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ASP REATISE
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POLIVE CULTURE,|
| BY
: ‘x
ELLWOOD COOPER.
OF
maN A. BAR BARA. GAE,

SAN FRANCISCO:

CuBpery & Company, StEAM Book anv Jos PRINTERS, |
|

#:5 Market Street, just below First.
|

18324

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ON

OLIVE CULTURE,

BY

ELLWOOD COOPER.

OF

SAN FRANCISCO:
CuBEKkY & Company, STEAM BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS,
4:5 Market Street, just below First.

1SS2%

The following articles were written for the Santa Barpara
Press and published in that Journal, commencing December,
1880,

The subject had been pressed upon me, by the numerous
inquiries from all parts of the country relative to the cultivation
of the OLIVE.

The articles are now compiled and presented to the public
without change, excepting the arrangement of the chapters.

The sources of information are from my own experience, hay-
ing planted the trees, cared for them until their bearing season,
and made oil for five years. I may add, that during this period,
I have read up the subject from such books as I could obtain in
the French language.

There being no other work of the kind in the English language,
I conclude that the effort warrants presentation.

ELLWOOD COOPER.

;
Contents.

Page.
RBTIOU a —— PrOpapabing,”... . aeeshl ts hsc > 5 win eee aoe pee “5
AR MTOR Me ——e MIN Os hele... «seers fe RNA cas ce ee . 6
ArticuE IIJ.—‘ Fruit Bearing,”’. tia, “he diet a te ee Seal
ARI CHM went Picking,’ ey. (4 ‘neta vay ees con Gd ee 9
AR MLO Vise oe, Malkime ©?) = 2). BB eie Gie Pats coke an «ee eee 10
ArticLEe V1.—“ Filtering and Clarifying,” wl,
ARMICHE Vale “sPre kine? 2... .. feryse tie tere use aig achat 13
Ammrenm WL) t——"\Diseases.’ i: . eds san, duct onic ui see «ee 14
ARTICLE TX .—‘‘ Remedies for Diseases.”................ silyy
ARTICUH sa Dranslation, trom prextile ace 5 onc oc 19
ARTICLE XI.—“ Adulteration,”............ eS A cate oe 22
ARrianT Salt —“Coneliston = .. Men sc c+ son oS heieeus eet See oe ee 24

2 Treatise ait Hive Culture,

ARTICLE I.
PROPAGATION.

The common and preferred method is to plant the cuttings,
taken from the growing trees of sound wood, from three-quarters
of an inch in diameter, to one and a half inches, and from four-
teen to sixteen inches long. These cuttings should be taken
from the trees during the months of December and January,
neatly trimmed, without bruising and carefully trenched in loose
sandy soil. A shady place preferred. They should be planted
in permanent sites from February 20th to March 20th, depending
upon the season. The ground should be well prepared and
sufficiently dry so that there is no mud and the weather warm.
In Santa Barbara near the coast no irrigation is necessary; but
very frequent stirring of the top soil with a hoe or iron rake for
a considerable distance around the cuttings is necessary during
the Spring and Summer. About three-fourths of all that are
well planted will grow. My plan isto set them twenty feet
apart each way, and place them in the ground butt end down,
and at an angle of about forty-five degrees, the top to the north,
barely covered. Mark the place with a stake. By pianting
them obliquely, the bottom end will be from ten inches to one
foot below the surface. In Europe the trees are planted from 27
to 33 feet apart. My reasons for closer planting will be given
in a subsequent article.

All trees, as.a rule, should be propagated from seeds: The
roots are more symmetrical, the tree not so liable to be blown
over, and the growth more healthful; but I have not been suc-
cessful in germinating them, hence, I recommend the cutting.
If the trees are propagated from seeds, budding or grafting is
necessary. I have seen the statement that it was necessary that
the seeds should pass through the stomachs of birds before they
could be sprouted; also that by soaking in strong lye the sprout- .
ing would be secured. I have not seen the result of either
experiment, and accept the statement with more or less distrust.
I presume cuttings can be obtained from any of the Mission
orchards in the southern counties.

\

6 OLive CuLtvEeE:

ARTICLE: EL:
PRUNING.

The cutting will throw up numerous shoots or sprouts, all of
which should be left to grow the first year, any disturbance of
the top, affects the growth of the roots. It would be advisable,
however, where there are two or more vigorous shoots of about
the same size and height from the same cutting, to pinch the tops
of all excepting the one to be left for the future tree, so as to
throw more force and vigor into that one. In the following
Spring, when the ground is warm and sufficiently dry, all sprouts
excepting the one to be preserved, should be carefully removed,
cutting them off close to the cutting. The top end of the
cutting should also be removed by the aid of a sharp saw. A
post should be firmly planted, so that the tree can be well
secured, to keep the trunk straight, and avoid any disturbance of
the roots, and should be kept until the tree is four or five years
old. By adopting this method a great deal of time will be saved,
and better trees secured. The lateral branches should be allowed
to grow until the tree is two or three years old; but in every
case when any of said branches are rapidly making wood, they
should be removed, and not allowed to rob the trunk.

In the pruning during the first years, have only the one object
in view, that is to force all the woody growth into one main
trunk. This being dene the tree will naturally form a beautiful
shape. The cultivator must not look at the tree of to-day or
to-morrow, but the tree of ten years hence. All branches to the
height of five to five and a half feet should be removed, so as to
admit of close cultivating by horses. Trees planted at the dis-
tance of twenty feet, and well kept, will in ten years touch each
other. When this condition is reached they will be in full bear-
ing, and therefore will require constant pruning or cutting back.
It is much easier and less expensive to gather the fruit from
small trees; besides if the pruning is intelligently done, it will
improve the fruit and secure a greater quantity. to the acre than
can be produced under any other conditions.

Some orchards in Europe are planted in “threes,” that is three
trees in each place planted in the form of a triangle, and three
or four feet apart. This method would require the rows to be
thirty-three to thirty-five feet distant, and would give about the
same number of trees to the acre, as by planting at twenty feet,
one tree in each place. It is claimed that by planting in this
way no staking is required, the trees protect one another from
the most violent wind storms, the trimming is simplified, and less
care and labor required in the cultivation.

