The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-01-04
HOW OLIVES ARE GROWN
AMERICANS KNOW LITTLE ABOUT
THEIR CULTIVATION.
Interesting Talk with Henry l.. Trea-
ger, a Former Indiantan-Oifve
OIL of California.

a,d the making of olive oil in California,
was in the city for two days during last
week and talked interestingly upon one
occasion of an industry about which most
people in this part of the United States
are very ignorant.
IT find that there isn't one American IN
ten who knows anything about olives
said Mr. Traeger, although the industry
has become a very important one indeed
= on the Pacific coast. The olive is ma
tive Of southern Europe and has been
cultivated from time immemorial. From
there II has spread to various countries
which offer. like California, similar eli
matte conditions. II requires yearly tenn
perature somewhat higher than is required
by the grape vine, and will not stand so
low a temperature as the latter. 1t is dan
gerous to plant olive trees in any region
where the temperature often falls below
90 degrees. Fahrenheit. Some varieties Will
withstand Is degrees. but only for short
time; and the young wood of many va
rieties Is injured even above this tenn
perature. At 10 degrees. Fahrenheit, the
whole tree is destroyd. On account of its
need of an even climate the olive Is seldom
cultivated successfully more than one hun
dred miles from the sea, and succeeds best
where the mean temperature Of the coolest
month does not fall below 43 degrees. My
own olive ranch in the Santa Clara valley
is only twenty mnes from the coast and
the temperature is seldom lower than 43
degrees.
THE olive needs a light, well-drained
SOIL and either does not succeed or gives
fruit Of poor quality on heavy. clayey or
nl-drained soil. 1t is especially suited to
sandy or Ioamy ground. rich in lime. and
will grow in soils rocky that nothing
else but a vine could succeed in them 1t
Is a mistake. however. tc suppose that the
olive will give profitable crops in poor
soils; such soils must be well fertilized TO
insure good growth of the young trees
and good crops on the old. The olive re-
quires less water than many cultivated
trees on account OF its light foliage and its
strong root system. which penetrates to
great depth even in very rocky subsoils if
well drained. Failure to give sufficient
water and cultivation to both young and
old trees has been responsible in the past
for the lack Of success in many thousands
of acres of olives in California. Where
the rainfall is light. however, irrigation
X necessary. 1t must not be excessive,
and the water level must be kept low.
otherwise the quality of the crop will be in
ferior and the trees subject to disease
Olives are generally propagated by cut
tings. There are several different methods.
In some cases young shoots several inches
long are cut from strong, vigorous trees
with sharp knife. They should Ike cut as
as the wood is fairly well hardened
but not too late in the season, and all the
leaves must be removed except two or
three at the top. The shoots are planted
Immediately in shallow boxes of sand
{ placed in a greenhouse or a warm shady
spot and kept moderately moist In three
or four months most OF them will be well
rooted and should then be transplanted to
pots or to the nursery, where they will re-
ceive more sun. Here they should remain
three or four months longer, after which
they are in readiness to be planted in place.
Another method commonly practiced is to
cut sections of large branches one or TWO
s feet long, split them in two and then bury
the halves horizontally. with the bark up,
about three inches deep in the nursery.
If tn, soil of the nursery is warm and
light and well drained and kept rather
moist large number of shoots will start
in a few months from the buried sections
and come up through the soil. When these
growing. they are cut off with sharp
knife as close as possible to the old wood
and planted just as are the young shoots
taken directly from the trees.
"But the strongest. Notwithstanding and
longest-Iived trees those grown from
seed. Seedlings have a stronger and more
6eep-seated root system and grow into
harder and more regular trees than those
1l.S1
to their use is that they require several
years longer time before commencing TO
bear. With care and intelligent cultivation.
however, this delay can be reduced to one
or two years. and the larger crops and
heavier trees resulting will more than COM
pensate the ranchman for his loss of time.
The flesh of the olive has TO be removed
before planting the pits. This is usually
done by piling the fruit in heaps and allow
ing IL to decay. after which the pits can
easily be removed by washing. Many of
the seeds of most varieties will not germi-
nate. They are separated by placing all
the pits In water and rejecting all of those
that float. The pits may be planted imme-
diately. or. If there is any likelihood OF
frost. kept in dry sand until spring They
must be cracked before sowing or they will
before terminating The seedlings always
revert more or less to the wild plant OF
type. so that 1t is necessary to graft OF
bud them with the variety which it is de-
sired TO propagate. This may, in very IA
vorable cases. be done in the spring after
planting, but usually they not large
enough until the second spring.
'All the fruit OF the olive is borne or
two-year-old wood and the same wooC
never bears twice. That Is, the crop OF
this year is borne the shoots that grew
last year, and the next years crop viii
be boz ne the shoots that develop thi:
year. For this reason a new croop Of
shoots each year is essential to regular
bearing. The art of pruning can be learned
only by practice and experience. When
tree has been properly pruned from tn,
beginning il is seldom necessary TO remov,
anything but small twigs or to make large
wounds. When. however, on account Of
improper pruning or OF great age OF the
tree. all the main branches of the tree have
become bare, and all the fruit-bearinl
wood has disappeared from the center OF
the tree 1t is necessary TO cut back ever
the largest branches. This. however must
be done gradually, the tree will be in
jured by too sudden curtailment of the
=.