its  eggs 
in  the  berry.*  The  caterpillar  developes  itself  in  August,  finding 
its  nourishment  in  the  pulp  of  the  fruit.  Olives  thus  infested  drop 
from  the  trees  while  not  yet  fully  ripe,  that  is,  in  October,  November 
and  December.  On  the  mountains  at  some  distance  from  the  sea,  the 
olives  are  scarcely  at  all  affected  by  these  insects ;  the  fruits  in  con- 
sequence attain  their  perfect  maturity,  the  crop  being  gathered  be- 
tween December  and  May.  The  oil  yielded  by  such  olives  is  very 
clear  and  of  superior  flavor,  and  it  commands  a  high  price.  In  proof 
of  this  latter  fact,  I  may  remark  that  the  value  of  the  oil  produced 
at  Latte  contrasted  with  that  of  the  mountain  village  of  San  Michele 
*  It  appears  not  to  lay  more  than  one  egg  in  each, — at  least  I  have  never 
found  more  than  a  single  caterpillar  in  an  olive. 
