Los Angeles herald., 1892-01-01
THE OLIVE.
HOW TT IS CULTIVATED ABOUT
POMONA.
A Valuable Article by John S. Caikins.
The Proc IS of Preparing the Fruit.
Culture of the Trees.

Mr.. John s. Calkins of Pomona, an
expert, furnishes the HERALD with the
following article on the olive, as it is
cultivated about Pomona:
Olive growers in this vicinity have
been busy for two or three weeks making
their olives into pickles, which are now
to be had at the stores at $120 per
gallon; but in few weeks the supply
will be exhausted. and they will be out
OF the market till the new crop comes
in. They are SO much superior to those
imported that they will displace them
as soon as they are produced in sufficient
quantity to supply the demand the yenr
round.
The process of picking is as follows: !:
For six gallons of olives dissolve one
pound of concentrated lye George T..
Lewis's brandy in six gallons of
water. add four pounds of salt,
soak the berries in this mixture two
days, then draw it off and replace it with
game kind and soak two days longer,
drawing the mixture off several times
daily and pouring it over on the olives.
Now draw off the mixture again and i'm
merse the olives in water from five to
eight days, then draw off the water and
put on a brine of one pound OF salt to
two gallons of water for two days, or un-
til the least trace of lye is.removed; fin
allv cover them with new brine of one
pound OF salt to one and one-half gallons
Of water.
The people of California are not very
well informed as to how we'll the olive
thrives in our virgin soil and genial
climate and many erroneous opinions
prevail in regard to it, even among those
whose interests are along the line OF
fruit growing. For instance, 1T is sup.
posed that it is many years before the
tree commences to bear that it requires
expensive apparatus and workmen OF
long experience to convert the olive into
oil and pickles; that the tree does not
bear we'll only near the coast, etc., and
some would even have US think that
they believe the oil is obtained by tap
ping the trees. Lately thesesfallacies
have been disproved right here in this
locality, for it is found to come into
bearing as soon as the navel orange
that growers make their crops into
pickles without the aid OF
experts; that several have con-
verted their olives into excellent
oil without previous experience in that
line, and by cheap and simple means,
that young trees are extremely thrifty
and bear well, not only here but at San
Bernardino and in locations even further
inland.
As young groves come into bearing in
different parts of the state, and the
profits of the industry become more
generally known, a larger acreage will
be planted; and we may confidently
hope that in the course of time the
home demand. at least, for pure olive
oil and picked olives may be fully sup
piled.
The variety best known in California
is the mission. brought to the state by
the mission fathers many years ago, but
other varieties more recently introduced
have come into bearing and are very
promising. One of these, the Nevadillo
Blanco, imported from Spain by Profes-
sor Pondorf and propagated and widely
distributed by TIE experimental station
at Berkeley. is destined to become fa-
vorite variety with planters, owing to its
many superior qualities.