of the Island qfCerigo and its Dependencies. 277 



Olives, — Persons coming from Corfu to this island are imme- 

 diately struck with the comparatively diminutive size of the 

 olive trees, which is generally attributed to the high winds pre- 

 valent in Cerigo. Olive grove property, as in the other islands, 

 is much divided. Every second year, or what we may call a 

 season, the olives from which the oil is pressed are collected as 

 they ripen in winter and part of spring. It would seem that in 

 almost every island the natives have a different way of express^ 

 ing the oil, and that of natives of Cerigo, curious from its ap- 

 parent antiquity, is as follows : the olives are placed on a near- 

 ly flat stone, and another heavy one of a square shape is rolled 

 backwards and forwards on them, so as to press the fruit ; when 

 thus bruised, the mass is put into a large bag (made of the fibres 

 of a scoperta), which is closed, and thrown into a vessel containing 

 hot water, and allowed to remain there till heated ; it is then taken 

 out and placed on a shallow trough with a plugged hole on the 

 one side. The trough is elevated about two feet above the 

 chamber floor, a man treads on the bag thus filled, from which 

 the oil is expressed along with the warm water ; as soon as the 

 trough is nearly full, the plug is withdrawn, when both the sub- 

 stances escape into a vessel placed beneath, having near its bot- 

 tom a plugged orifice. By the time this vessel is filled, the 

 greatest part of the oil has separated from the water, and floats 

 on its surface, from its specific gravity being much less ; therefore 

 when the orifice near the bottom is opened, the water escapes, 

 mixed with only a small quantity of oil, into a hole dug in the 

 ground outside of the chamber, where this oil also, when the me- 

 chanical mixture ceases, is collected by skimming it off by means 

 of a branch or bunch of straw. In this manner a man, assisted 

 by a woman and child, will make a barrel or more in a day. 



The oil in quality ranks next to that of the island of Paxo, 

 and is much esteemed, but unfortunately the produce is scarcely 

 sufficient for the consumption of the island. On'an average of 

 three seasons, the seasonal quantity made was 1438 barrels, and 

 the ground occupied by the olive trees was 514 acres. From a 

 general average each tree is supposed to yield one-fourth of a 

 barrel of oil, which will give for the whole island 5752 fruit- 

 bearing trees, and the number to each acre will be about 11 J. 



