Arizona republican., 1891-02-07
OLIVE CULTURE.
Can It Be Introduced on This Coast and Mado ProGiahle-lts Drawhac

Can IL Be Introduced on This Coast and
 Mado ProGiabIe-lts Drawbacks.
 There is no reason to doubt that Cer- tain varieties of the olive will be found admirably adapted to the Pacific Coast, and also, to some extent, to Nevada, Ari- zona and possibly Southern Utah and New Mexico It succeeds in all dry and moderately dry summer climates where the temperature does not fall belown 12 to l5 degrees above zero. It is an ever green tree, with narrow, spatulate or willOw-lke leaves, very hard, heavy, whitish wood, and is rapid grower when established.
 Some varieties of olives will grow and thrive in the richest valley lands, and produce fruit from which fine oil can be made, Most varieties, however, thrive best, at least are planted, on land so steep and rocky as to be valueless for any other crop. For this reason it fills a place in the agriculture of southern Europe and is of great value to the farmer. Vast tracts of land, entirely unfit for any other purpose except for scauty pas ture, are planted in olives with great profit, it being simply olives or nothing from such land. Therefore, it has re- ceived great attention in that country. The olive has added immense wealth to the warm, rocky and barren shores of the Mediterranean.
 There are 5000. .O0O acres in Spain, 2,5OO, 900 in Italy, 3,33O, ,OOO in France in olives, and perhaps half as many morein other olive growing countries. In those countries the olive groves are considered mature at from fifteen to twenty-five years of age. The trees continue pro duCtive for hundreds of years. It is difficult to estimate the yield of oil per tree or acre. The averave yield in Italy is about forty-ive gallons of oil to the acre. The maximum amount of oil from an acre reaches from 15O to 200 gallons. Comparing this with the average in Italy and it will be seen what can be done by good management, and thorough culture with the best soil and climate.
 The olive is fearfully preyed upon by insects and diseases almost everywhere it is cultivated in Europe. It is probably injured more in this way than any other crop grown. This one fact shows that if We can import the olive and leave all these troubles behind we will have the call on olive culture.
 The questions arise: Do the people of this coast wish to grow the olive as crop; Have we any use for it? Can we make it pay? Are not many rushing blindly into something they know nOth- ,t ,,l .bg they are not, and that all the experi- mentS with the olive, so far, go to prove that it can be grown here with great profit. But is this true? Most assuredly 1t Is not. It Is true, perhaps, so far as the experiments have gone, but what are their value: Nothing. Because a few men with fresh, clean, young trees, bearing sound, healthy fruit, have made atew gallons of olive oil that competed successfully with the gilt-edged product of the old European groves, proves noth- ing as to the ultimate profit of olive culture here. This gilt-edged oil can not be made in Europe, except at great expense, as the olives from whiChi it is to be made must be carefully hand picked and assorted But very few berries out of each hundred of the best are fit for making the finest oils, because nearly every berry Is afflicted with one or more insects or diseases, and are not fit for making good, edible oils. Pickled olives, the best, are also high for the same req sOns
 If We rush into olives, how long will it be before these same insects and diseases, and perhaps others still worse, will be imported here, so that We will also have to carefully assOrt a hundred bushels of berries to get one or two bushels fit for first class oil: The balance would be fit only for soap oil. How is it that in Italy truly fine oils are worth from $4 to $ a gallon, while the great bulk of com mon, genuine oil (made from worms and Olives) sells at 40 cents to $l.2O a gallon.
 Then let us go little slow on the olive and let "t'other" fellows, who are hard at 1t with gustO and great expectations, do all the experimenting.
 This coast has millions of acres of land seemingly adapted in soil and climate to the olive, anditit could be introduced and cultivated without its insects and diseases 1t would be great boon. Certainly, the last thing with which to cucumber place Is few olive trees. If planted at all, it should be largely D. B. WEIR.