Page:A Practical Treatise on Olive Culture, Oil Making and Olive Pickling.djvu/37

 the ground one foot deep, or one foot and a half when the soil permits, but where the hole cannot be dug as deep as that, some of the surrounding earth can be brought around the tree in a concave shape.

The digging of these 100 holes, and the planting of the tree, should not cost above $5 per acre. Two hoeings of a space about three feet wide, around each tree, one in early spring, one in early summer, at $1.50 each, will make it $8 altogether per acre. The small rooted cuttings can be had at prices ranging from $10 to $15 per hundred, according to sizes; and taking their maximum cost of $15, we come to a total of $23 per acre for all the first year's expenses, independently of the cost of the land, which can be bought as cheap as $10 per acre, and even cheaper, if the purchaser is not particular about being near a city or a railroad.

During the following years, three hoeings, distanced according to a more or less rainy season, will be more than is required to keep the plantation in very good condition; it will not cost altogether over $5 per acre, to which can be added the cost of pruning every two years, and, if desired, the cost of manuring every two or three years.

When comparing this simple and cheap work with the care required by a vineyard, which, besides the regular cultivation, pruning, plowing,