Onive CuLTURBRE, 7

ARTICLE, Ti.
Fruit BEARING.

Trees growing from cuttings will produce fruit the fourth year,
and sometimes, under the most favorable circumstances, will
give a few berries the third year. It is the habit of the tree to
overbear, and as a consequence will give but little fruit the year
following a heavy crop. This statement is verified by the most
reliable books published on the subject in the French, Italian
and Spanish languages. There are, however, exceptions to this
rule in California. Mr. Davis, who had charge of the San Diego
Mission orchard in 1875, assured me that he had gathered from
the same tree, two years in succession, over 150 gallons of berries.
I have also observed that some trees ‘In my orchards have borne
well successive years. The fruit-bearing can be controlled by
the pruning. The cultivator will not forget that the shoots or
branches must be two years old before they will give fruit, hence,
partial pruning every year, will give partial crops. My oldest
orchard was planted February 2lst, 1872. At four years 1
gathered from some of the trees over two gallons of berries. In
1878 over thirty gallons each off a few of the best trees, the or-
chard then being only six years old. In 1879, the seventh year,
the crop was not nearly so large. I had planted several thousand
cuttings in the Spring of 1873, but these trees did not give at
six years, a result equal to the first planting. The present crop,
(1880) is quite good} the oldest orchard now being eight years,
and I think I do not over estimate, when I state that the yield of
some of the best and fullest trees will be over forty gallons.
Trees large enough to give this quantity of fruit, planted at a
distance of twenty feet, will occupy nearly all the ground, and
therefore give all the fruit that can be produced on one acre. An
orchard bearing uniformly the quantity as above, would give the
following result: One hundred trees to the acre at forty gallons
each, 4000 gallons. This would be an enormous crop, unprece-
dented, and far beyond any statistics given in European publica-
tions. The one-fourth of the quantity yearly would be a very
profitable crop.

In estimating an orchard, the yield of isolated trees, or trees
of great age, occupying considerable areas of ground, must not
enter into the basis of calculation of the probable production.
The tree mentiond in the San Diego Missicn orchard as yielding
150 gallons of berries was more than fifty feet distant from those
surrounding it.

My agent while traveling in Europe through the olive districts,
measured a tree growing in the “ Alpes Maritimes” that was

§ Opriaver Cpuervrs:.

eight feet in diameter six feet above the ground, and at the
ground fifteen feet in diameter. Only a few trees of such size
could be grown on one acre.

A. Coutance, Professewr des Sciences Naturelles aux Ecoles
de Medecine de la Marine of France, compiled a very ex-
haustive work on the olive, published in Paris in 1877, from
which I copy and translate as follows: “Large olive trees
occupy one thousand square feet of ground—that is, require to
be distant from each other about 33 feet; will produce every
second year 37 gallons of berries, and occasionally as much as
125 to 150 gallons. One tree, nine years old and nine inches in
diameter, will produce 16 1-5 gallons. One 12 inches in dia-
meter, 24 gallons. The measurement and number of trees
occupying one hectare (two and a half acres) is given as follows:
165 trees 12 inches in diameter, 75 trees 9 inches in diameter, 60
trees 5 inches in diameter; total, 150 trees. Product of the
same, 3000 gallons of berries.” This would be equal to 1200
gallons to the acre. Another authority gives 2250 gallons per
hectare. Still another gives 2150. All of the above results
once in two years. Several authorities quoted by the same
author reckon 200 trees to each hectare. This would be 80 trees
to the acre, and distant apart 234 feet. French cultivators give
the quantity of oil contained in’a given quantity of fruit as one-
eighth, and in weight one-tenth; that is, eight gallons of berries
to one gallon of oil, and about fifty pounds of berries to one
gallon of oil. Taking the average quantity of the production as
given aboye, from a mature orchard, we haye in oil, per tree,
two to two and a half gallons every second year. This result is
obtained by thorough fertilizing, without which the berries
would yield but little oil.

Olive trees grown from seeds are not removed from the nur-
sery until about seven years old; grown from cuttings, they bear
in Europe as early as they do in California.

The newness and richness of our soil will probably give, the
first fifty years, double the best results given in those countries
where oil making has been the business for so many generations.
Our climate is congenial to the habit of the tree; it blooms
from the 1st to the 10th of May, and the fruit forms from the 1st
to the 10 of June. At this season we have our best weather,
free from extremes of either cold or heat. Nowhere in the
world are all the conditions so favorable to the perfect fruit-
bearing.

Onive CuntuRE. 9

ARTICLE IV.
BProurr PigkineG.

The olive usually ripens in November. In some localities in
Eastern countries during favorable years, the fruit picking for
oil begins as early as October, and for pickling, in September.
In Santa Barbara the crop of last year, (1880) as also that of
1878, was unusually late in ripening, not being ready to pick
before the middle of January—a delay of fully two months—the
cause no doubt owing to the extraordinary rain fall of these two
years. In 1878 we had after the middle of February, and up to
the middle of April, a fain fall of over 14 inches, and in 1880
over 18 inches, being more than our yearly average.

The fruit should be gathered as soon as it turns purple, and
before fully ripe, as the oil will be lighter in color and more
fragrant, but somewhat less in quantity.

In Europe the common method of gathering the berries is to
knock them from the trees with poles; they are then picked
from the ground by old men, women, children and _ cripples.
This plan has serious objections, the fruit being more or less
bruised, causing decomposition, and the contact with the earth
is liable to give the oil an unpleasant taste and odor. The more
economical “plan of gathering, is to pick from the trees by
hand, and by the aid of intelligent contrivances; an active man
can pick 400 pounds each day.

I have arranged on a ranch wagon, platforms with ladders
securely fastened, so that the fruit from the different heights of
even large trees, can be gathered from the wagon, which is
driven along the rows, and one half of the trees picked from
each side. This plan obviates the necessity of moving ladders,
climbing, etc., and relieves the pickers from the labor of carrying
the fruit, as the sacks containing the same are always at hand on
the platform. The leaves and imperfect berries are separated
by passing the whole through a winnowing mill. This process
leaves the fruit in the best possible condition, preparatory to
manufacturing the oil.

