Page:The Olive Its Culture in Theory and Practice.djvu/121

Rh The olive is given four different shapes:

The objections to allowing it to grow at will are, that it grows too high, its upper branches are mere "gluttons," or suckers of sap, which rob the lower, or fruitful part of the tree, of what might result in well developed fruit: that the sun and light are kept out, the principal agents of fructification, resulting in the fruit being found only on the outside of the tree, where the sun and light have access to it. Neglected in this way, the tree finally, tired of its efforts, refuses to give a crop oftener than every alternate year.

The Pine or Cone shape is better, but the best form, and almost the only possible one for large trees, is the Basket or Goblet shape. This exposes the largest surface to sun and air. The Umbrella shape is the worst of all, as it can only be achieved by directly opposing the habits of the tree. The round well-opened crown will be the most natural way to shape trees of small size.

The character of the soil must be taken into account in fixing the height and forming the crown of a young tree. In a poor and arid soil, it will be best not to make the trunk higher than from three to four feet, as in such a soil, the limited nutritousnutritious [sic] qualities will, with difficulty reach its branches, if placed too high. On the other hand, if the soil is rich, the crown may be placed from five to six feet from the ground.