204 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



held as a valuable product, and Lecce and Bari, in 

 regard to the condition of the rest of the kingdom 

 they belong to, may be considered as two prosperous 

 provinces. 



** The olives of which the Gallipoli oil is made are 

 never gathered, but allowed to drop in their maturity 

 from the tree on the ground, where they are picked 

 up chiefly by women and children and carried to the 

 mill. 



"The machinery employed in expressing the oil is 

 of the rudest kind, and no doubt numerous improve- 

 ments might be introduced, not only into this branch 

 but into that of cultivating the olive-tree. The pea- 

 santry, however, and in the kingdom of Naples those 

 who stand higher in the scale of fortune and rank, are 

 too often but boors in intellect, are obstinate in their 

 attachment to old practices, arid are apt, when any of 

 these are reprehended, to stop discussion by saying 

 * Faccio come faceva la buorianima di mio padre, 

 e do basta (I do as my father of blessed memory 

 did before me, and that's enough). 



*' The poor people of the country make culinary 

 uses of the same oil that is exported, and which in 

 England is only used in manufactures or burnt in 

 lamps ; but in the houses of the gentry I 'have often 

 tasted oil prepared with more care, which was truly 

 delicious, being equal to that of Sorrento, Vico, and 

 Massa, or even to the best oils of Tuscany or 

 Provence/' 



Rape orNapus, a species of brassica, is very much 

 cultivated throughout France and the Netherlands 

 for its seeds, which yield an excellent oil for burning. 

 It is likewise raised in large quantities in the isle of 

 Ely and other parts of England. 



This oil, which is principally used for lamps, is 

 known in France under the name of Colza oil. In 



