1 May, 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 373 
grafted on the stem of the wild one The oleaster can be raised from seed In 
the ordinary way, or it can be raised from the fungoids which olives bear under- 
ground at the point where the roots separate themselves from the trunk. 
O.tve Woop. 
Olive-trees live to a very great age, and their wood is very useful for 
eabinet-making, as it is hard as well as pliable, and can be easily manipulated, 
The smaller boughs form excellent fuel, for owing to the oil in them they burn 
like a torch ; and as the trunks of old trees are apt to become hollow, many of 
them are only fit for the same purpose. ‘The tree is evergreen, and the leaves 
fall after about three years, being of course constantly replaced in the course 
of nature by younger ones. ‘The olive commences to flower at the base of its 
foliage, the flowers gradually extending upwards. The best crops are always 
obtained when the trees flower early, and this occurs (when the spring is mild) 
as early as the month of March*; but the tree is susceptible to cold, and if it gets 
checked it will flower as late as June,* in which case a failure of the crop may be 
anticipated. Old trees usually yield a crop only in every alternate year, which 
is gathered in the autumn and early winter. The largest trees are found in 
Sicily, where they grow almost like oaks, and may be found measuring 25 feet 
round the trunk. 
VARIETIES. 
The Italian Blue-book on agriculture published in 1874 names 300 
varieties of the tree as existing in Italy, of which sixty-seven are found in this 
consular district. Obviously, in a country like Italy where so many dialects 
are spoken, in many cases the names of these varieties are purely local ; and as 
the same variety is called by one name in Tuscany and by another at Naples, 
it would be absolutely useless to mention distinctions which have no difference, 
in a.report written for British readers. 
CLASSES OF OLIVE. > 
Olives are in fact divided into three classes, namely :—(1) the small olive 
with few leaves, which grows freely, resists the cold better than the others, is 
more free from disease, grows on the poorest soil, and, though generally very 
hardy, does not yield good oil, andis useless for table purposes. This tree will 
yield oil good enough for sharpening shears and for mechanical purposes 
generally, and it will grow almost anywhere. Jt is known by the names of 
Miguda, Trillo, Cerisiola, and Martino, in Italy. The second class, known as 
Olivi di Spagna, has larger leaves, a large and succulent fruit adapted for 
table use, subject to the necessary treatment. These trees require rich and 
good soil and no great vicissitudes of temperature ; they will not bear cold, and’ 
are subject to a good many diseases. If they get chilled the fruit falls, and 
and sueh berries as remain give but little oil, and that of poor quality. 
These varieties are supposed to haye come to Italy from Spain, and to have 
found a climate in Italy which does not always agree with them. ‘They might 
all the same do well in the warmer climate of Australia. The third class is 
preferable for general cultivation, as it avoids both extremes, being hardy and 
at the same time producing a good and useful crop. These are known in Italy 
by the names of Razze, Corniola, Ogliarolo, Pigudo, and Monopolese. 
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. 
Like the palm, the olive will flourish in many places' where it will bear no. 
fruit. It will not yield in very hot places, and it will not endure frost or 
sudden transitions from cold to heat; it does not mind sea air, and in many 
places on the Mediterranean it grows to the water’s edge, where it must often 
be affected by salt and spray. ‘Twelve degrees centigrade below zero (10-4: degrees 
Fabr.) is enough to wither the leaves and to kill such roots as are on the 
surface. A late spring frost is naturally more harmful than a winter one, and, 
damp cold than dry—conditions which apply to all evergreen trees. In this 
district the altitude at which olive-trees can be found may be reckoned at 
~* March and June are the dates of flowering in Italy.—Ed. Q.4.J. ae ae, 
