466 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



receives its olive oil, for table use and for light. For either from some 

 trouble in the growth, or some imperfection in the manufacture, perhaps 

 both, the African Coast produces very inferior articles, which can only be 

 used for lamp oil or grease. 



Some of the islands of the Grecian Archipelago, and the western shore 

 of the Adriatic, produce better oil, but destitute of sweetness and supple- 

 ness, qualities most desired by consumers, and only found in the oil made 

 in the valleys south of the Alps. In the center of this region, extending 

 from the promontory of Saint Tropez, in France, to Lavona, in Italy, in 

 the gulf of Genoa, Nice is situated, whose reputation for the best oil has 

 succeeded all other places in the world. 



From the Var to the Roya, the valleys that surround it are protected 

 from the north wind by the Alps. The temperature of the winter, which 

 is the season the olive ripens, is the same as spring in the center of France. 



This exceptional climate allows the fruit to reach its perfect ripeness, 

 and together with the method of manufacturing gives the superiority which 

 the oil of Nice, without question, has to-day over all other places. The 

 annual production of this region is valued, on an average, of four or five 

 million kilograms. The harvest begins in November, and lasts until April 

 or May. 



There is a crop every two years, and lack of rain and intense cold com- 

 bine in killing the tree. There are many instances of olive trees being 

 bitten by frost, and in this case the tree must be cut to the ground. 



The uncertainty of the crops, and the biennial yield of fruit, cause the 

 high prices of olive oil. 



The olives gathered in the vicinity of Nice are all sent to the mill to be 

 pressed into* oil. They only pickle those that would not make good oil, and 

 all of the olives we have on our table come from those regions where they 

 do not ripen. The bitter taste they have in this State is destroyed by letting 

 them soak in alkaline water; then by preserving them in brine seasoned 

 with different herbs. By this preparation they become an aperient food, 

 but less nourishing and less digestible. 



One only needs to read a good cook-book to find in how many forms oil 

 can be used — but success in the concoction of different dishes can only be 

 obtained by the use of good oil. Failure in such dishes has been many 

 times caused by rancid oil. 



Rich in azote, and with considerable nutritive qualities, olive oil possesses, 

 in the first place, the power of assimilating with the human body. It is 

 instrumental in assisting in many medicinal cures where the method is 

 cutaneous. It being more liquid than animal fat — always used for that 

 purpose — it is easier to absorb. The injured parts, protected from the air 

 by oily substances or salves, heal more quickly. These unctions give, 

 besides, more suppleness and elasticity to the muscles. As it is not pene- 

 trated by the poisons in the atmosphere, it is used with success in counter- 

 acting the deleterious miasma around swampy districts. It ought to be 

 greatly preferred for the hair to pomades, as it acts more quickly on the 

 scalp. Taken daily, by the spoonful, it is an excellent laxative to the sys- 

 tem, and not tiresome to the stomach. 



It ought to be preferred as a medicine on account of its cheapness and 

 pleasant taste, to those purgative powders so distasteful and expensive. 



We read in history of the elasticity and vigor of the Grecians and 

 Romans, and these qualities, without doubt, have been produced by the 

 constant use of olive oil among those ancients. Unlike all animal fat that 

 is injurious to the stomach and thins the blood, it assists the digestion and 

 permits the body to develop correctly, and the brain to reach the highest 



