Daily Kennebec journal., 1899-05-22
CALIFORNIA OLIVE INDUSTRY.
Hcw the Olive Tree is Propagated and Cuiti-
waited and How It's Fruit is Harvested

California was less than 2UUo acres. |
Three fourthS Of these We're in the five |
southernmost counties in the state |
The extraordinary demand, at highest J
prices. for the picked olives in casks |
and barrels and the olive Oil in bot |
ties, excited the attention of land |
owners throughout this region ana
started wonderful boom in olive
groves. in the winter Of lN9S and 1889
some 5000 acres We're planted with
olive trees. but the boom mas grown SO
fast in the last few years that $4,000
acres have been planted in one season.
1t is reasonable tO estimate the num-
ber Of Young oilve trees that will be
set out in southern California before
next May at half a million. During
the last two years hundreds Of acres
of fertile soil among the foothills in
The counties having mild climate in
western Texas, near lei PasO, and also
i'll New Mexico and southern Arizona.
have been planted to olive-groves, but
the olive industry there is still largely
an experiment.
The Southern California Horticul-
tural Society reckons that there is now
some $5,0o0,OO0 invested in olive-grow-
ing in this state. the bulk in Los
Ventura, and Santa clara counties. 1t
will be five years before all the olive
trees now planted viii bear any crop,
and seven years before thousands OF
them will produce profitable crops.
AS with oranges, lemons, and prunes
in this state, there are certain localities
where the olive thrives extraordinarily
we'll and where tie planters have
greater faith in that branch Of horti-
culture than in any other Thus, in
the northern part of Santa Barbara
county there is little attempt To grow
any fruit but olives. while in Ventura
county, which adjoins, there ore few
olive-orchards. but immeneA tracts are
devoted to prunes and lemons. POmo-
ma valley is the acknowledged home Of
the olive industry III southern Cali
fornia and the fact that from 100000
to 1000 trees have been grown there
and shipped annually makes it the
most important olive nursery depot on
this continent.
There are in California but three
mills for the production Of ulive-oil
The largest ia the Rowland mill at
North Pomona. 1t was built two years
ago on plans from Italy. and much Of
the machinery ana apparatus came
from Leghorn. Italy. and Barcelona,
Spain The Cooper Oliye-mill at santa
Barbara and the KimhaI mill at Ma
ttunrI CITY, near thc Mexican border
I.,. y. 1-r Dio.n county have each
..,~ r...t- .h-rsl.Is rl dollars, aHa
.... E.. Sources of large profit. So
I.rte mas been the call for California
.jve-oiI since 1889 that the whole
II tY,
less than 90 days after its extraction
from the fruit
The age If the oldest olive trees in
California runs back over 20 years.
They arr six IT'D number, ana stand
about the san Gabriel Mission, sti.
bearing fruit, and living monuments To-
The wisdom uf the Franciscan friarS
The Oldest olive tree in the country is
that At the Capistrano Mission. 3o
miles south Of Los Angeles. It's seed
came from Corsica in 1863. and the
purpose was to provide food from the
trees for the monks. who came from
the olive-grouing regions in the same
Iatitudes rs southern California, in
Spafn and the south Of France. The
oid monarch has been photographed
hundreds of times by tourists. 1t Is
fuIIv 30 feet high and has trunk five
feet in diameter.
The first MANUFACTURES of olive oil in
California. outside Of the Franciscan
nonastaries. was that at thr Camuus
ranch in San Buenaventu.t county in
r271 The nro1uct was sold at d good
nroft in Los Angeles and santa Bar
bara. In 1892 tha production of olive
oil had grown To "a 900 gallons: III 1893
n