16 BULLETIN 803, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
solids in the flesh declined somewhat. There are several possible 
explanations for these abnormalities. One is the difficulty expe- 
rienced in securing representative tree samples at the later periods, 
from the middle of November on, due to the picking of part of the 
fruit on the tree (p. 8). Also, when the fruit is struck by a dry 
north wind it partially shrivels up, which causes a decrease in its 
weight and an increase in the percentage of the pit, as well as 
an abnormal increase in the percentage of the oil and solids in the 
flesh. which, however, drops back when the fruit plumps out again. 
This actually happened 
to some of the samples 
taken in the middle of 
November, 1915. An- 
other cause is the irriga- 
tion of the trees late in 
the season, as a result 
of which the fruit in- 
creases in size and gains 
sO water in the flesh, which 
produces a slight drop 
in the percentage of oil 
and solids in the flesh. 
It is, however, not im- 
possible that under cer- 
tain conditions the ab- 
solute amount of oil 
may actually decrease 
slightly, as noted by 
J -Hartwich and Uhlmann 
: ¢ and De Luca. 
. sees . S dont study of the color 
Fic. 3.—Changes in percentage composition of Mis- 
sion olives occurring during ripening in 1916. changes shows that the 
olives, which are green 
in September, begin to color up late in October and in November. 
Some of the olives may still show a green color in December and Jan- 
uary. Calculations of the analyses of the fruit fiesh to the moisture- 
free basis indicated that the percentages of protein and ash decrease 
somewhat, though not markedly. The oil, of course, increases greatly, 
approximating in the ripe fruit 60 per cent of the dry substance in 
the flesh. It was hoped that this might be a valuable factor in judg- 
ing maturity, but its value is limited, first, because the percentage of 
oil in the moist fiesh is nearly as good an index, and, secondly, because 
in pickling olives the oil in the flesh on the dry basis increases mark- 
edly (p. 20). 
