Olive Culture. 227 



morning, and go into the drier immediately after. The temperature of the 

 drier ought to be so graded as to complete the work in forty-eight hours, and 

 the limit of heat should be under 130°. Economy will necessitate a system 

 in the different branches of the process admitting of no delays from the be- 

 ginning to the end. 



The almost universal method of crushing the berries is by a heavy 

 stone, similar to a millstone, which is rolled around on the edge in a deep 

 circular groove or trough, and by its weight does the crushing. A beam 

 passing through the eye of the stone, and working on a journal in the cen- 

 ter of the circle, with a horse attached to the outer end of the beam, is the 

 simplest way to do the work. To make one hundred gallons of oil each day 

 would require two good presses. The crushed olives are put in the press in 

 cheeses about three feet square and three inches thick, with wooden slats 

 between each cheese. Ten or more cheeses can be put in at each pressing. 

 I use coarse linen cloth to contain the crushed olives. The fluid that is 

 expressed is put in large tanks and left for from sixty to ninety days, when 

 the oil will separate, and, being lighter, will rise to the top, where it can be 

 drawn off. The pomace, after the first pressing, is recrushed, and, by 

 pouring hot water over it, a second pressing is made. 



The most common method of filtering, or clarifying, is to have a series 

 of five or six boxes, one above the other. I use cylindrical tin vessels, hold- 

 ing about three gallons each, one fitting in the other in tiers of three, with 

 fine wire sieves in the bottom of each. On these sieves I place two or three 

 layers of cotton-batting. The oil is passed from one tier to the other until 

 clear. It should not be exposed to sunlight or heat ; neither should it be 

 handled any more than is absolutely necessary in the filtering and bottling, 

 and it should not be shaken after bottling. The mucilage contained in the 

 oil will not separate for a long time after the oil is ready for use, and, as it 

 does not injure it, is not, therefore, objectionable. It will sometimes form 

 in the bottles like globules of water, or in films settling to the bottom as 

 sediment, and, when shaken, will give it a muddy appearance, which, with 

 the common prejudice against all table oils that are not perfectly clear, 

 renders it unsalable. The oil is better when new and fresh, and what is 

 gained in the appearance by its remaining a longer time in the tank is 

 more than lost in its freshness and delicacy of flavor. 



There are different methods of preparing the fruit for pickles. The 

 one adopted in Santa Barbara is as follows : The berries are put in fresh 

 water, which should be changed every day for forty or fifty days; then put 

 ill salt brine, not very strong, and, after remaining a few days, drawn off, a 

 second brine substituted, made nearly strong enough to bear an egg. Keep 

 the olives well covered with the brine. Great care should be taken in 

 handling the berries not to bruise them. The easiest plan, when picking 

 from the tree, is to drop them in water. They are usually picked when 

 they begin to turn a purplish color. Another method is to " pick the olives 

 as soon as they begin to show a reddish cast and rinse them in clean water. 



