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MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



the "bags, and again pressed. The oil from 

 it is nearly equal to the first, and may be 

 mixed with it. 



The stones having been reduced to a paste 

 by grinding under stones, are pressed in the 

 same way, and yield an uiferior oil, of a 

 harsh taste, and rannuig rapidly into a state 

 of rancidity. 



The quantity of oil which may be extracted 

 from a given weight of the fruit is stated by 

 M. Sieuve (Nouveau Cours d' Agriculture, 

 article Huile) as follows : 100 lbs. of sound 

 olives gave 76J lbs. of pidp, and 22 lbs. 

 stones. The 76^ lbs. of pulp, when pressed, 

 yielded 21;i lbs. of limpid oil of the first 

 quality. The stones, having been gi-ound, 

 gave 6 lbs. 14 oz. of kernel, and 14 lbs. 4 oz. 

 of woody fibre. The kernel and woody fibre 

 gave 5| lbs. of inferior oil. Together makuig 

 27 lbs. of oil from 100 lbs. of olives. 



The refuse of the manufacture foniis a 

 valuable manure. 



The above is a mere outline of the mode 

 of cultivating the olive, and of extracting the 

 oil. To enter fully into the subject would 

 occupy many sheets of paper ; and such de- 

 tailed infomiation is probably foreign to your 

 purpose, which, it is presumed, is to recom- 

 mend it to the attention of the South by pre- 

 senting for consideration its most important 

 features, and to go no farther into muuitiae 

 than may be necessary to an accurate knowl- 

 edge and correct appreciation of it. 



If, however, I am mistaken as to your 

 views, it will give me pleasure to i'ui-nish you, 

 hereafter, any farther details. 



To those seeking the fullest and most prac- 

 tical uiformatiou on this .subject, I would 

 recommend the perusal of the articles Oli- 

 vier, Huiles and MouUns in the Nouveau 

 Cours d'Agi-iculture, vol. xiii.. No. 8, Paris, 

 1809. They fonn a most excellent ti-eatise, 

 and are from the pen of Bosc, to whom I was 

 introduced at Paris, as one of the most able 

 and distinguished of then- agricultural writers. 

 Bosc has taken the articles of the celebrated 

 Abbe Rozier as his basis, but has reti'enched 

 from them much that was useless, and added 

 much that is valuable. Shoidd your State 

 Society be disposed to paU'ouize the olive — 

 and I trust that your Address will so uichne 

 them — a translation of tliese Essays, accom- 

 panied by two or three plates, which would 

 form a pamphlet of some 50 pages, will place 

 the public in possession of the best attainable 

 information — information not now existing in 

 an English dress, as far as I am aware. 



The experiment made by my father—who, 

 although 88 years no longer allow of liis tak- 

 ing an active part in field operations, is still 

 deeply interested in the subject — has proved 

 so satisfactory that it is my intention to pros- 

 ecute it on a larger scale. We have succeed- 

 ed perfectly in pickling the oUve, and in 

 making from it the finest oil I have ever 

 tasted. This season I expect to make sev- 

 eral hundred bottles of oil ; and if I am not 

 disappointed by a liurricane, I hope this win- 



(-ItOj 



ter to submit a sample for your critical judg- 

 ment. Having now about 250 ti'ees of vari- 

 ous ages, and mtending to increase them, I 

 hope in a few years to be able to test conclu- 

 sively the question of the olive culture in 

 Georgia. The experiment will not be a 

 cosily one, as the ground occupied by olives 

 is cultivated at the same time in other crops. 

 The following quotation from Columella, 

 v/ith which I will close this very long com- 

 munication, (in which I have without mercy 

 emptied out upon you my note-book,) is con- 

 solatory to the experimenter, and will, I am 

 sure, recommend " the first of all ti-ees " to 

 that large class of persons who, although hav- 

 ing theh full share of a desire for good things, 

 are equally adverse to labor and to risk : 



"Longeque ex omnibus alhp^hns minorem im- 

 pcnsann desidcrat olea, qua3 prima omnium arbo- 

 rum est, nam quamvisnon continuis annis sed fere 

 altero quoque fructum afferat eximia tamen ejus 

 ratio est, quod levi cidtu sustinetur, ei cvin se non 

 i'liduit, vix ullam impensam poscit. Sed et si- 

 quam recipit, subinde fnictusmtiltiplicat. Neg- 

 lecta compluribus annis non ut vinea deficit, 

 eoque ipso tempore aliquid etiam interim patri- 

 familias praestat, et cum adhibita cultura est, 

 uno anno emendatur. Qnai-e etiam nos in hoc 

 gcncrearboris diligentcr prcccipere censuimus."* 

 (Col. de re rustica, lib. v. cap. 7. 



Requesting that you will at all times com- 

 mand me whenever I can be useful to you, I 

 am with great respect and esteem, my dear 

 Su-, your obedient seiTant, 



J, HAMILTON COUPEE, 

 M. King, Esq, 



Statistical. — There ai'e employed in the 

 commerce of the Mississippi Valley 12,000 

 steamboats, the cost of which does not varv 

 far from $16,000,000. On them are em- 

 ployed more than 40,000 men, women and 

 boys. The annual expense of running the 

 boats is about twice their cost, say 32,000,000. 

 To this may be added about 4,000 fiat and 

 keel boats, employing 20,000 men at least. 

 The value of the annual commerce of the Mis- 

 sissippi Valley is estimated at $430,000,000. 

 The capital invested in vessels of all kuuls on 

 the great Northern Lakes is about $6,000,000, 

 or one-third of that invested in boats on the 

 western rivers. 



[* Translation. — The olive, though the first of all 

 ti-ees, requires much less care than any other, for 

 though it does not bear every year, but more gener- 

 ally eveiy other, it has this excellent peculiarity, that 

 it may be kept in good order with very little culture, and 

 when it is not bearing, causes hardly any expense, 

 though if it is then generously cared for, its yield 

 will afterward be greatly increased. And even if it 

 is neglected for many years, it does not die out like 

 the vine, but even then produces something for its 

 owner, and with proper treatment may be fully re- 

 covered in a single year. For these reasp?is it is my 

 opinion that we cannot bestow too much attention on 

 its culture. Ed. Farm. Lib.'] 