10 Our1vEeE CUuLTURE.

ARTICLE V.

Mak mye: © TL.

The berries are dried before crushing, as it is necessary to
evaporate a portion of the water. If, however, they are left out
on the trees until shrivelled, which is proof that necessary evapo-
ration has already taken place, no drying is needed after pick-
ing. This late picking is not best, as mentioned in a previous
article. If dried by the sun, it requires about fourteen days.
This plan cannot be depended upon, excepting years when the
fruit is early ripe, and we have continuous sunlight, with
moderately warm weather. By artificial heat ranging from 110°
to 130°, the drying can be done in less than forty-eight hours.
The crushing and pressing should follow without delay—that is,
the fruit taken from the drier in the morning should be crushed
and pressed the same day. Long intervals ‘or delays in the
process from picking the fruit to expressing the oil tends to
rancidity. To make perfect oil requires a perfect system in the
whole management. The capacity of the press, the crusher, the
drier, and the number of pickers should correspond or be about
equal; all fruit picked during the day should be in at night,
cleaned the following morning, and go into the drier imme-
diately after the previous day’s drying is taken out. The heat
or temperature of the drier ought to be so graded as to complete
the work in 48 hours, and it is better that it should be under 130
degrees rather than above. Economy will necessitate in the
business a system in the different branches of the process
admitting of no delays from the beginning to the end.

My drier has a capacity of 500 square feet of surface, and will
contain at one time over 2000 pounds of olives, equal to five
pickers of 400 pounds each per day, and as much as the crusher
and press J am now using can work.

The almost universal method of crushing the berries is by a
heavy stone, similar to a mill stone, which is rolled around on
the edge in a deep circular groove or trough, and by its weight
does the crushing. A beam passing through the eye of the
stone, and working on a jourual in the center of the circle with
a horse attached to the outer end of the beam, is the simplest
way to do the work, and the plan that I have adopted. The
circumference of the trough depends somewhat on the size of the
stone, The one I am using is four feet high, six inches thick,
and the diameter of the trough in which it works, six feet; the
length of the beam fifteen feet. This crusher is amply suffi-
cient for an orchard of one thousand trees, but too small for my
purpose. It cost about 50 dollars. :

Ourve CULTURE. Ly

A stone five feet in diameter and two feet thick would crush
in eight hours a sufficient quantity of berries to make 100
gallons of oil, and by working it night and day, the crop of ten
thousand trees. It would be better, however, to have two stones
half the thickness of the above, one following the other in the
same groove. The horse should work on the outside of the
building containing the crusher.

To make 100 gallons of oil each day would require two good
presses. The one best adapted for the purpose so far as I have
seen, is that used for making oleomargarine. Such presses could
with very little expense be worked by the horse power used for
crushing the berries, so that one man could do all the crushing
and pressing.

The press I am using is an old fashioned wooden beam press,
such as used in the New England and Middle States for making
cider. The beam is 26 feet long, and with a heavy box filled

.with rock suspended at the extreme end, the power can be in-
creased to 150 tons. The press with the differential pulleys cost
about $150. Such a press cannot be improved upon for express-
ing the oil, but the additional labor, and the time lost in chang-
ing is so ‘much greater than what would be required for the
oleomargarine invention, that the latter would facilitate the
work, and be cheaper in the end, besides taking up so much less
room.

The crushed olives are put in the press in cheeses about three
feet square, and three inches thick, with wooden slats between
each cheese. Ten or more cheeses can be put in at each
pressing. I use coarse linen cloth to contain the crushed olives.

The fiuid that is expressed is put in large tanks, and left for
sixty to ninety days, when the oil will separate, and being
lighter will rise to the top, where it can be drawn off. The
pomace after the first pressing is re-crushed, and by pouring hot
water over it, asecond quality of oil is expressed. The refuse
can then be Aes either for fuel, for feed for pigs, or for making
still a third quality of oil; if . the latter, it is thrown in vats,
boiling water poured over it, and left to ferment, when’ the oil
still remaining will be liberated and rise to the top.

tz OLivE CULTURE.

ARTICEE- VI.
FILTERING OR CLARIFYING.

This is a simple process. The most common method is to
have a series of five or six boxes, one above the other, each with
cotton batting in the bottom, the oil passing the sixth will be
beautifully clear and ready for market. I use cylindrical tin
vessels holding about three gallons each, one fitting in the other
in tiers of three, with fine wire sieves in the bottom of each.
On these sieves I place two or three layers of cotton batting.
The oil is passed from one tier to the other until clear. The
clarifying can be done by the sunlight, also, it can be bleached and
made much lighter in color, but not without injuring it. When
it is adulterated artificial heat is necessary in the process. When
once heated it loses a part of the nutty flavor, and is liable to
become rancid when exposed to the air. It should be kept in
an ordinarily cool place, not exposed to sunlight or heat, neither
should it be handled any more than is absolutely necessary in
the filtering and bottling, and should not be shaken after
bottling. ‘The mucilage contained in the oil will not separate fora
long time after the oil is ready for use, and, as it does not injure it,
is not, therefore objectionable. It will sometimes form in the
bottles like globules of water, or in films settling to the bottom
as sediment, and when shaken will give it a muddy appearance,
which, with the common prejudice against all table oils that are
not perfectly clear, renders it unsalable, as consumers consult
more the eye than the taste. The oil is better when new and
fresh, and what is gained in the appearance by its remaining a
longer time in the tank, is more than lost in its freshness and
delicacy of flavor.

Tosum up the cost of the machinery in the making of the oil, we
have as follows; Drier, $150; mill, $250; two presses, $500; two
tanks, $200; filterers, $50; corker, tin foiler, $50; wooden build-
ing, $400. Total, $1600.

