162 Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [10 March, 1917. 



made as follows — pour some water in a gla-s, tliau add an inch or so of olive 

 oil ; cut a piece of tin and attach to it a piece of cork, form a little tube 

 in which to place a short piece of wick, and pass it through the cork and 

 piece of tin ; light the wick, and it will burn for hours. By wrapping 

 a piece of coloured tissue paper around the glass a subdued light will be 

 obtained. The inferior oil made at the college is mainly sold to breeders 

 who use it in getting pigs and sheep up for show. Possibly in large 

 factories the marc and the juice could be treated for the salts and other 

 extractive matter, and so cheapen the cost of extracting the oil. 



Olives with a low percentage of oil and possessed of a small stone 

 may make a good pickling olive. Whnt is known as the French pickled 

 olive is relatively small compared with the large Spanish olive. How- 

 ever, in France, Spain, and elsewhere both large and small varieties are 

 used for pickling. The quality of the olive for pickling depends on the 

 texture and flavour of the variety; and the shades of difference in the 

 quality of the same varieties depends on the environment it is grown 

 in, and the skill and attention involved in the pickling process. Olives 

 are pickled either when green or when ripe. In order to get rid of the 

 acrid bitterness in the green olives, they are steeped in a lye solution, 

 preferably of caustic potash at the rate of 2 ozs. to the gallon of water, 

 though caustic soda is also used. The olives are steeped in the lye 

 until the acridity is unnoticeable. Care should be taken not to allow 

 the olives to remain too long in the lye. From twelve to twenty-four hours 

 is usually long enough. By tasting the olives the right stage may be 

 determined. The lye is then run off, and it is replaced by fresh water 

 to wash out the remaining lye. It is better to let the water I'un on the 

 olives from a tap, otherwise frequent changes of water are necessary. 

 It will take several days to wash out the lye. For ripe olives very weak 

 lye solutions should be used, since, as the olive ripens, the bitter taste 

 becomes less pronounced, and, in very ripe olives, is almost absent. The 

 olives are now ready for a weak brine containing about 4 ozs. of salt to 

 the gallon of water. On the second day pour off the brine and add a 

 fresh and stronger one of from 6 to 8 ozs. of salt to the gallon and 

 allow the olives to remain for about a week, then make a brine of from 

 10 to 12 ozs. of salt per gallon of water and leave for a fortnight. Some- 

 times less trouble is taken and only tw-o changes made. The finSl 

 process is to boil a brine solution made by adding 14 ozs. of salt to the 

 gallon of fresh water, and pour it over the olives. The olives should be 

 kept under the brine, otherwise those exposed to the air blacken. This 

 also applies to the olives when in the lye. Again, the vessels used in 

 the pickling process should either be Avooden, glass, or earthenware. 

 Metallic vessels should not be used. "When bottling the olives, take them 

 from the tub or crock and fill the bottles Avith them, and then pour in a 

 freshly-boiled brine solution of similar strength to the last until the 

 olives are covered, after which cork tightly. Should the olives become 

 very soft and break up into a mushy consistency, it indicates that the 

 lye was too strong, or the olives remained in it too long. 



St.^tistical Information and Comment on Same. 

 With the exception of South Australia, none of the States manufac- 

 ture olive oil to any extent. In Victoria, olive oil has been made at the 

 Dookie AgTicultural College for 30 years or more ; the olivetum of about 



