172 OLEA EUEOP^EA 



commonly known as Olives, are remarkable for the large quantity 

 of fixed oil contained in their pulpy portion or sarcocarp. Thus, 

 this portion when the olives are quite ripe yields about 70 per cent, 

 of oil, and 25 per cent, of water. 



The mode of extracting olive oil is somewhat modified in 

 different countries, but consists essentially in submitting the 

 crushed ripe fruit to moderate pressure. In France the finest 

 oil is procured by crushing the fruit in the mill immediately after 

 it is gathered, and then submitting the paste thus obtained, which 

 is placed in coarse bags, to moderate pressure in a screw-press. 

 The oil thus expressed is conveyed through tubs or other 

 receptacles containing water, from the surface of which it is 

 subsequently skimmed. This first product has a greenish tint, 

 and is called Virgin Oil. After the oil has ceased to flow, the cake 

 or marc is removed from the bags, broken up with the hand, 

 moistened with boiling water, and submitted to increased pres- 

 sure. The products are water, and oil of a second quality, which 

 separates by standing. With the view of increasing the yield of 

 oil, the olives are sometimes allowed to undergo incipient fermenta- 

 tion by being placed in heaps for a long time before they are 

 pressed. The quality of the oil is, however, by this mode of pro- 

 cedure, much deteriorated; it is termed by the French Huile 

 fermentee. A still inferior quality of oil is obtained by submitting 

 the residues to pressure. 



Various kinds of olive oil are known in commerce, as Provence oil, 

 Florence, Gallipoli, Spanish, Sicily, &c. The Provence oil is the 

 most esteemed. Italy produces annually about thirty-three million 

 gallons of olive oil, representing a value of 8,000,000 sterling. 

 The annual production of France has been estimated at about 

 five and a half million gallons. The value of the oil imported into 

 this country in 1872 was about 1,200,000. From Italy we received 

 about one half of the whole quantity, from Spain about one fifth, 

 and the remainder from other countries bordering on the 

 Mediterranean. 



General Characters and Composition. Olive oil, which is also 

 called salad oil and sweet oil, is an unctuous liquid of a pale 



