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144 SELECT PLANTS READILY ELIGIBLE
abating fecundity. The well-known Olive-oil is obtained
from tbe fruit. Certain varieties of tlie fruit, preserved in
vinegar or salt liquid before perfectly ripe, are also much
used for the table. For this purpose the fruit is generally
macerated previously in water containing potash and lime,
The gum-resin of the Olive-tree contains the crystalline
Olivil. The oil of the drupaceous fruit is a most important
product of countries with climates similar to th a t of Victoria,
Its chemical constituents are :—30 per cent, crystalline
Palmitin; 70 per cent. Olein, through which Olive-oil
belongs to those kinds which are not drying. The wild
variety of the Olive-tree has usually short blunt leaves and
thorny branches. Long continued droughts, so detrimental
to most plants, will affect the Olive but slightly. I t thrives
best on a free loamy calcareous soil, even should it be stron»
and sandy, bnt it dislikes stiff clay. Proximity to the sea is
favourable to it, and bill-sides are more eligible for its
culture than plains. Tbe ground must be deeply trenched.
Manuring with well-decayed substances is requisite annually,
or every second ' or third year according to circumstances.
Irrigation will add to tbe pi'oductiveness of the plant,
Mons. Riordet distinguishes three main varieties, of which he
recommends two : 1, the Cayon, a small-sized tree, which
comes into bearing already after three or four years, but it
bears fully only every second y e a r; its oil is fine with some
aroma. 2, the Pendnlier, a larger tree, with long drooping
branches, yielding an oil of first-rate quality. Mons.
Reynaud, “ Culture de 1’Olivier,” separates twelve varieties,
as cultivated in France, and recommends among them:—
1, the Courniau or Courniale, also called Plante de Salon,
bearing most prolifically a small fruit and producing an
excellent oil. 2 , the Picholine, which by pruning its top
branches is led to spread over eight square yards or more. It
is of weeping habit, yields a good oil in fair quantity and
resists well the attack of insects. 3, the Mouraou or
Mourette, a large tree furnishing also oil of a very fine
quality. Olive-trees require judicious pruning immediately
after the fruit is gathered, when the sap is comparatively at
rest. They may be multiplied from seeds, cuttings, layers,
suckers, truncheons or estacas and old stumps, the latter to
be split. The germination of tbe seeds is promoted hy
soaking the nutlets in a solution of lime and woodash. The
seedlings can be budded or grafted after a few years.
Trnncheons or estacas may be from one to many feet long
and from one inch to many inches th ick ; they are placed
horizontally into the ground. Olive plantations at Grasse
are worth from £200 to £250 per acre. For many details
FOR VICTORIAN INDUSTRIAL CULTURE. 145
the tract on the “ Culture of Olive and its Utilisation ” here
recently issued by the Rev. Dr. Bleasdale, should be consulted
as it rests largely on its author’s observations during a long
stay in Portugal. The Olive-oil imported in 1871 into
Victoria was valued at £15,538.
The following notes are derived from the important “ Tratado
del Cultivo del Olivo en España,” by tbe Chev. Capt. José de
Hidalgo-Tablada (second edition, Madrid 1870). The
Olive-tree will resist for a short time considerable frost
(--15° C.) provided the thawing takes place under fogs or
mild rain (or perhaps under a dense smoke). I t requires for
ripening its fruit about one-third more annual warmth than
the vine. The Olive zones of South Europe and North
Africa are between the 18° and 44° N. latitude. An elevation
of about 550 feet corresponds in Spain, as far as this
culture is concerned, to one degree further north. Olives do
not grow well on granite soil. The fruit produced on limestone
formations is of the best quality. Gypsum promotes
the growth of the tree (which thus may perhaps prosper in
parts of the Murray-desert, underlaid with gypsum). An
equable temperature serves best; thus exposure to prevailing
strong winds is to be avoided. The winter temperature
should not fall below - 7° C. The content of oil in the fruit
varies from 1 0 to 2 0 per cent.; sometimes it even exceeds the
latter proportion. In the Provence at an average 241bs. of
Olive-oil are consumed by each individual of the population,
in Andalusia about 301bs. Eor obtaining the largest quantity
of oil tbe fruit must be completely ripe. Hand-picked Olives
give the purest oil. Knocking the fruit from the branches
with sticks injures the tree and lessens its productiveness in
the next year. About thirty Olive-trees can be planted
conveniently on an acre for permanence; each tree under
ordinary circumstances will produce fruits for 41bs. to 51bs.
of oil annually. Spain alone produces about 250,000,0001bs.
of Olive-oil a year.
SPANISH VARIETIES.
■^■—"^arieties of early maturation, for colder localities:—
1. Var. pomiformis, Clem.
Manzanillo. (French: Ampoulleau). F ru it above an inch
m diameter, spherical, shining black. Putamen broad and
truncate.
2. Var. regalis, Clem.
Sertllano. (French: Pruneau de Catignac). F ru it about an
inch m diameter, ovate-spherical, blunt, bluish-black.
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