OLIVE OF ECONOMIC PLANTS. 297 



It is considered by some Bible commentators to be one of tlie 

 " willows of the brook." The whole of the plant is poisonous, 

 and it is recorded that soldiers in Spain were poisoned through 

 their meat being roasted on spits made of the peeled stem. 



Oleaster [Ekvagmis angustifolia and E. orientalis, now con- 

 sidered as one species under the name of E. hortensis), a 

 small tree of the Oleaster family (ElseagnaceaB), growing from 

 16 to 20 feet high, having hoary willow-like leaves, and small 

 yellow flowers, which perfume the air for a considerable distance. 

 It is a native of Southern Europe and Western Asia, forming a 

 scrub in the desert. The berries are dried by the Arabs and 

 made into cakes, and are supposed to have formed part of the 

 merchandise that the Ishmeelites carried into Egypt. The berries 

 are known by the name of Trebizond Dates. 



Olibanum. {Sec Frankincense.) 



Olive {Olea europma), a small tree of the Olive family (Olea- 

 ceae). Although this receives the specific name of curoiocea, yet it 

 is doubtful whether it was originally native of Europe ; but it 

 is well known to be a native of Western Asia. It is recorded 

 to have been introduced into Italy (578 B.C.) It is a small, 

 shrub-like, branching evergreen tree, somewhat spiny, having 

 smooth or slightly hoary stiff leaves, about the size and shape of 

 tea-leaves, producing in their axils tufts of small white flowers, 

 followed by an oblong dru23e or berry-like fruit, bluish black 

 when ripe. It is a very long-lived tree, growing in the most 

 barren dry places, and is extensively cultivated in all countries 

 bordering on the Mediterranean. Olive Oil is obtained by 

 expression from the pulp of the fruit, and is imported to this 

 country from Italy and other ports of the Mediterranean. 

 Salad or Florence Oil comes in flasks enclosed in wickerwork. 

 The green unripe fruits are jDickled, and form a considerable 

 article of trade. The oil produced from the olive plantations of 

 Palestine formed a lucrative article of trade with the Tyrians. 

 In 1 Kings it is stated that Solomon gave Hiram, King of 

 Tyre, "twenty measures of pure oil." In the present day 

 Hebron is celebrated for its Olive orchards. Eecent travellers 



