OLIYE OIL. 



529 



three. An acre of land can easily grow 2,500 trees of the new 

 variety, and the gathering of the fruit is easy, as it can be done 

 by small children. At Beanfort, South Carolina, the olive is 

 cultivated from plants which were obtained in the neighbourhood 

 of Elorence, Italy. 



A gentleman in Mississippi is stated, by an American agri- 

 cultural journal, to have olive trees growing, which at five years 

 from the cutting bore fruit, and were as large at that age as they 

 usually are in Europe at eight years old. The olive then, it is 

 added, will yield a fair crop for oil at four years from the nursery, 

 and in eight years a full crop, or as much as in Europe at from 

 fifteen to twenty years of age. 



The lands and climate there are stated to be as well adapted to 

 the successful cultivation of the olive for oil, pickles, &c., as any 

 part of Europe. Some hundreds of the trees are grown in South 

 Carolina, and the owner expressed his conviction that this pro- 

 duct would succeed well on the sea-coast of Carolina and Georgia. 

 The frosts, though severe, did not destroy or injure them, and in 

 one case, when the plant was supposed to be dead, and corn was 

 planted in its stead, its roots sent out shoots. It is well known 

 to be a tree of great longevity, even reaching to 1,000 or 1,200 

 years ; so that, when once established, it will produce crops for a 

 great while afterwards. The expense of extracting the oil is also 

 stated to be but trifling. 



The olive is of slow grovv^th ; trees 80 years of age measure 

 only from 27 to 30 inches in circumference at the lower part of 

 their trunks. An olive tree is mentioned by M. Decandolle as 

 measuring above 23 feet in circumference, which, judging from the 

 above inferences, may be safely estim^ated at 700 years old. Two 

 other colossal olives are recorded, one at Hieres, measuring in 

 circumference 36 feet, and one near Genoa, measuring 38 feet 

 2 inches. The produce in fruit and oil is regulated by the age of 

 the trees, which are frequently little fortunes to their owners. 

 One at Yillefranche produces on an average, in good seasons, from 

 200 to 230 pounds of oil. The tree at Hieres, above-mentioned, 

 produces about 55 imperial gallons. 



The olive is found everywhere along the coast of Morocco, but 

 particularly to the south. The trees are planted in rows, which 

 form alleys, the more agreeable because the trees are large, round, 

 and high in proportion. . They take care to water them, the better 

 to preserve the fruit. Oil of olives might be here plentifully ex- 

 tracted were taxation fixed and moderate ; but such has been the 

 variation it has undergone, that the culture of olives is so neg- 

 lected as scarcely to produce oil sufficient for domestic con- 

 sumption. 



Olive oil might form one of the most valuable articles of export 

 from Morocco. It is strong, dark, and fit only for manufacturing 

 purposes. This is, perhaps, not so much the fault of the olive as of 

 the methods by which it is prepared. No 'care is taken in collect- 

 ing the olives. They are beaten from the trees with poles, as in 



2 M 



