OLEIN.E. III. OLEA. 



old ; in 6 years it begins to repay the expense of cultivation, 

 even if the ground is not otherwise cropped ; after that period, 

 in good years, the produce is the surest source of wealth to the 

 farmer, as the tree rivals the oak in longevity ; so that the 

 common proverb here is, that if you want to leave a lasting 

 inheritance to your children, plant an Olive. There is an 

 old Olive tree near Gerecomio, which last year yielded 240 

 English quarts of oil ; yet its trunk is quite hollow, and its empty 

 shell seems to have barely enough hold in the ground to secure 

 it against mountain storms. Maria Graham's Three Months 

 near Rome, p. 4-9. The culture of the Olive abroad may be 

 said to resemble that of grass orchards in Britain. It is pro- 

 pagated by suckers, large cuttings, or truncheons, planted in 

 trenches, four feet deep, into which it is still the custom to 

 deposit stones for encouraging moisture about the roots, as 

 described by Virgil (Georg. ii. 346.) It is also propagated by 

 chips of the root, in the following manner. An old tree is cut 

 down, and the stock is cut into pieces of nearly the size and 

 shape of a mushroom, and which, from that circumstance, are 

 called novoli. Care is taken that each novolo shall have a 

 small portion of bark. After being dipped in manure, the 

 novoli are planted thick in a bed, and covered with earth to the 

 depth of three inches; they soon throw up shoots, and are trans- 

 planted at the end of one year, and in three more are fit to be 

 finally removed to the Olive plantation. With protection 

 against frost, it may be maintained against a wall in the latitude 

 of London. In Devonshire some trees have stood many winters 

 as standards, though without ripening their fruit. 



Olive oil is drawn from the Olives in Provence and Italy, 

 by presses or mills. The fruit is gathered, when at the utmost 

 maturity, in November, when it begins to redden. They are 

 put under the mill as soon as gathered ; and care is taken that 

 the mill-stones are set at such a distance, that they do not crush 

 the nut of the olives. The pulp covering the stone, and con- 

 taining the oil in its cells, being thus prepared, is put into bags 

 made of rushes, and moderately pressed ; and thus is obtained, in 

 considerable quantity, a greenish, semi-transparent oil, which, 

 from its superior excellence, is called Virgin oil. The marc 

 remaining after the first pressure is broken to pieces, is mois- 

 tened with water, and returned to the press, upon which there 

 flows out a mixture of oil and water, which spontaneously sepa- 

 rates from the rest. This oil, though inferior to the former, is 

 of good quality, and fit for the table. The marc is again 

 broken to pieces, soaked in water, and fermented in large cis- 

 terns, and is again submitted to the press, by which is obtained a 

 third oil, that is valuable to the soap-boiler and other manufac- 

 turers. The Spanish Olives, instead of being gathered, are 

 beaten down, so that the ripe and unripe ones are mixed ; and 

 to these are added such as have fallen of themselves, and are, 

 therefore, more or less decayed. All these are thrown together 

 in a heap, and soon ferment. The olives in this state are ground 

 and pressed, and thus is produced, with little trouble, a large 

 quantity of oil, of a rank and disagreeable flavour. It is possible 

 that the Spaniards derive the process from the Moors. We 

 find the same method described in Jackson's History of Morocco. 

 The best oil comes from Provence ; but that which we have in 

 this country is generally from Lucca and Florence. When 

 recently drawn, virgin oil has a bland, almost mucilaginous 

 taste, with a slight, but agreeable flavour ; it freezes at about 

 36 or 38" Fahr., and this disposition to freeze, renders it im- 

 proper for lamps. The oil is sometimes adulterated with the oil 

 of poppy-seed, and soon becomes rancid. 



Pickled Olives are prepared from unripe fruit, by repeatedly 

 steeping them in water, to which quicklime, or any alkaline 

 substance, is sometimes added, to shorten the operation. After- 

 wards they are soaked in pure water, and then taken out and 



bottled in salt and water, with or without an aromatic. They 

 are eaten abroad as a whet before, and during the principal 

 meals, and in this country chiefly as a dessert. They are sup- 

 posed to excite appetite, and promote digestion. The finest 

 kind of the prepared fruit is called by the merchants Picholini, 

 after one Picholino, an Italian, who first discovered the art of 

 pickling Olives. 



