THE OLIVE 



139 



The oil of the pulp is rich and of a delicious flavor, that of the 

 stone is dark and cloudy, that of the seed contains essential oil, 

 while the skin in its little cells contains an essential and resinous 

 oil in small quantities. These oils of stone, seed and skin, far from 

 adding to the oil of the pulp, would be a serious injury if not in 

 such small quantities. From this it is obvious that in cultivating 

 olives for oil, the varieties with much pulp and proportionately 

 small seeds, should be selected, as is always done in the true oil 

 countries. The proportion of oil to berry as given by reliable authori- 

 ties runs from ten to twenty per cent, in weight. 



The Messrs Rae of Leghorn, olive oil exporters, in their pamph- 

 let on the olive, give fourteen to twenty per cent, and eighteen to 

 twenty for the finest oil varieties. Mr Cooper's best result as given, 

 was ten and twelve per cent. Mr Luclovico Gaddi, and the agri- 

 cultural manager at Santa Clara College, as well, estimate that forty 

 pounds of berries will produce one gallon of oil, which is about 

 eighteen per cent.; but this of course refers to well dried berries. 



It should be said that California olive culture is so comparatively 

 recent and limited, that reliable statistics can hardly be expected. 

 But it may be safely asserted that certain exaggerated statements 

 which have appeared in print, as to percentage of oil to berries, will 

 not be verified even in this exceptional soil and climate. 



In view of the fact that the processes of the oil mill, are singly 

 to "extract" the oil, the clarifying, whether by simple deposit or by 

 passing the oil through refining material, being but a part of the 

 general work of separating the oil from the solid and watery parts 

 of the berry, it is evident that unless some mechanical difficulty 

 renders delay necessary or convenient, the berries will yield a better 

 oil if this be extracted immediately or very soon after their gather- 

 ing. That this is true is now admitted by all writers of value, and 

 by all manufacturers of the fine grades of oil. ; The belief that olives 

 retained for long periods in the store house produce as good an oil, 

 and much more than the freshly worked — a belief held by the rus- 



