OLIVE OIL 



4370 



OLIVER 



has a somber appearance, described by Eliza- 

 beth Barrett Browning in the following lines 

 in her poem, An Island: 



. . wan, prrey olive-woods, which seem 

 The fittest foliage for a dream. 



The fruit* vary in size from an acorn to a plum, 

 are oval in shape, and contain a hard, two- 

 celled stone. When ripe the fruit is black. 

 Olive trees are slow of growth; they do not 

 come into profitable bearing until the seventh 

 year, and into full bearing until about thirty 

 years of age. They are very fruitful, however, 

 and an olive branch is a symbol of peace and 

 plenty. Olive wood, which is yellowish, beau- 

 tifully streaked with dark lines, takes an excel- 

 lent polish and is used in the manufacture of 

 many small fancy articles. 



Olive Culture. Olives are usually raised from 

 tips, and often from layers, suckers, grafts and 

 buds. Warm, dry climates are best for olive 

 culture. A rich, well-drained soil is most suit- 

 able, and the trees require a fertilizer. They 

 are set about thirty feet apart, and the land 

 must be kept well cultivated. 



Olives have been grown in what is now the 

 United States for about 150 years, and the crop 

 yields more than $2,250,000 annually, most of 

 it being produced in California. One of the 

 best-known California varieties is the Mission, 

 so named because the original tree of the va- 

 riety was grown at the San Diego Mission. 



Uses. About sixty per cent of the olive crop 

 is used for making olive oil. This is an impor- 

 tant food product, as two tablespoonfuls of it 

 have as much nutriment as a pound of beef- 

 steak (see OLIVE OIL). The fruit, too bitter to 

 eat direct from the tree, is pickled, when either 

 green or ripe. The process takes from thirty 

 to sixty days. Green olives have little food 

 value, but are eaten as a relish. Black, or ripe, 

 olives are nutritious. The people of the United 

 States and Canada consume on an average more 

 than 11,000,000 worth every year. 



OLIVE OIL, a clear, pale green or beautiful 

 golden yellow, odorless oil, extensively used 

 throughout the world as food, as medicine, and 

 in the arts and manufactures. In America it is 

 sometimes called sweet oil) particularly by the 

 older generation. It is extracted from the fruit 

 of the olive tree, and the methods used every- 

 where are more or less the same. The fruit is 

 crushed into pulp, then put under pressure, and 

 the extracted oil is caught in tubs half filled 

 with water. All impurities sink to the bottom, 

 and the oil taken from the top, when filtered, 



clarified and bottled, is a pale-green fluid known 

 as the highest tirade of olive oil. Further pres- 

 sure of pulp produces inferior grades. Peanut 

 oil, cottonseed oil and adulterated olive oil have 

 been sold as pure olive oil, but pure food laws 

 in the United States now make such practices 

 illegal, as the labels must state exactly the 

 composition of the contents of each bottle. 



One of the chief uses of olive oil is in dress- 

 ings for salads. It is also used in place of but- 

 ter, in cooking, and in some countries, particu- 

 larly Italy, is eaten on bread. In medicine it 

 is used as a mild laxative and as a food for 

 poorly-nourished people. Like all fats, its fuel 

 value is high, being 4,080 calories per pound 

 (see CALORIE), and because of this high fuel 

 value it is a very important food. It is also used 

 in preparing liniments, ointments and plasters. 

 Olive oil is used to some extent as a lubricant. 

 Much of it is employed in the manufacture of 

 soaps and tobacco. Ancient Greeks and Ro- 

 mans used it extensively as an article of the 

 toilet. 



The best grades of olive oil are made in 

 Southern France, those of Italy ranking sec- 

 ond. The United States imports yearly about 

 6,000,000 gallons of edible olive oil. For de- 

 scription of the olive, see that title. See ADUL- 

 TERATION OF FOODSTUFFS AND CLOTHING. 



OLIVER, FRANK (1853- ), a Canadian 

 journalist and statesman, founder and owner of 

 the Edmonton Bulletin, and Minister of the 

 Interior in the Laurier Ministry from 1905 to 

 1911. Oliver was born in Peel County, Onta- 

 rio, but when a young man removed to the 

 West, first to Winnipeg and later to Edmonton. 

 With the development of the Northwest, espe- 

 cially of the Peace River Valley, Oliver's name 

 will always be associated. In 1880 he estab- 

 lished the Edmonton Bulletin, which he made 

 one of the most influential Liberal dailies in 

 Canada. From 1883 to 1888 he served as a 

 member of the old Northwest Council, and 

 from 1888 to 1896 sat in the Northwest Assem- 

 bly, which took the place of the Council. Dur- 

 ing these years he grew in reputation and in- 

 fluence, both of which spread farther after his 

 election to the Dominion House of Commons 

 in 1896. 



In 1905 Sir Wilfrid Laurier chose him to suc- 

 ceed Sir Clifford Sifton as Minister of the Inte- 

 rior and Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Oliver 

 continued the system begun by Sifton to induce 

 immigration to Canada, and the large increase 

 in the population of the Northwest was due in 

 a considerable measure to his personal efforts. 



