THE OLIVE 131 



AVlience it is clear tliat :ii the l)er]"y tlie qaaiitity of water after 

 tlie teiitli of Se])tei)il)ei' diiiiinislies oi-aduallv. From o9.7'> ])er cent, 

 it falls 10 48.00 by the end of February thus losiiiii; about ID per 

 cent, or one-fifth of its weia,"1{t. The percentag^e of oil, es])eeially of the 

 pulj), in(*i'eas(\'^ notably from the (Mid of September to the cud of 

 November, but after this time the increase is smalL The Italian 

 country iolk luive a i)roverl) Avhich iiistlv savs: ''At Santa Reiia- 

 i'ata (8 Oct.) every olive Ixm'I'v is oiled." From this tinu^ tlic ] ulp 

 grows softer, and squeezed between llie thumb and iingiM', some lit- 

 tle irlobules of oil can be s(hmi. 



Bv the investigations (^f Sioiior llarz, of Vienna, contirm^'d by 

 th(]se of Roussille, it has been shown that the fatiu\^s of the olive is 

 formed in little special cells of secretion precisely as the cliloro])hyl 

 or i>:reeii colorino- matter is evolved and these are distributed thi'ouu'h 

 tlie berrv side bv side. When the iruit is still vouni>' these cells 

 contain a material which is not i'atty, nor is it starch, or any oi the 

 hydrates of caibon similar to these substances but instead is charged 

 v^dth nitrogen and contains a substance which in the process of ripe- 

 ning;, takes on the charactei^ of a tou^h gum, wax, and fat. Finallv 

 this com])oun(l material, cis maturity apj)roaches, licjuifies becomes 

 oil ajid workino; from the insi(l(\ outwards, the meinbi'anes of the 

 little cells themselves are gradually dissi^lved and the berry is idled 

 with oil. 



Messrs. iioussille and Funaro have also discovcM'ed that while tlu^ 

 fatty material of the pul[) is always on the increase up to maturity, 

 that of the leaves on the other hand, is almost constant and always 

 in such quantity as to overthrow the belief that tliere may l)e any 

 connection whatever between them. The former nndoubtedlv is 

 formed in the berry as Harz discovered by microsco])ical observa- 

 tion. 



Funaro has further proved that the sugar of the leaves only 

 appears when the oily substance is perfected, that is to say when the 

 plant is near the term of its vegetative period and the fruit is well 



