fertilization of the blossoms?

The French prune is self-fertile; that is, it does not require the
presence of other plum species for pollination of the blossoms. It is
the Robe de Sergeant prune which is defective in pollination and which
is presumably assisted by proximity to the French prune. If you wish to
grow Robe de Sergeant prunes your question of interplanting would be
pertinent, but if you desire only to grow French prunes you need not
plant the Robe de Sergeant at all.



Cultivating Olives.



How deep should an olive orchard be plowed? I was told that by plowing
deep I would injure my trees, in cutting up small rootlets and fibres
which the olive extends through the surface soil. Is this so or not?

Plowing olives is like plowing other trees, the purpose being to get a
workable soil deep enough to stand five or six inches of summer
cultivation, usually. If you have old trees which have never been deeply
plowed, you would destroy a lot of roots by deep plowing, and you should
not start in and rip up all the land at once. You can gradually deepen
the plowing, sacrificing fewer roots at a time, without injuring the
trees if they are otherwise well circumstanced. Small rootlets and
fibres in the surface soil do not count; they are quickly replaced, and
if you do not destroy them, the whole surface soil, if moist enough,
will be filled with a network of roots which will subsequently make