ANALYSIS OF THE OLIVE. 



845 



The varieties of the white mulberry produce fruit of no 

 value, and are only cultivated for the silk worm. 



Oka E'lLTopea — 'Olive. 

 The olive is a low, branching evergreen tree, rising to 

 the height of twenty or thirty feet, with stiff, narrow, 

 bluish-green leaves. The fruit is a berried drupe, of ob- 

 long, spheroidal form ; hard, thick flesh, of a yellowish- 

 green color, turning black when ripe. The tree is a 

 native of Greece and the sea-coast ridges of Asia and 

 Africa ; it has been cultivated from time immemorial fosf 

 the oil expressed from its ripe fruit. Where cultivated, 

 it answers all the purposes of cream and butter, and en- 

 ters into every kind of cookery. Unripe olives are much 

 used as pickles, which, though distasteful at first, to most 

 persons, become by custom exceedingly grateful, promot- 

 ing digestion and increasing appetite. The ripe olive is 

 " crushed to a paste, when the oil is expressed through 

 coarse, hempen bags into hot water, from which the pure 

 oil is skimmed off. If the stone is crushed, the oil is infe- 

 rior. 



Muller has analysed the various parts of the olive tree 



Potassa, 



■WOOD 



20.60 



LEAVES. 



24.81 



FRUIT 



54.03 



Lime, 



63.02 



56.18 



15.72 



Magnesia, . 



.2.31 



5.18 



4.38 



Sulphuric Acid, 



3.09 



3.01 



1.19 



Silica, 



3.82 



3.75 



5.58 



Phosphoric " . 



4.77 



3.24 



7.30 



Phos. of Sesquioxide ) 

 of Iron, ) 



1.39 



1.07 



2.24 



Chloride of Potassium, 



1.00 



2.76 



9.56 



100.00 



Per-centage of Ash in ) ^ 



the dry substance ) 

 Per-centage of Ash in \ 

 the fresh substance, ) 

 15* 



100.00 100.00 

 6.45 



— 2.61 