OLrive CuLtrureg. ha

ARTICLE? VEL.
PreK Lee:

There are different methods of preparing the fruit for pickles.
The one adopted in this locality is as follows: “The berries are
put in fresh water, which should be changed every day, for forty
or fifty days, then put in salt brine, not very strong, and after
remaining a few days, drawn off, a second brine substituted, made
nearly strong enough to bear an egg. The water should be boiled.
Keep the olives well covered with the brine. Great care should
be taken in handling the berries so as not to bruise them. The

_ easiest plan when picking from the tree is to drop them in water.

/

They are usually picked when they begin to turn a purplish
colcr.”

Another method, copied from the Pacific Rural Press: “Pick
the olives as soon as they begin to show a reddish cast and rinse
them in clean water. Then take one ounce of concentrated lye
and dissolve it in water. One-third of this solution put in water
enough to cover one gallon of olives. After a day or two pour
off this water and add another lye of the same strength. This
may be repeated once more, as five or six days are consumed in
taking out the bitterness with the lye. The lye should be used
until the fruit suits the taste. Then the olives are put in pure
fresh water until the alkali is well removed. This can be ascer-
tained by the color of the water and by the taste. In salting,
use the best Liverpool “ coarse fine ” salt, the amount being about
ten pounds to the barrel of olives, water enough being used to
cover the fruit. Barrel up tight and keep in a cool place. All
the process should be conducted in the dark, as the light is apt
to injure the color.”

Still another method, which I have copied from the work of
Prof. A. Coutance, and translate as follows: ‘Take green olives
and after having bruised or broken them slightly, soak in water
for nine days, changing the water each day. At the end of this
time they will have lost their bitter taste and can then be put in
brine. Hot water acts more rapidly.”

“The celebrated olives pickled after the manner of Picholint
are put under a treatment of lye made more alkaline by the
addition of quick lime. After leaving the olives a certain length
of time until the pulp separates easily from the seed, a condition
which depends upon the strength of the lye and the size of the
olives; they are then washed and put in strong brine.” ‘In the
south they flavor with fennel and coriander; sometimes they
substitute in place of the seed a small piece of anchovy and a
caper. In the latter case the olives should be in oil.”

14 Orit ver - Waa oer Es

ARTICLE VIII.
DISEASES.

My pitention was called, as early as 1874, to the condition of
the trees in and around Santa Barbara, on the ravages of the
“Coccus Olece,” commonly known as the ‘black scale,” and
which was always followed by the black fungus. In 1875 I
visited the orchards of San Diego, San Gabriel, San Buenaven-
tura and Santa Barbara, and in 1876 San Luis Obispo. At the
latter place I learned from the Mission Fathers, through the late
Hon. Judge Murray, that the disease had appeared about four-
teen years before that date, fixing the date of its appearance in
California at about 1862. Prior to that time they had had unin-
terrupted success with their olive trees. These examinations,
very carefully made, determined in my mind one of two alterna-
tives, either to keep the trees free from the the scale-bug or root
them out. I chose the former, and have been fighting it without
any cessation ever since. I believe all my olive trees are clean,
and are, at this writing, loaded with a beautiful fruit crop.

An olive tree once attacked with the scale-bug, unless cleaned,
will soon be infested so that it cannot bear fruit. Such fruit as
is borne during the period of rapid increase of the insect, will
not make oil. There are trees enough in the southern part of
the State, if properly cleaned and cared for, to produce many
thousands of gallons of oil, while, with a few exceptional or-
chards I do not believe one single gallon could be made. This
is the condition everywhere where the insect is prevalent. The
attack is fatal unless it is at once destroyed, and itis useless for
any orchardist to fortify himself behind theories, that something
will turn up to counteract the ravages, or that the ants. will
destroy them, or that some enemy or parasite will appear to do
the work which he cannot escape. The whole business will be
bankrupted any thing short of total annihilation of the insect.
In some districts on the northern coast of the Mediterranean, the
spread of this insect has become so alarming that the question of
abandonment is contemplated. The ravages have baffled the
efforts of their wisest men. To give some idea of the rapidity
with which it will spread, I quote from a very interesting
treatise—a pamphlet of ninety pages, written by Alfred L sejour-
dan—agricultural engineer , published i in Marseilles, in 1864, title
“ Maladie Noire.” Itis in this work estimated that one female
‘** Coceus” will produce from 2000 to 4000 eggs. By one author
that one ‘ Coccus” in five generations will produce

FIVE BILLIONS, NINETY-FOUR MILLIONS.
By another that ten generations are produced in one year, and

OLIve CULTURE. 15

allowing only 100 as the reproduction of each—we will have at
the end of the year from one single female, one billion billion—
fortunately for us there are too many things contingent that
prevents the possibility of such increase—high winds, birds and
insects of various kinds destroy the greater number; still .in
favorable years the rapidity with which they will spread, will
require our greatest energies and intelligence to counteract.

In a very exhaustive work on the olive, compiled by A.
Coutance, Professor of Natural Science in the school of medicine,
published in Paris in 1877, it is claimed that the silence of
authors on this malady, caused during a period of twenty years,
great ravages. Let us not commit the same blunder, and if we
are to foster the culture of the olive in this country ; the
valuable portions of such works as above mentioned, and of other
books on the subject, should be translated into English and made
accessible to all the cultivators where the olive can be grown.

The ravages of this insect are of quite recent date; Lejourdan
states that it appeared for the first time at Nice in 1745, and
that Bernard wrote on the subject in 1783, that there were no
other writers before that time.

“ That all the Roman authors of the first half of the eighteenth
century were silent upon the subject. It was in 1783 that all
the proprietors in some localities trimmed down their trees to
mere trunks, in order to clean them and commence with new
trees.

It is certain that a malady so characteristic with such a dis-
agreeable aspect could not have escaped the observation of
authors, \

Abbe Coutoure presented a memoire to the Academy of
Marseilles, about the same time that Bernard wrote, in which he
declared that the Coccus Oleoe was observed for the first time in
1781. Captain Cousin states that in 1861 this malady made
terrible havoc in Kabylie, (a part of Algeria,) where the olive
formed almost the only resource of the people. It was the more
alarming because they could find no successful remedy. In
Cousin’s report, he makes the statement that the greater part of
the Kabyles preferred to leave the trees without any effort to
remove the insects or the black fungus, and that an orchard
attacked would not give fruit before ten years; thus intimating
that the disease would die out of itself in about that time. I
have found in no other writings any intimation or possibility of
the let-alone theory accomplishing the work.

