Olive Groves' ol 



[Harper'3 Magazine for January ] 

 The longer one remains in Mentone, the 

 stronger grows attachment to the olive j 

 js. But they do not seem fit places 

 e young, whose gay voices resound: 

 gh their gray aisles; neither are they 

 ie old, who need the cheer anil warmth 

 But they are for th" middle- 



- are beyond tJ 

 y^ched the peace 01 . 

 aiembered, hard-worked middle- 

 , t he olivea of Mentone are small, 

 f^d only for making oil. We saw 

 ^ athered; men were beating the 

 vith long poles, while old women 

 n collected the dark purple ber- 

 ,ced them in sacks, which the 

 ...jnkeys bore to the. mill. The oil 

 ire venerable and picturesque little 

 i of stone, placed in the ravin, 

 is a 



.. 



3 > n ' ' ^~'- 



.0 ; 



.;-.. will - -' be one '. 



V ,,f Hie Stale. The 



..-.a to 860.-- 



000,000 annual! v. jalifoniiu can p- 

 ,,ud \Vltll tliis p' 

 (llitU'i;: ui 1 hj ' ll?t ' ' ,, 



shou.'i be s t tho bi^t v 



tart. 



Almost daily there are Inquiries 

 rloni parts gf the country for reliable nu. -, 

 serymeu who deal in olive trees an'' cut 



whieh slimv that the people arc- 

 steadily realizing tUe value of this most ex- 

 cellent Iruil, ,- 'ined to be one of 

 the reat sources of wealth to the State. It 

 is time to be looking around for cuttings for 



ring planting in order to secure all 

 that are needed. The MKsiou and the 

 ijiicen olive are the principal varieties now 

 cultivated In this part of tho country, but if 

 other kinds arc wanted there is time en- 

 before the planting Beaso^"* < *iJ?H>iBXthcai 

 from France, Hj.iviu or ' -.- 



^ HEW vAirli .ifcv 



Frank A. Klmball writes me that he .finds a 

 great difference in time of ripening in different 



trees in the orchard of the old Mission ) --some au _^ llus= vl , r 



trees perfecting their fruit in October, while wnere there is a stream of water. vVe 

 other trees are two months later. This would Baited one on the side hill: its only light 

 indicate that according to the position and soil , am8 f rom the open door, and its interior 

 we should plant the variety adapted to it. Ma- ^ a de a picture which Gerard Douw might 

 turity seems to depend npon the power of heat well have painted. The great oil jars; th 

 that acts upon the tree. Each kind requires a ^ hearth and oven, the earthen j Q g s > 

 different amount of heat. Unless there are ane j n2 lamps with floating wicks, and 

 distinct varieties at the Mission orchard Mr. ?"%., re9 O f the men moving about, made 

 Klmball speaks of, the locality and situation, " le . u = The fru { t wag first 



soil, moisture and degree of heat received in f picturesque .ne. i ne ir 

 the aggregate, by the trees maturing their frushe.l by stone rollers, th * he 

 fruit iu'October, should be observed, studied -irned by water-power; the pulp, sa ratea 

 and made models of, for we should suppose <. warm water, was then placed, u 

 that all the circumstances contributing to allow t ro pe baskets, which were piled one 



the tree a long rest, after Us season's work, will ^ tne other, and the whole subjected to 

 be in favor of its longevity. 



To mention a few of the early r 

 varieties, which will reach our coast 

 and, as to the share for the University 



f oruia and Prof. Hilgard personally, will re- 

 ceive due care for future practical results, there 

 will be among them the Manzcmillo olive, re- 

 quiring only 3,400 degrees of heat (while the 

 Mission olive needs some 4,000 ceatigrade de- 

 grees.) The Mamanilfo fruit reaches seven 

 grammes of weight, is excellent for pickling 

 and yields good oil. r , 



The Sedonvillo olive, a small fruit, but of ex- 

 cellent qualities and requiring likewise on*' 

 3,400 degrees ef heat. 



The Nevariilo bianco, a cop". <ns bearer >. 

 pretty large fruit, yielding abundant and exc< I- 

 lent oil. 



