374 . QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 May, 1898. 
1,500 feet above the sea-level. As a rule they thrive better on hills than in the 
plains, because any cold they are subjected to is less damp in the former 
situation than in the latter. In a temperate season the trees in the plains will 
bear better than those on the hills. With regard to exposure: In this climate 
the east and north are perferable, as affording less sudden changes than} the 
southern and western exposures, but south of the “line” the conditions would 
be different or perhaps reversed; the main point to be considered being to 
give the trees as equable a temperature as possible, and to avoid frost and 
violent autumn winds, which are apt to shake down the berries. 
MANURE. ; 
Olive-trees are the better for manure, but the kind of manure used 
. depends, as will be seen, very much upon the nature of the soil in which the 
tree is planted. Farmyard manure, if well decomposed, may be placed in 
trenches round the trees, but special care must be taken to put such trenches 
far enough away from the trees, so that the roots are not mutilated by the 
digging, as they are particularly susceptible to injury from this cause, Itis a 
good plan to soak the husks and refuse of the oil presses in water till they have 
thoroughly rotted, and then infuse manure and other decaying vegetable matter 
in the water before placing it in the trenches. ‘Too much manure should not 
be given at one time, little and often being the golden rule. OF artificial 
manures, soda is that most frequently used. Lime and silica are necessaries, but 
care must be taken in applying them that they are not already existent in the 
soil in sufficient quantities, as if they are abundantly present more harm than 
good will be done by their application. Wood-ashes and phosphates may safely 
be mixed with the manures used. The autumn is the best season for the 
application, as the manures get incorporated into the soil during the winter, 
and serve to feed the roots more plentifully in the spring. Most trees are the 
better for being manured annually. Green crops for sheep-feeding or cabbages 
can be grown between the trees without injuring them. 
DEAD TREES, SHOOTS FROM. 
It will be many years before any olive-tree in the colonies falls from age, 
or, being mature, dies a natural death. When a tree dies it can be sawn off 
above ground, and, if the roots are still alive, they will throw out offsets. If 
these are attended to, and the bottoms of them well covered with earth, they 
will throw out rootlets, and, when these are well grown, the shoot can be cut 
off with its roots and put into the nursery. One or two good shoots should 
also be left on the old trunk, as they will throw up and form useful trees. 
They will require grafting in due time. Where the wild olive-tree grows, it is 
a simple matter to transplant it and graft it, but this will not occur in the 
colonies for many years to come. 
SEEDLINGS. 
The olive will also grow from seed, and this, in fact, though it is a slow 
process, is in the end superior to any other. The trees do better, live longer, 
and are much less liable to disease than those propagated in any other way. 
The seed will germinate in the second year if left to itself, but,if it is 
softened by being placed in a pap of clay and cow-dung, and sown thus, 
it will germinate the same year. It is necessary to sow in thoroughly 
clean ground, so as to allow a free and prompt expansion of the rootlets, ‘The 
ground should be dug 8 feet deep, thoroughly cleaned, and richly 
manured. ‘This should be done in the winter, and in the spring the surface 
should be laid out in shallow trenches, in which the seeds shouid be 
sown in rows about a foot apart, with a distance between the seeds of not less 
than 6 inches. The sharp end of the seeds should be upwards, and they 
should be treated with afair amount of water. It is especially essential that 
the ground should be kept clean, and all weeds immediately removed. In the 
spring of the third year the seedlings may be removed to the nursery, ail 
shoots appearing on the tiny trunks having been carefully removed. 