Regarding the Coccus and the black fungus, there are various
opinions; some contend that the black is caused by the humidity
and the want of ventilation and sun-light in the tree. This
theory is accompanied by the statement that the black fungus is

16 OLivn, CULL RE: ,

seen without any appearance of the Coccus; and that the Coccus
is to be seen without any appearance of black fungus. Some
that it is caused by the smoke from chimneys; others that it is
caused by the northern winds carrying the sea air through the
trees; others still that it emanated from the ground. But the
principal and accepted theory is, that it is caused by the attack
of the Coccus; the piercing of the bark of the limbs and twigs, by
these little insects causing the emanation of sap, or some sub-
stance from the tree or from the insect, or both, which falls on
the upper side of the leaves, as also on the trunk and wig
and produces the fungus.

In my examinations and observations I have never seen the
black fungus unless preceded by the insect, and that where the
tree was affected, the black was always on a lower level than
where the insect was working; proving conclusively that the
black was only a consequence of the insect work; and sometimes
when there are comparatively few insects on a tree, it may be
several months before there is any appearance of black.

When the fungus completely covers a tree, it is quite possible
to destroy the insects and the black will remain for a long time
afterwards; in fact when the trunk and branches, or limbs are
completely coated, it is very difficult to get it off; it becomes a
paste and adheres as firmly as glue, and cannot be removed
without the application of strong soap or some other substance
equally powerful. It is my opinion that with little care large
districts could be kept free from this scale insect; I do not be-
lieve they would spread a distance of ten miles, unless carried on
plants. Birds will spread them readily a distance of two miles.

In closing this part of the subject I lay down the following
facts :

Ist. That severe frosts will kill the insects, but the number of
degrees and limit as to time through which the cold should be
extended, and yet not do serious injury to the tree, is beyond
my knowledg e, for the reason that I have had no opportunity to
extend my investigations.

2d. That trees planted close to the sea will resist the attack
better than anywhere else. The cold sea winds evidently coun-
teract the spread of the insect.

3d. That high table lands or plateaus will be easier to keep
free from the insects than on bottom lands where there is more.
moisture in the soil, and generally more humidity in the atmos-
phere.

Oxrive CuLtrure:. 1%

ARTICLE EX
REMEDIES FOR. THE -DISEASES.

Pruning is the most essential thing and the remedy of the
greatest vital importance. If trees are properly pruned, so as to
admit of free circulation of air and the sunlight, more than half
the battle is made; in fact, trees in such condition where the
ground is well tilled and kept free from rubbish are not so liable
to the attack, and if attacked each scale insect can readily be
seen and should be removed without delay.

Orchardists who adopt this plan will have very little trouble,
even in badly infected districts. A casual examination of sey-
eral different parts of each orchard should be made as often as
once.amonth. This can be done on horseback, or in a light
wagon; and in the event of the appearance of scale insects, then
a careful examination in that part, and a remedy applied to ex-
terminate them. The insects will be found to inhabit that por-
tion of the tree where the foliage is most dense, where the sun-
light is shut out, and free circulation prevented. There is not
so much in the remedy as in its application. While certain
remedies may be effectual in the hands of some, in the hands of
others they will not be sufficient. “ Hternal vigilance is the
price of swccess.”’ Constant watching and constant fighting is
the only sure plan to prevent the spread of insect pests in locali-
ties where trees are affected.

There are doubtless very many remedies that if properly ap-
plied would accomplish the work; and the expense would not be
so great as to absorb the profits to be derived from the products
of well-kept orchards. On young olive trees not badly affected,
whale oil soap can be applied with a stiff brush very successfully,
and at cheap cost; but on large trees this plan is impracticable.

I find in French books, where the subject is treated at great
length, numerous remedies advised, which I translate as follows:

“Scraping off,

Powdered Sulpher,
Petroleum,

Boiling Water,

Lime Water,
Hyposulphite of Lime,
Wash with Alkaline,
Smoking with Coal Tar.”

Also, “ proper drainage, the tillage, removing rubbish, the lop-
ping off of every useless twig are necessary precautions; the ap-
plication is difficult and the success uncertain, where there are
millions of insects. The pruning is of the greatest importance,

18 QOuitiy 2 fw Leu RE:

and the orchardist. who neglects this important part will find that
the pests will resist all efforts at extermination.”

In my correspondence seyeral years ago with Prof. J. E. Plan-
chon, President of the Horticultural Society of Montpelier, France,
the following was recommended:

“ Syringe “the trees with a solution of sulphate of soda, and
powder them immediately after with powdered lime—a caustic
soda is then produced which destroys the insects.” Bisulphide
of carbon has been used with deadly effect on the most danger-
ous enemy to citrus fruit that was ever known. The cost is
moderate, and the application not difficult, so that it should at-
tract the attention of fruit- -growers as an insect-destroyer.

The remedies that I have experimented with are whale-oil
soap, a decoction of tobacco, phenyle, and pyroligneous acid.

1st. Whale-oil soap, as I have already stated, can be used ef-
fectually on small olive trees, at very cheap cost.

2d. A decoction of tobacco is simple, inexpensive, and, if
properly applied, an effectual remedy for every class of insect
pests that I have come in contact with. Forty pounds of good,
strong leaf tobacco, thoroughly boiled in water, will make about
80 gallons. This can be thrown upon the trees with a garden
syringe, but it is necessary that the decoction should be kept,
while using it, at the uniform temperature of 130 degrees. Hot-
ter than this will destroy the embryo fruit; less hot, less effectual.
I would recommend four applications each year, until the orchards
were entirely free from insects. Then. if ‘the neighborhood was
free, and proper precautions taken with pruning alone, could be
kept free for generations to come. Every orchadist must grow
his own tobacco, which he can do in a small way, if he attends to
it properly, at a cost of two cents the pound—(one acre will
produce 4,000 pounds.) We have, therefore, allowing two gal-
lons of the decoction to a tree for each application, the following
cost: One pound of tobacco, two cents. Two men can boil the
tobacco and: svringe 100 trees daily—$1.25 for each man, and
board, would be $2.50—or two and a half cents the tree, which,
with the cost of tobacco (two cents), equals per tree four and a
half cents—four times each year, eighteen cents. On olive trees
producing 50 gallons of berries (valued at 4 cents the pound),
the whole cost of thorough cleaning would be less than two and
a half per cent. of each yearly crop. On orange, lemon and
lime trees, about the same.

