A-dictionary-of-greek-and-roman-antiquities-william-smith

OLEA.
emblem of industry and peace. While it yields a
large snpply of palatable and highly nutritious
food, it requires less outlay and less attention than
almost any other fruit tree, is subject to few casu
alties, and, even if altogether neglected, does not
suffer serious injury, but may be quickly restored
to fertility by moderate care. Hence, the honour
paid to it at Athens, and hence the title of " prima
omnium arborum " bestowed upon it by Columella.
Varieties. The Olea Europea is the only spe
cies of the natural family of Oleaceae, which yields
the highly valued olive oil, but many varieties are
produced by different modes of culture, and by pecu
liarities of soil and climate. Columella enumerates
ton, and this number may be considerably increased
from the works of other ancient writers. The fol
lowing seem to have been the most important : —
1 . Pausia s. Posea ; 2. Regia ; 3. Orcliis s. Or
chitis s. Orchita s. Orchas ; 4. Radius ; 5. Licinia
s. Liciniana ; 6. Scrgia s. Sergiana. Of these the
Pausia, according to Columella, was the most
pleasant in 6avour (jucundissimus), although upon
this point he is apparently contradicted by Virgil
(amara Pausia bacca) ; the Rcgia was the hand
somest in appearance ; while both of these together
with the Orchis and the Radius, and in general, all
the larger varieties, were better suited for eating
than for oil. The Licinia, on the other hand,
vieldcd the finest oil, the Sen/ia, the greatest quan
tity. (Cat. R. R 7 ; Varr. ft. ft. 7 ; Columell. v.
8, de Arbor. 17 ; Plin. H. N. xv. 6.)
Soil and Climate. The soil considered most
congenial was a rich tenacious clay, or a mixture
of clay and sand, a gravelly subsoil being essential
in either case to carry off the water. Deep fat
mould was found to be not unsuitable, but any
land which retained moisture was avoided, and
also light, stony ground, for, although the trees did
not die in the latter, they never became vigorous.
Here again, however. Columella and Virgil are at
variance, for while the former observes " inimicus
eat agcr sabulo macer et nuda glarea," the poet
declares
Difficiles primum terrae collcsquc maligni,
Tenuis ubi argilla et dumosis calculus arvis
Palladia gaudent silva vivacis olivae.
The olive is very impatient of frost, and scarcely
any of the varieties known to the ancients would
flourish in very hot or very cold situations. In hot
localities, it was expedient to form the plantations
on the side of a hill facing the north, in cold
localities upon a southern slope. Neither a very
lofty nor a very low position was appropriate, but
gentle rolling eminences such as characterised the
country of the Sabines in Italy, and the district of
Baetica in Spain. Under ordinary circumstances,
a western exposure lying well open to the sun was
preferred. It is asserted by several classical authors
that the olive will not live, or, at least, not prove
fruitful at a distance from the sea coast greater
than from thirty to fifty miles, and although ex
ceptions did and do exist to this rule it will be
found to accord with general experience. (Cat.
ft.ft. 7; Varr. i. 24 ; Columella, v. 8 ; Plin. H.N.
xvii. 3 ; Pallad. iii. 18 ; Theophr. ir. f. a. ii. S ;
Geopon. ix. 4.)
Propagation and Culture. Previous to
the formation of an olive yard (oletum, olivetum) it
was necessary to lay out a nursery (scminarium)
for the reception of the young plants. A piece of
OLEA.
ground was selected for this purpose, freely ex
posed to the sun and air, and in which the soil was
a rich black mould. It was the practice to trench
(pastinare) this to the depth of three feet, and
then to leave it to crumble down under the influence
of the atmosphere.
The propagation of the olive was effected in
various ways.
1. The method generally adopted was to fix
upon the most productive trees, and to select from
these long, young, healthy branches (ramos novelios)
of such a thickness as to be easily embraced
by the hand. The branches immediately after
being detached from the parent stem, were sawed
into lengths of a foot and a half each, great care
being taken not to injure the bark ; these seg
ments, which were called taleae or davolae OTlnaci,
were then tapered to a point at each end with
a knife, the two extremities were smeared with
dung and ashes, they were buried upright in the
ground, so that the tops were a few fingers' breadth
below the surface, and each talea was placed as
nearly as possible in the same position, both ver
tically and laterally, as the branch had occupied
upon the tree. During the first year, the ground
was frequently loosened by the sarculum ; when
the young roots (radkulae scminum) had taken a
firm hold, heavy hand-rakes (rostra) were em
ployed for the same purpose, and in the heat of
summer water was regularly supplied. For two
years no pruning was resorted to, but in the third
year the whole of the shoots (ramuli), with the
exception of two, were lopped off ; in the fourth
year, the weaker of the remaining two was de
tached, and in the fifth year the young trees
(arbusculae) were fit for being transplanted \habiits
translationi). This latter operation was best per
formed in autumn where the ground to which they
were conveyed was dry, but if it was moist and
rich, in spring, a short time before the buds were
formed. In the field which they were to occupy
permanently, pits (scntei) four feet every way
were prepared, if practicable, a year beforehand,
so that the earth might be thoroughly pulverised ;
small stones and gravel mixed with mould were
placed at the bottom to the depth of a few inches,
and some grains of barley were scattered over
all. The young tree was lifted with as large
a ball of earth as possible attached to the roots,
placed in the pit surrounded with a little manure,
and planted so as to occupy precisely the same
position, in relation to the cardinal points, as in the
nursery. In rich corn land, the space left between
each row was at least sixty feet, and between each
tree in the row forty feet, in order that the branches
and roots might have full space to spread, but in
poorer soil twenty-five feet, each way, were con
sidered sufficient. The rows were arranged so as
to run from east to west, in order that the cool
breezes might sweep freely down the open spaces
in summer. After the trees had become firmly
fixed, and had been pruned up into a proper shape,
that is, into a single stem kept without branches to
the height of the tallest ox, the labour attending
upon an olive yard was comparatively trifling.
Every year, the soil around the roots was loosened
with hoes (bidera), or with the plough, the roots
themselves laid bare (aUaqueatv, alJaquealio), the
your.g suckers cut away, and the lichens scraped
from the bark ; every third year, in autumn, manure
was thrown in ; every eighth year the trees were