10 



OLIVE OFL AND ITS SUBSTITUTES. 



Table I, prepared from the report of the Bureau of Statistics, Treas- 

 ury Department, for 1900 (p. 289), gives the importations of edible 

 olive oils, which pay a duty of 50 cents per gallon, and the valuation 

 of these oils. According to this table the Italian oil is much cheaper 

 than the French product, the average difference in price being about 

 60 cents per gallon. This difference is partly due to the packages in 

 which the oils are shipped. The Italian oils are shipped largely in 

 bulk or in tin cans, while the French oils are nearly always bottled 

 and labeled in France. Of 27 samples of Italian oils furnished by the 

 Treasury Department for examination, one was in bottle, one in tin, 

 and the remainder in bulk. Of 27 samples of French oils from the 

 same source, 17 were in labeled bottles and 10 were in bulk. Another 

 reason for the lower average price of Italian oils is that a large amount 

 of low-grade oil is imported. The price of the high-grade oils from 

 both countries is about the same. 



Table I shows that Italian oils are valued at about $1 per gallon and 

 French oils at $1.60; adding 50 cents per gallon for duty to each of 

 these would make their values $1.50 and $2.10, respectively. Accord- 

 ing to B. M. Lelong" the cost of production of California oil is $1.88 

 per gallon; adding to this 50 cents per gallon for bottling would make 

 the actual cost of preparing the oils for market $2.38. 



Table II gives the retail price per gallon of 83 samples of commer- 

 cial oils, of which 67 are unadulterated and 16 adulterated. The fig- 

 ures on the unadulterated oils are in much the same ratio as the prices 

 of the imported oils given in Table I and the actual cost of manufacture 

 of the California oils as stated above. 



TABLE II. Retail price per gallon of commercial samples. 



The-c lio-ures show that California oils retail at a slightly higher 

 price than French oils and French oils at a slightly higher figure than 

 Italian oil-. Referring to the price of adulterated oils, it will he seen 

 that price is not always, or even generally, an indication of purity. 

 The California oils show very little variation in price. This is due to 

 the fact that all of the oil is of the highest quality. With both French 

 and Italian oils some very low grades are placed on the market. The 

 best grade- of all three varieties of oil bring about the same price. 



Report of the Seen -tary ..f tin- California State i;,,anl <>f A.irriniltuiv. ls<7. 