3d. Phenyle With this remedy my personal knowledge is
limited; but from the experiments made by others, I am satisfied
it has very valuable properties, and do not ‘hesitate: to recommend
it. It costs $1.50 per gallon—ean be diluted with 50 parts of
water to one part of phenyle, making the cost of the dilution for
a tree-wash only 3 cents each gallon.

Ontitve CULTURE. 19

4th. Pyroligneous acid is probably more effectual than any
other known remedy, but the present cost of 75 cents the gallon
makes it too expensive for common use in syringing trees. It is
my opinion that it can be manufactured for 10 cents the gallon,
perhaps less, then diluted one-half with water, would make the
admixture cost 5 cents the gallon. The labor in applying either .
in swabbing or syringing trees, is much less than with tobacco,
as it does not require to be heated. The most important prop-
erties that any remedy can possess, provided that it has about
the same insect destroying power, is that it should not be dis-
agreeable to handle, no unsafety in keeping it in any place, and
that it should not require to be heated to be effectual. Ir it is
dangerous in itself, the orchardist will always be in dread; if it
requires heating to a certain number of degrees, the many little
necessary preparations will afford ample excuses for delays, or if
it is exceedingly disagreeable to handle, the putting-off plan will
always be resorted to, until dire necessity compels its use. This
remedy is not disagreeable to handle, and can always be kept at
hand and ready for use. It therefore recommends itself for
universal application.

To sum up, it is my conviction, based upon the results of my
experiments, that there is no excuse for not keeping olive trees
free from scale insects. In fact, it is great economy to do so. It
is a source from which to derive an income on the one hand, and
total worthlessness on the other. Those who neglect this impor-
tant duty, either from indifference or the want of knowledge, will
expend their money only to see'it melt away before them, and
will have for their reward unsuccess, discouragement and despair.

ARTICLE X.

TRANSLATION:

\

[This chapter I have copied entire from the French of Bertile,
being a history, cultwre, products, and the effect on the pub-
lic health, etc., which I translate as follows:]

“The touching story of the flight of the dove from Noah’s ark,
related in Genesis, proves the existence of the olive tree in the
earliest period of the world’s history.

It was a celebrated tree among the ancients. It held the first
rank in their mythology; Minerva taught the Athenians how to
prepare the fruit, and they had a most religious respect for it.
The oil was used mostly in religious ceremonies by the ancients.
The Romans used the wood not cnly as fuel, but on the altars
of their gods; it was the emblem of peace.

20 Ona yh Cine reer:

The olive tree transported from Egypt to Attica, belongs to
the jasmine family, with evergreen foliage, small blossoms in
clusters, and having some likeness to the elder tree flowering in
June. It can be propagated in many ways, but the best way is
by planting the seeds, and it is one which is practiced least.
Except in damp soils where its roots rot, the olive grows every-
where. It accustoms itself to both dry and wet climates. Clay
and mud are indifferent to it. Its long life is proverbial. In re-
turn it takes thirty years, a man’s life-time, before it reaches its
full capacity for bearing fruit. Of this tree, one of the most
valuable gifts of nature, there exists 16 or 17 species, all exotic.
Its fruit is oval, fleshy, with a hard woody seed enclosing a ker-
nel. The meat fine and covered with a green skin before its
maturity, softens and becomes a purplish black in ripening; it
is then that they grind them in the mill, then put them in a press
to extract the oil.

With some exceptions one may say that in the Mediterranean
Basin, from the 35th degree to the 43d degree of latitude is sur-
noumaded with a belt of olive trees. Itis from this region that all
Europe receives its olive oil, for table use and for light. For
either from some trouble in the growth, or some imperfection in
the manufacture, perhaps both, the African coast produces very
inferior articles which can only be used for lamp oil or grease.

Some of the islands of the Grecian Archipelago and the
western shore of the Adriatic produce better oil, but destitute of
sweetness and suppleness, qualities most desired by consumers,
and only found in the oil made in the valleys south of the Alps.
In the center of this region, extending from the promontory of
Saint Tropez 1 in France, to Lavona in Italy, i in the gulf of Genoa,
Nice is situated, whose reputation for the best oil has succeeded
all other places in the world.

From the Var tothe Roya the valleys that surround it are pro-
tected from the north wind by the ‘Alps. The temperature of
the winter, which is the season the olive ripens, is the same as
spring in the center of France.

This exceptional climate allows the fruit to reach its perfect
ripeness, and together with the method of manufacturing gives
the superiority which the oil of Nice without question has to- day
over all other “places. The annual production of this region is

valued on an average of four or five million kilograms. The har-
vest begins in November and lasts until April or May.

There i is a crop every two years and lack of rain and intense
cold combine in killing the tree. There are many instances of
olive trees being bitten by frost, and in this case the tree must be
cut to the eround.

The uncertainty of the crops and the biennial yield of fruit
cause the high prices of olive oil.

Oniv:n ‘CrErrimr a)

The olives gathered in the vicinity of Nice are all sent to the
mill to be pressed into oil. They only pickle those that would
not make good oil, and all of the olives we have on our table
come from those regions where they do not ripen. The bitter
taste they have in this State is destroyed by letting them soak in
alkaline water; then by preserving them in brine seasoned with
different herbs. By this preparation they become an aperient
food, but less nourishing and less digestible.

