Page:The Olive Its Culture in Theory and Practice.djvu/67

Rh and which had been used to protect the tree from rubbing against the stake to which it was tied.

The proper season to dress the olive, varies according to the climate, the soil, and yield of the plant. In a mild climate, however, the dressing may be applied in autumn and winter, whilst in more northern regions, it would be best given after all danger of freezing was past. The olive may be dressed in two ways—If the compost be plentiful, and the trees near together, it should be applied by scattering it about the orchard, and afterwards turning it under with a spade, a hoe, or plough; or, it should be done by digging holes about the tree, in a radius of from two and a half, to four and a half or six feet, according to the age and size of the tree. These holes should be from twelve, to sixteen inches deep, and should be dug some weeks before the dressing is applied, in order that the soil about the roots may be fully aired.

In localities where compost is scarce, it is well to alternate fertilization by plowing under lupins, beans or other vegetable matter of easy growth. If the dressing of the soil is done biennially, one half of the ground could be plowed under as stated. If triennially, the plowing under could follow, and a third of the plantation be plainly worked. If quadrennially, the surface should be divided in four sections, of which the first should be manured, the second worked, the third plowed under, and the fourth worked. The nature of the fertilization that is necessary, cannot be exactly determined by the ashes of the wood alone, as the proportions of these may vary from a multiplicity of circumstances. The surest test for the fertilization, is the knowledge of the loss to which the tree has been subjected in fruit, leaves, and wood: and the object should be to restore to the soil that which has been taken from it in producing these. No manure should be applied till it is thoroughly fermented. To throw unfermented, or indeed any manure, close up against the trunk of the tree, is to do harm instead of good. With the rain fermentation starts again, and the heat generated is