The Empellre, the principal variety of the. 

 northern Spanish provinces, multiplied chiefly 

 ; by grafting, an excellent bearer, yielding o , 

 prime quality, resists frost, and, therefoi^n 

 doubtless of ereat value to the coulei regions of- 

 California. 



The Gordal, as hardy a tree as our Missj.- V 

 yielding one of the best pickling olives, whl U 

 holds equally good oil. 



The Verdejo, a tree having the same^m^ts ^ 



Qir > ' ' 



Olives. 



Cbncoiii F' 



John Garcia, whop" 

 located about two mi. 

 growing two olive tree- . 

 about six years ago. At th 

 were ttfo years old. They n'- 

 .j gallons of fruit to e(U 



..eeiion increasing in yield in . 



an age of 25 or SO years. Mr. Garcia ex- 

 periences no difficulty m their growth, 

 believe the tree, if planted '- " 



lanlities.Vould become very profitable to 

 the farmer. Surely many of our farmers 

 would not miss an acre of land set out m 

 this valuable tree, the revenue from which 

 would more than twice exceed that of gram, 

 including their cost and the years they are 

 not bearing. Beside the industry it wou d 

 -'u un if generally grown would amply 

 % "e whose enterprise largely cou- 

 iieir growth in tliia county. 



ulV'K CULTURE. 



of frost resistance and yielding fruit ali&e gt-ad O 

 for preserving as for oil. 



Of late maturing trees the Marvileno, ylti >J 

 ing enormous sized olives, and some relative' 



of Filtering or Clarifying 



^Chis is a simple process. 



to our Corneniclo Cornicabra varieties, tnd^ D m ethod is to hava a series of 



the Picvdo, yielding ohvea twenty-five nett*.' 

 '----- - 



cent larger than the 

 xnents. 



latter, will be impreve 

 J 



ano; 



^.feer of different varieties will 



. 



j;r e or six boxes, one above the other, 



Vfcb. w'ith cotton battiag in thebottorn, 



It will sometimes form in the bottles 

 like g'.obules of water, or im films set" 

 tling to the bottom as sediment, and 

 when shaken will give it a muldy ap' 

 peorence, which with tho common pre- 

 judice against all table oils that are 

 not'perfectly clear, ^ renders it unsal- 

 able, as consumers consult more the 

 pye than the taste. The oil is better 

 sjen new and fresh, and what is gains 

 el in the appearance by its remaining 

 a logger time in the tank, is more than 

 lost in its freshness and delicacy of 

 flavor. 



To sum up the cost of the machinery 

 in making of the oil, we have as fol- 

 lows; Drier, $150; mill, 8250; two 

 presses, $500: two tanks, $200; filterers, 

 $50; corker, tin foiler, $50; wooden 

 building, $400. Total, $1600. 



J>ICKLiH<l. 



There are different methods of pre- 

 paring the fruit for pickles. The one 

 adopted in this locality is as follows; 

 "The berries are put in fresh water, 

 which should be changed every day, 

 for forty or fifty days, then put in salt 

 brine, not very strong, and after re- 

 maining a few days, drawn off, a 

 second brine substituted, made nearly 

 strong enough to bear an egg. The 

 water should be boiled. Keep the 

 olives well covered with the brine. 

 Great care should be taken in handling 

 the berries not to bruise them. The 

 easiest plan when picking from the 

 i tree ie to drop them in water. They 

 are usually picked when thay begin to 

 turn a purplish color." ^ ^^f 



Another meffioa," copied from the 

 Pacific liural Press: "Pick the olives 

 as soon as they begin to show a reddish 

 cast and rinse them in clean water. 

