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ON THE 



OLIVES AND VINES OF ZANTE; 



ON THE 



CORN CULTIVATED IN THAT ISLAND, AND PARTS OF THE ANCIENT BGEOTIA; 

 THE PRODUCE OF CORN IN SOME DISTRICTS OF GREECE. 



[FROM THE PAPERS OF THE LATE DR. SIBTHORP, AND FROM SOME REMARKS 

 COMMUNICATED BY MR. HAWKINS.] 



Olea Europaea, the olive of Zante, is called Ivtottix, or natural, the 

 first introduced into this country. It arrives at a large size, and 

 produces a great quantity of oil, one hundred okes from a tree. The 

 wood of this variety is also the most durable, and is used for many 

 purposes. The fruit is oval and large, and yields much clear oil. 



The second sort, Kopovxxi, was introduced from Coron in the Morea 

 into Zante, at the beginning of the eighteenth century ; it produces a 

 large quantity of fruit, but the tree is small ; the leaves are more atte- 

 nuated at the point, the wood more fragile, the fruit smaller, the oil 

 coarser, than that of the IvTomu. These two sorts are the most cul- 

 tivated ; part of the oil is consumed in the island, the remainder is 

 exported. 



A third sort, jcapu^oX/a, is so called from the large fruit which it 

 produces resembling a walnut ; it was introduced from Salona. The 

 tree is small, the wood brittle, the leaves large and white. This 

 variety is cultivated for the table, both ripe and green. To preserve 

 them green and render them less bitter, the olives are taken and put 

 unripe into a lye of lime-ashes and water, and being steeped for some 

 hours, they are then taken out and washed in water. This washing 

 is repeated by a change of the water, twice a-day for a week ; they 

 are then put into a pickle made of salt and water, flavoured with 



