HORTICULTURE. 747 



given to the discussion of the relative a(lvanta}2;es of th(» proprietor assuming entire 

 directions and responsibility in the growing of olives, and of his furnishing the land 

 to small farmers who plant and care for the orchard and pay the rent by giving the 

 proprietor a certain jiortion of the cro]). 



Observations on olives in Asia Minor, (J. C. Roeding { Pacific Jxxral Pirxs, 62 

 {1901), Xo. 16, p. 34^). — Methods of oil jiroduction are princij)ally discussed. The 

 vast acreage of olives in Asia Minor makes it impossible for the olive mills to utilize 

 the crop as fast as it is gathered. The fruit is therefore stored in stone vats in the 

 open air. These vats are about 8 ft. wide, 8 to 10 f.t. long, and 8 ft. deep. After a 

 vat is filled it is covered over with a heavy cloth resembling burlap. Boards are then 

 placed above this and weighted with heavy stones. No precautions are taken to 

 keep out rain. It seems to make no difference whether rain goes in or not. Olives 

 thus stored lose their shape and become a mass of flesh and ])its. They do not 

 spoil or become rancid, however, and the oil produced from them is rather heavy 

 and greasy, tli')Ugh not disagreeably so, and possesses a good bouquet. 



Pickling ripe and green olives, F. T. Bioletti {California Sla. Bui. 137, pp. 

 21). — This bulletin presents the results of experiments by the station in pickling 

 ripe and green olives by the lye and salt methods, and is t^he outcome of many com- 

 plaints received by the station reporting failure in pickling when the methods 

 recommended by the station were followed. (E. S. R., 11, p. 46.) 



Experiments with, pickling ripe olives (pp. 3-13). — The olives used in this experiment 

 were nearly all dead ripe. They had been picked and shipped without any special pre- 

 cautions and were considerably bruised. The problems investigated were whether 

 large, overrijie, bruised olives, which were otherwise in good condition, could be 

 used to produce wholesoine marketable pickles, and whether such pickles could be 

 preserved in good order for a reasonable length of time. The olives were sorted and 

 graded, and experiments made with 8 varieties. They were covered with a 1.4 per 

 cent lye solution, and in most cases with a 2 per cent salt solution at the same time, 

 and left from 7 to 20 hours, after which they were rinsed and covered with a 2 per 

 cent salt brine. The brine was changed from time to time and gradually increased 

 in strength for 25 to 38 days, at the end of which time they were placed in a 12 per 

 cent salt solution and either immediately or about 8 months later transferred to ( 1 ) 

 a fruit preserving jar and left untreated, (2) an earthen jar and kept submerged by 

 a floating cover, or (3) a fruit preserving jar and heated to 80° C. once and sometimes 

 3 times. In some instances the jars were sealed and heated, and again they were 

 covered with a layer of paraffin before sealing and heating. The details and results 

 of all these different methods are given at length. 



The results of the experiments show " that even soft, overripe olives may be suc- 

 cessfully pickled by proper modifications of the lye and salt method, even when 

 the fruit has been somewhat carelessly handled before pickling and when the water 

 used is not of the purest. The main precautions in such cases are to use a certain 

 amount of salt from the beginning of the process, and to watch carefully for the first 

 appearance of scum or slime on top of any of the liquids in which the olives are 

 immersed. On the aj>i)earance of the slightest of these signs of fermentation, the 

 solution must be changed and the receptacle thoroughly disinfected with boiling 

 water. The salt hardens the flesh an<l makes it more resistant to fermentative 

 organisms whic-li exist in the water, and at the same time the antiseptic properties 

 of the salt, even when used in such small proi)ort!ons as 2 per cent, are prol)ably of 

 use in delaying the increase of these organisms, molds, and bacteria. All the sam- 

 ples, with the exception of the Sevillano, kept without perceptible deterioration for 

 8 months in open jars after pickling, although they were uni)rotected from the 

 air excei)t for a fltjating wooden cover. A ring of mold formed around the edge 

 of the cover, l)ut there was no perceptible injury to the flavor of the pickles, 

 except for a slight moldiuess in taste of the Sevillano." 



