OLIVES IN MALAGA. 719 



two or three days durinpf the interval ; at the end of that time they 

 then nialte a brine of salt and water, and in order to prove the sufli- 

 ciency of salt they place a fresh egg in the brine; if the egg floats on 

 the surface, the condition of the brine is good, and they then submerge 

 the olives in such quantities that they will all be covered. They then 

 make a kind of lattice-work of bamboo canes, the canes being split in two 

 parts and fastened together, and these are, when arranged, placed on 

 the surface of the water to keep the olives from floating to the top. 

 The olives are then allowed to remain in this brine for at least twenty- 

 five or thirty days before they are ready for use, or longer if they are 

 not required for sale and shipment. 



After being taken out of the brine, in order to please the taste of the 

 Spanish people, they are frequently seasoned according to taste of 

 those who are going eat them, by adding garlic, laurel leaves, thyme, 

 or other herbs. f 



Oil. — The olives intended for making oil, after gathering are placed in 

 small compartments under cover, from which place they are taken to 

 the mill to be ground. These mills in the country are of the most prim- 

 itive kind, their capacity being about 25, 40, to 100 fanegas per diem. 

 From the mill where they are ground the paste that remains is put into 

 esparto mats or bags and then placed in presses of different kinds, hy- 

 draulic and those more ancient with the old-fashioned wooden screw, 

 which extract through pressure all the oil, and from these presses the 

 oil runs through little gutters into a tub or receptacle of large propor- 

 tions. They then pour in boiling water, which separates the oil from the 

 water contained and extracted from the olives themselves. The oil is 

 allowed to remain at least one month, in order to settle before being 

 drawn off for market, but the longer it remains in the tub or vat the 

 clearer it becomes. 



Oil is always moved from country to city in goat-skins (prepared 

 and made for the purpose) by mules and donkeys. 



Maturity. — Trees commence fruiting at eight or ten years. 



Yield. — There is great diversity of opinions upon this subject — de- 

 pends upon size and age of tree; I can find no one who will venture an 

 opinion. 



Planting. — The trees are planted 12 yards apart, and propagated by 

 planting branches. 



Insect pests. — There are none. 



H. C. Maeston, 



Consul. 



United States Consttlate, 



Malaga, December 6, 1889. 