 Then t-ke one ounce of concentrated 

 ye and dissolve in water. One^third 

 of this solution put in water enough to 

 : pover one gallon of olives. After a 

 'day or two pour off this water.; and add 

 The most | auofchei . ] ye of the same strength. This 

 may be repeated once more, as five or 

 six days are consumed in taking out 

 the bitterness with the lye. The lye 



jowl, has 



T planted 



ie they 



"wut 



We 

 sufficient 



different varieties win >me . . ~ , , , 



jsted, fi't will be a, welcome la^di- ;'>,he oil passing the sixth will be )eau- g ] lou -, ( j ij e U3e ,i ur ,til the fruit suits the 



'Jive planters the meat*. of , tifully c i ear an a ready for market. 

 a healthy dev-oyurent of the industry, thfei,u. " J 

 ortance of which seems to be understood, al&use cylindrical tin 

 7 ^rff. in Press an " 



Drying: Olive*. 



ue berri"are dried before crushinE/WH .. 

 necessary to evaporate a portion of the waterT 



oration has already taken place.no dryin-. 

 needed after picking. This late picking is\ 

 best. If dried by the sun it requires abok. 

 fourteen days. This plan cannot be depend"* 

 upon, excepting jears when Irnit is earlv ~ 

 and we have continuous sunlight, with i 

 ately warm weather, liy artificial heat rang- 

 ing from 110 to 130 ", the drying can be done 

 in less man forty-eight hours. The crushiu"- 

 and pressing should follow without delav 

 that is, the fruit taken from the drier in 

 morning should be crushed and pressed W 

 same day. Long Intervals or delays in the 

 process from picking the fruit to expressing the 

 oil tends to rancidity. To make perfect oil re- 

 quires a perfect system in the whole manawe- 

 ment. The capacity j)t the press, the crusher, 

 the drier, and the number of pickers should 

 correspond or be about equal ; all fru ! t picked 

 during the ds- ould be in at night, cleaned 

 the following ujornmjr, and go into the drier 

 immediately after the previous day's dryin"- is 

 taken out. The heat or temperature of the 

 drier ought to be so graded as to comn'..te tue 

 work in forty- c-isrht hours, and it is beUer that 

 it should be under 130 thaa abo ve. E. jomy 

 win necessitate in the business a system in the 

 different branches of the process admitting of 

 no delays from the beginning to the end. 1- 

 wooil Cooper in Santa Barltam Priss. 



I 



f- 



vessels holding 



about three gallons each, one fitting in 

 the Bother ': in tiers of three, with fine 

 wire sieves in the bottom of each. On 

 these sieves I place two or three layers 

 of cotton batting. The oil. is passed 

 from one tier to the other until clear. 

 The clarify itig can be done by the sun- 

 light, also, it can be bleached and made 

 much ligtu .. ia 3olor, but not without 

 injuring it. When it is adulterated 

 artificial heat is necessary in the 

 process. When once heated it loses 

 a part of the nutty flavor, and is liable 

 to become rancid when exposed to the 

 air. It should be kept in an ordinary 

 cool place, not exposed to sunlight or 

 heat, neither should it be handled any 

 more than is absolutely necessary in 

 the filtering and bottling, and should 

 not be shaken after bottling. The 

 mucilage contained in the oil will not 



taste. The olives are put in pure fresh 

 water until the alkali is well removed. 

 This can be ascertained by the color of 

 the water and by tho taste. In salting, 

 use the best Liverpool "coarse fine" 

 salt, the amount* boing about ten | 

 to the barrel of olives, wator 

 being used to cover the fruit. 

 Barrel up tight and keep in a cool 

 place. All the process should be con- 

 dujted in the dark, as the light is apt 

 to injure the color." 



Still another method, which I have 

 copied from the work of Prof. A. Cout- 

 ance, and translate as follows: "Take 

 green olives and after having bruised 

 or broken them slightly, soak in water 

 for nine days, changing the water each 



day. At the end of this time they will 

 have lost their bitter taste and can then 

 be put in brine. 'Hot water acts more 



rapidly." 



"The celebrated olives pickled after' 



separate lot- a long time after the oil isf (]j manii / <.f Picliolini are put under 

 ready for use, and, as it does not in-, n treatment of lye made more alkaline 

 'jure it, is not. therefore objectionable, by the addi'lion of quick lime. After 



1 paying the olives a certain length of 