One only needs to read a good cook-book to find in how many
forms oil can be used—but success in the concoction of different
dishes can only be obtained by the use of good oil. Failure in
such dishes has been many times caused by rancid oil.

Rich in azote, and with considerable nutritive qualities, olive
oil possesses, in the first place, the power of assimilating with
the human body. It is instrumental in assisting in many medi-
cinal cures where the method is cutaneous. It being more liquid
than animal fat, always used for that purpose, it is easier to
absorb. The injured parts, protected from the air by oily sub-
stances or salves, heal more quickly. These unctions give,
besides, more suppleness and elasticity to the muscles. As it is
not penetrated by the poisons in the atmosphere, it is used with
success in counteracting the deleterious miasma around swampy
districts. It ought to be greatly preferred for the hair to pom-
ades, as it acts more quickly on the scalp. Taken daily, by the
spoonful, it is an excellent laxative to the system, and not tire-
some to the stomach.

It ought to be preferred as a medicine on account of its cheap-
ness and pleasant taste, to those purgative powders so distasteful
and expensive.

We read in history of the elasticity and vigor of the Grecians
and Romans, and these qualities, without doubt, have been pro-
duced by the constant use of olive oil among those ancients.
Unlike all animal fat, that is injurious to the stomach and thins
the blood, it-assists the digestion and permits the body to deyelop
correctly, and the brain to reach the highest stage of human in-
telligence. Be that as it may, the beneficial effect that olive oil
has, ¢ over human organism, cannot be disputed.

Originally only eaten where it was made, since the communi-
cation between all countries has become so much easier, this
article of food is universally used. The most important thing is
to get it pure. Unfortunately on account of the cheapness of
oils made from seeds and nuts of different kinds, commerce has
adulterated olive oil as it has so many other articles. Oils made
of peanuts, sesame, cotton, and poppy seeds are sold by millions
of kilogrammes under the name of olive oil.

This. unwholesome adulteration which can create the most

22 Outrve CuLtrurz:

serious disorders on the digestive organs should be carefully
avoided by persons who have any regard for their health.

Mechanics refuse seed oils because of their dryness, as they
gum up the machinery instead of greasing it and keeping it
clean. It is just as important that the machinery of the human
body should rebel against such oils. We ought to be familiar
with the methods of extracting oil from all oleaginous substances,
being so necessary to different industries. But all the table oil
should give the preference to that made from a tree that the
Almighty saved from the destruction of the Deluge and a branch
of which the dove carried to Noah as a sign of forgiveness.”

ARTICLE XI.

THOR VAUD A) doe RA TOON OER) (OscreV SO pinlirs

I have copied from a paper read before the Liverpool Chemists’
Association by Michael Conroy, F. C. 8., the same published in
the Pharmaceutical Journal, as follows: ‘The favorite method
proposed by M. Poutet, consists in beating up the oil with one-
twelfth of its weight of solution of nitrate of mercury. The
nitrous acid or nitric peroxide evolved from this converts the
oleine of olive oil into elaidin, causing the olive oil, if pure, to
become solid in a couple of hours, while the drying oils remain
liquid. It will be seen from this that olive oil adulterated with
any of the drying oils will not set as hard nor as quickly as
genuine olive oil, and that the consistency to which the sample
sets, and the time occupied in setting, somewhat roughly indi-
cate the amount of adulteration. A modification of this process
is to use nitric acid instead of the solution of nitrate of mercury,
and I believe that this plan is practiced by many oil merchants.
The modus operandzi is to mix one-half a fluid drachm of strong
nitric acid with about five fluid drachms of the oil in a bottle of
one fluid ounce capacity, and to shake up briskly, and put in a
cool place for a few:hours, when the color and consistency are
noted. The results are somewhat similar to those obtained by
the nitrate of mercury test. These two tests, are in my opinion,
the best published; but they are not satisfactory, inasmuch as it
is extremely difficult to judge of the consistency of the results
obtained, and, so far as my experience goes, they are useless for
samples containing less than ten or fifteen per cent. of seed oils.

The plan which I recommend as more suitable for the purpose
is based on an improved method of applying this last test; but
instead of being guided by the consistency, I am guided by the

QLuIveE CUurroues. 93

color produced. The test is applied as follows: Mix thoroughly
1 part of strong nitric acid (sp. gr. 1.42) with 9 parts of the oil to
be tested, and pour the mixture into a white porcelain dish capa-
ble of holding at least ten times the quantity. Apply heat
gently, until the action between the acid and the oil is fairly set
up, then remove the source of heat and stir well with a glass rod
until the action is over.

Pure olive oil thus treated and allowed to cool sets into a pale
straw-colored hard mass in an hour or two, while cotton seed and
other seed oils assume a deep orange red color, and do not set
like olive oil.

In hot weather it is necessary to artificially cool the sample so
as to promote the setting; but to a practiced eye the setting is
quite unnecessary, the color being sufficiently distinct without.

It will be seen that the delicacy of this test depends upon the
great contrast in color exhibited between genuine olive and seed
oils, when operated on as described, so that an admixture of 5
per cent. of any seed oil with olive oil is readily detected.
Another important feature in this, and possessed by no other test,
is the accuracy with which the approximate amount of admixture
may be ascertained; and to practically show this feature, I have
on the table a sample of genuine olive oil, and one of cotton-
seed, and seven other samples, containing respectively 5, 10, 15,
20, 30, 40 and 50 per cent. of cotton-seed oil, which have been
treated by this method, and I venture to say that not one will
experience any difficulty in picking out the various samples, the
gradation in color being so uniform, and I may also add that it is
constant. It therefore follows, that if an oil be found to set of a
different color to that of a sample of genuine olive, the approxi.
mate amount of adulteration can be found by making and operat-
ing on a few mixtures containing a known percentage of the
adulterant. A little experience in working the test will won-
derfully assist in determining the percentage of admixture in any
sample, but in all cases I would recommend that the test be
performed in.conjunction with a sample of genuine olive. The
quantities which I have been in the habit of using are, 4 a fluid
drachm of nitric acid and 9} fluid drachms of oil, and having used
the test for about three years I can confidently recommend it as
thoroughly reliable and constant when carefully carried out.
The heat should be removed as soon as the action has fairly
started, and the mixture should be kept well stirred until the
action is over. Should too much heat be applied, the action be-
comes violent and unmanageable, and some of the mixture will
spurt out of the dish. This spurting, however, may be prevented
by placing a plate or other flat body over the dish. The results
obtained are never as good when the action is so violent as to
cause spurting.”

