OLIVES. 205 



In Europe the method in general use for gathering the 

 olives is to knock them off with long poles, and then the 

 women, children, cripples, and old men pick them up from 

 the ground. This is a very poor plan, as it not only bruises 

 the fruit and renders it liable to rot, but the contact with 

 the earth is apt to give an unpleasant taste to the oil. 

 It is much better in all respects, even as regards economy, 

 to pick them by hand. 



Elwood Cooper, the well known California (Santa Bar- 

 bara) horticulturist, tells us of a method of collecting the 

 olives of his own contrivance, "by which an active man 

 can pick four hundred pounds a day." 



"I have," says he, "arranged, on a ranch wagon, plat- 

 forms with ladders securely fastened, so that the fruit from 

 the different heights of even large trees can be gathered 

 from the wagon, which is driven along the rows, and one 

 half of the tree picked from each side. This plan obvi- 

 ates the necessity of moving ladders, climbing, etc., and 

 relieves the pickers from the labor of carrying the fruit, 

 as the sacks containing the same are always at hand on the 

 platform. The leaves and imperfect berries are separated 

 by passing the whole through a winnowing mill; this 

 process leaves the fruit in the best possible condition 

 preparatory to manufacturing the oil." 



This latter process is exceedingly simple. To allow the 

 water to evaporate and to concoct the mucilage, the olives 

 are spread out in beds about three inches thick and left 

 for several days. Then the fruit is reduced to a pulp, 

 placed in sacks of coarse linen, and subjected to a light 

 pressure. 



The oil first expressed is the purest and highest priced ; 

 the cake left is moistened in water and again pressed, a 

 second-rate oil being the result, as now the oil of the 

 kernels, under the heavier pressure, mingles with the oil 



