10 THE OLIVE. 



will have fallen to the ground of its own accord. The 

 wliole is then gathered up together, and accordingly 

 yields an inferior oil with a rancid "flavour. Generally 

 speaking, on the whole stretch of coast between Bordi- 

 ghera and the Esterel only oil of inferior quality' is pro- 

 duced, such as is used for lubricating or in the manu- 

 facture of soap. The finest oil of the ^Riviera comes from 

 the province of Porto Mauritzio. The variety of Olive 

 grown there is called "Taggiasca", because the romantic 

 little town of Taggia near San Remo is the centre of 

 its cultivation. In the south of Itah' the oil of Apulia 

 is liiglily esteemed. Rut it has not enjoyed its reputation 

 for very long, as formerly even Apulian oil was as bad, 

 and tasted as rancid as other Italian kinds. For in Apulia 

 from time immemorial slovenly methods of cultivating 

 the Olive have prevailed, and the oil presses used were 

 so bad that an ancient model found in Pompeii was 

 considered an improvement and actually adopted in several 

 ]ilaces. 



In order to yield the best table-oil the berries must 

 be freshly gathered and carefully selected. They are 

 then spread out in thin layers on frames, where they are 

 dried in the air or b)' artificial heat, until they shrivel. 

 When they have lost some of their moisture b^' this process, 

 they are sent to the mill where the stones are separated 

 from the pulp, which is then placed in bast or jute sacks 

 and carried to the press. Here the purest salad-oil, "olio 

 vergine", trickles out. Then by the application of gra- 

 dually increasing pressure the "superfine" and "fine" qua- 

 lities are expressed. Once again the pulp is returned to 



