Stanley Crawford, age 8, of Huntsville, Ala., for his question:

How long does an Olive tree live?

In Jerusalem there stands an ancient tree. Its wide and stubby trunk is gnarled with grooves and twisted ridges. slender branches with dainty leaves of silvery green grow near the top of the trunk. The old timer is an Olive tree and it has lived for at least 2,000 years.

In ancient days Olive trees were grown in the Holy Land and in other warm, dry countries around the Mediterranean sea. The Spanish brought Olive tree shoots to the New World. In l769 they were planted in California and some of them are still growing. Though these olive trees will be 200 years old in three years, they are no more than teenagers. In the Old World many olive trees are l,000 years old and older.

One of the oldest Olive trees grows in Jerusalem by the Golden Gate to the Garden of Gethsemane. It has been there 2,000 years. And many other Olive trees that were growing in the days of the New Testament are still there. Their ancient trunks are gnarled with knobby ridges, but their boughs are clothed with fresh greenish gray leaves. And out in the dry and dusty deserts there may be even older trees  for no one can say how long an olive tree may live.

Its savory tasting olives are classed as fruit  and no other fruit tree expects to live as long as the Olive tree. The wood of its sturdy trunk is very hard and long lasting. Insects and germs attack and destroy many other trees, but they do not often harm the olive tree. If the air is warm and dry and the soil is right, it stays in good health and grows for ages.

A new tree is grown from the shoot of an older tree. It is tended for a few years in a nursery and then set out to grow in an orchard. Its slender boughs bear leaves shaped like little fishes. Their tops are grayish green and their undersides are greenish white. When the breezes ruffle them they look like shimmering streams of silvery green. After about seven years the tree bears a few olives. At the age of 30 it is 25 feet tall and ready to bear a full harvest of fruit.

The greenish olive blossoms are too small to be noticed. The little green fruit grows through the summer and is ready for picking in the fall and winter. Most of them are picked when still green. If left on the tree the ripe olives turn blackish purple.

The harvested olives must be treated to take away their bitter flavor. They are soaked with lye and salty water and some soak in bubbly baths to make them turn dark. The fattest olives are canned or pitted and stuffed and packed into jars. About half the crop is crushed to squeeze out the golden oil from the olives. Olive oil is rich and easy to digest. It is fine for salads and cooking and some is used to make soaps.