Medical properties and uses. The medicinal properties of 

 olive oil are those of a demulcent, emollient, and laxative. In 

 catarrh, and other pulmonary affections, it has been used as a 

 demulcent, in the form of an emulsion ; but the oil of almonds is 

 more generally employed. It is occasionally recommended to 

 be internally administered for worms, and to lubricate and 

 sheath the mucous membrane of the stomach from the action 

 of acid poisons. Olive oil enters into the composition of 

 plasters, liniments, cerates, ointments, and enemas. It is applied 

 externally to prevent the contagious influence of the plague. 



Far. ft, longifblia (Ait. hort. kew. 1. p. 13.) leaves linear- 

 lanceolate, flat, silvery beneath. Jj . F. Native of the south 

 of Europe. Lodd. hot. cab. t. 456. O. Gallica, Mill. diet, 

 no. 1 . The inhabitants of the south of France chiefly cultivate 

 this variety, from which they make the best oil. The young 

 fruit is also most esteemed when pickled. Of this there are 

 several sub-varieties. The long-leaved European Olive. 



Var. y, ferruginea (Ait. hort. kew. 1. p. 13.) leaves lanceo- 

 late, acute at both ends, shining and rusty beneath ; panicles 

 lateral. 1? . F. Native of the Cape of Good Hope and the 

 Mauritius. Perhaps a distinct species. 



Var. c, latifoUa (Ait. hort. kew. 1. p. 13.) leaves oblong, 

 flat, hoary beneath. Tj . F. Native of the south of Europe. 

 O. Hispanica, Mill. diet. no. 2. O. saliva, Bauh. pin. 472. 

 Blackw. t. 199. O'lea, Dodon. pempt. 821. This variety is 

 chiefly cultivated in Spain. The fruit is almost twice the size 

 of the Provence olive, or Var. ft, longifblia, but of a strong 

 rank flavour ; and the oil is too strong for most English palates. 



Var. e, obltqua (Ait. hort. kew. 1. p. 13.) leaves oblong, bent 

 obliquely, pale beneath. lj . F. Native of the south of 

 Europe. 



Var. , buxifblia (Ait. 1. c.) leaves oblong-ovate ; branches 

 spreading, divaricate. lj . F. Native of the south of Europe. 



Var. if, Cajctana (Pentagn. istit. 2. p. 19.) leaves ovate- 

 lanceolate ; flowers racemose. ^ . F. Native of the south of 

 Europe. 



* The following are the varieties of olice cultivated in Spain, 

 and described in Herrera agricult. gen. 1818. p. 351. by Don 

 Roxas Clemente y Rttbio. 



Var. 1. oca ta (Clem. 1. c.) leaves small; fruit small, obovate. 



Var. 2. ocalis (Clem. 1. c.) leaves small ; fruit oval, small, 

 very black. Ol. Eur. ovata, Gouan. 



Var. 3. tenax (Clem. 1. c.) leaves narrow, hardly silvery on 

 the back ; fruit tough. 



Var. 4. argentea (Clem. 1. c.) leaves middle-sized, silvery 

 beneath, but green and shining above ; fruit globose, middle- 

 sized, very black. O. Europ. prae'cox. Gouan. 



Var. 5. Arolensis (Clem. 1. c.) leaves obtuse, narrow, less 

 intensely green and shining above, and narrower than in 

 no. 8. Fruit rounder, black, mottled with white and violaceous 

 marks. 



Var. 6. ponuformis (Clem. 1. c.) fruit globose, larger than any 

 other variety, very black. Leaves broader and smoother than 

 in no. 9. O. Europ. sphae'rica, Gouan. 



Var. 7. regalis (Clem. 1. c.) branches less vertical than in 

 no. 9. ; leaves larger, having the nerves more prominent. Fruit 

 form of a filbert, black, more globose than in no. 9. Ol. 

 Europ. Hispanica, Roz. 