24 Opviy F Own RE

The reputation of the author of the above is sufficient to
recommend the certainty of the test—but as all consumers have
not the material, or apparatus at hand, they can satisfy them-
selves of the large percentage of adulteration contained in at
least one of the most popular brands imported from Europe by a
much simpler method.

Take one bottle of Luca Oil put up by Cross & Blackwell of
London, and one bottle of my oil, put both in an ice freezer
where the tempature is as low as 35 to 40 degrees Far., and leave
them over night. An inspection in the morning will satisfy any
one who may now have doubts as to the adulteration of the
former.

The adulteration of the Barton & Guestier oil cannot be
exposed by this test but your druggist can expose it for you, by
the “Couroy” method. I only mention these two brands for the
reason that they command the highest price and are the favored
importations. While I was engaged in the shipping business in
the city of New York, our firm had one telegraph order for one
thousand tierces of hog’s lard to go to the Mediterranean to
adulterate olive oil.

One year’s exports of cotton seed oil from New Orleans to the
Mediterranean was sufficient in quantity to fill “ fifteen million ”
ordinary oil bottles, the cost of the oil in each bottle being less
than ten cents. So long as our people are willing to pay a dollar
for what is not worth anything, and which costs less than ten
cents, so long will hog’s lard and cotton seed, under false labels,
be consumed by them as olive oil. As to the effect on the human
body of a liberal use of these admixtures, I refer to my previous
article or to the writings on the subject, by every intelligent
author since the commencement of time.

ARTIGIEY XH:
CoNCLUSION.

With this chapter my articles on olive culture will close. Be-
fore closing however, it is necessary to add, as supplementary to
article No. 8, that insect pests destructive to the olive as also to
citrus fruits, are called by different names. J have in my arti-
cle used the scientific name of Coccws oleoe in speaking of the
black scale.

In a very interesting treatise ou insect pests published by
Mathew Cooke, chief Horticultural officer of this State, this insect
is called Lecaniwm oleae given as the classification of Monsieur

Omiyv bE. © iT WEE. 25

V. Signoret of Paris, also in the same book from a paper of Prof.
Comstock, this insect is called Lecaniwm oleae. This scientist
also claims that he has discovered scale insects uot previously
described or named. Different names for the same thing is very
unfortunate and misleads the investigator. We who have to.
fizht insect pests care very little under what name we fight them,
but we want information, and cannot afford the confusion or diffi-
culties to be met with by reason of a multiplicity of names. If
scientists who claim the right of the naming power disagree on
this important point it detracts from our respect for the import-
ance of their work.

I have adhered to the classification Coccws for the reason that
all French writers on the olive that 1 have consulted have done
so, with but one exception.

_ Asan authority on this subject I quote from Alfred Le Jour-
dan in his work JZaladie Notre, pages 15 to 31.

“These insects form the genus Coccus founded by Linn:zeus
and adopted by the greater number of authors. ;
The Coccis hesperidum, Citrus Scale.

The Cocews aonidum, Oleander Seale.
The Coccus adonidwm, Hot-house Seale.
The Coccus oleoe, Olive Scale.

The Coccus ficus caricoe, Scale of the Fig.

6. The Coccws vitis, Scale of the Vine.

Some authors have classified these insects by the number of
the antenna, the form of the body, the presence of rites, ete.,
etc., but these divisions established on characters of very little
importance, and which sometimes vary, I think it is more natural
to preserve the grand genus Linneen, the Coccus.

‘In the Lecanium they have placed the Cocews hesperidwm,
the Cocews aonidum, and the Cocciws oleoe.”

In the classification as above from one to six these insects have
been variously named.

1. The Coccus hesperidum the Coccus -hypernaculorum, the
pediculus clypeatus, the Kermes hesperidum, the lecaniun hes-
peridum.

2. Coceuws aonidum, the Coceus indarum arboreum, the Coc-
cus hesperidum minor, the Kermes aonidum, the lecanium aoni-
dum.

3. The Coceus adonidum, the pediculus hypernaculorum, the
pediculus adonidum, the pediculus coffece, the Coccus rufus fari-
naceus.

4. The Coccus Oleoe; the Kermes Olece, the lecanium Olece,

5. The Coceus ficws caricoe, the kermes ficus caricce, the leca-
nium ficus caricce.

6. The Cocews vitis, the Kermes vitis.

CU oe BO

26 OLrivs CHLLUTURE,

“These are the principal kinds of coccus, corresponding to a
certain extent, and the attack always followed by the black fun-

rus.”

“The Cocews adonidwm, (hot house scale) originated in Sene-
gal and attacks more particularly the Citrus trees, and is very diffi-
cult to destroy.” ;

“The cocews hesperidum (citrus scale), originated in America
or Africa.”

“The coccus aonidum originated in the Indian Archipelago,
and thrives more particularly on the Oleander.”

“ The cocews ficus caricoe commits great ravages on the fig.
It produces about the same effect on the fig that the black scale
does on the olive, multiplies with great rapidity, but not so
rapidly as the olive scale.”

“ The coccws oleoe, so destructive to the olive, is a native of
the borders of the Mediterrenean, and increases with the greatest
rapidity.”

“ The coccws vitis exercises its destructive action on the vine.”

I differ from the conclusions of scientists as to the natural
home of some of these insects. They do not, or can not exist
where there are many degrees of frost. They do not thrive in
the tropics.

The olive was grown successfully for at least four thousand
years in parts of Asia, and a very great length of time in Africa;
and on the coast of the Mediterranean without being infested
with the Coccws. It could not be a native of these places. The
natural home is in a climate similar to Australia and that of
California.

FUNDS:

IBRARY OF CONGRESS

HN