March r, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
787 
totid smell 
mon jack fr 
essence of 1 
it should b( 
fill of watei 
eome their 
iu Rangoon 
I e prices 
glass in Enj 
mill takes l 
(rafted) wil 
allowed to . 
and taste I never came across. The eom- 
lit is bad enough, hut a Durian is t 
1U the rotten jacks in the East. 
m- I so late in the season, not only produces an inferior 
it- quality of oil, but also seriously damages the prospects 
Alter the c 
on wooden 
spects 
sred as 
ladders 
1, great 
dries and snrxveis up wnen tne trui 
grows wild over the Neilghorry H 
where the seed is thrown down. 
Ederable cold during the winter 11 
believe it would live through an ] 
southern counties, certainly it sh 
serve made of it is delicious, far 
English fruits of tho same class, 
:is not only exceedingly nice, but 
and I 
n the 
Con- 
T. 1'. 
OLIVE CULTIVATION IN ITALY. 
Woalmal of the Society of Arts, 25th Nov. 1881.) 
Mr. Schuyler Crosby, the United States Consul at 
Florence, state: 
been for years 
efforts made ti 
Of its cultivate 
thitl the 
ttest 
the 
and attention has 
when steam is employed, the oil is sensibly deteriorated. 
If an oil of a very superior quality is required, great 
care is always taken not to crash the stone, or even 
to bruise it. The process of extraction varies according 
to the quality sought to be obtained, whether for the 
table, for burning, or for industrial purposes:. The oil 
expressed from the fruity portion of the olive, when 
obtained by gentle pressure, and without the agency of 
heat, is called virgin oil ; it is an exceedingly thin liquid, 
translucent, unctuous to the touch, and of a colour 
that varies between a faintly greenish and amber tint ; 
its taste is sweet and pleasant, and it has a slight olive 
odour ; when of only recent preparation, it is somewhat 
turbid, but" after a short repose it becomes transparent, 
and deposits a blackish sort of dreg, composed of the 
fatty principle of oil, mucilage, and azote. Next, after 
virgin oil, the result of cold and erentle pressure, and 
tttaly, show conclusively that, even under tho most aus- 
Bjjioua circumstances of climate and weather, tho tree 
loes not yield a profit to the grower, under thirty and 
Bmetimes forty years. In Tuscany, an old proverb runs 
Khus : " The chestnut trees of my grandfather, my father's 
olives, and my own vines." Hillsides, with a southern 
exposure, are almost always chosen for planting, either 
from the seed, blanches, or the roots. Along the Medi- 
lerrancan the olive tree does not thrive well when planted 
■n the plain, and at a certain distance from the sea 
millers much from a saline deposit on its leaves, which, 
■ not washed off, by a timely shower, renders tho treo 
lor a long time unproductive. Tho tree is an evergreen, 
mtiining its foliage at all seasons of the year. It (heads 
Eunp air, and tluives best in fresh earth, which retains 
m certain amount of humidity, and docs not become 
•rid ; for this reason, calcareous soil, .which does not 
Bldergo either extreme of climate, is the best adapted 
B its cultivation; it nourishes even in the cavities of 
Be stoniest bills and mountains, and its roots will thread 
Be smallest crevices i I a rocky hill side. To this quality 
E earth or soil is attributed the wonderful prosperity 
B the olive tree in certain parts of the I'isan and Luo- 
■mso territories, when- it is absolutely planted in tho 
picaroons rock, which being cavernous and spongy, ro- 
,%in»f just sullicient humidity to nourish, and not injure 
Be roots, ll is said that the olive tree never dies, 
■nd that the must neglectt d and withered plants, with 
Ho earth to be seen round its rods, and showing no 
sign- of vitality, may, by nouns of abundant manuring, 
by filling iu earth round the routs, or by transplanting 
Be roots into new ground, be reclaimed, and again made 
productive. The berries are generally gathered in Novem- 
ber, just before tboy become ripe, and when a gTupe- 
Doured .nit appears upon the surface ; though some 
growers insist upon the advon .1 ;e of permitting the crop 
to remain on tho tree until January or February ; tho 
Objection to this, delay, however, Lj that tho. fruit gathered 
0," used for machinery and industrial piu-- 
■ohably so-called from the amount of heat 
t has been subjected to in the process of 
The ordinary oil is made from the second 
the screw, when the pressure is brought 
lones, kernel, and every part of the berry ; 
water being used as an agent to assist in 
of the yield of oil. When the mass of 
to yield any more oily matter to the press, 
u large troughs of clean water, and kept 
>ng as it furnishes a single drop of oil. 
ass, called " sanzu," is then moulded into 
much sought 
Thus, from 
press-room to 
oil — even to 
[shops — not a 
after for fuel tor manufacturing p 
tho moment the* fruit is consigned 
the end of the process of extract 
the feeding of the furnaces of tl: 
single particle of the olive has been allowed to 1 to 
waste. The process of clarification of the oil is 1 acted 
naturally, by letting it stand for a certain time, during 
which the substances held in suspense are gradually 
deposited at tho bottom of the receptacle. The oil is 
first placed in wide, low vases of earthenware, thickly 
glazed, and allowed to remain four or live days, after 
which the contents are drawn oft', leaving the deposit 
behind. The more frequently tho oil is separated from 
the deposit, the liner will bo the quality. The oil, lm>v- 
ever, frequently holds these substances for a long time 
in suspension, when it I ecomos necessary to bu\ i n 
to lilt rut i >n, in order to accelerate the depuration and 
clarification. The (liters used in Italy and also in France 
are formed of heavy \a:>. with a double bottom, which 
is perforated >v ■ f h conical-shaped holes, forming so many 
funnels, into which pieces of clean carded cotton are 
lightly 1 laced. For tho lint f<< v day* tho oil ]> see 
pcrfectlv lnupld through the n>H >u, and then, on u< int 
of the ehol.ing of the funnel cum* to t 1 >w. & .1 
Uyew of elejoi straw are t?i'un hi id at the bottom < .' :l»e 
