348 
ation; after this they are washed, and preserved in a pickle of common salt 
and water, to which an aromatic is sometimes added. 
But the principal consumption of Olives is in the preparation of common 
salad oil. The best is of a bright pale amber colour, bland to the taste, and 
without any smell. It becomes rancid by age, especially if kept in a warm 
place. It congeals by cold at 38° of Fahrenheit’s thermometer, and does not 
become rancid if kept in a degree of cold equal to the freezing point of water. 
All the mild expressed oils of vegetables are nearly of the same nature; a 
preference however is generally given to the most fluid; hence the oils of 
Olives and Almonds are most commonly directed for internal use in me¬ 
dicine. 
The Olive is commonly supposed to be a native of the southern countries 
of Europe: but it seems probable, that although it be now found wild in some 
parts of our continent, it came originally from Asia. It grows abundantly 
about Aleppo , mount Lebanon , and many parts of . Palestine . In the north¬ 
ern parts of Africa ; and one of the varieties at the Cape of Good Hope. 
It appears by the catalogue of the botanic garden at Oxford, that it was 
cultivated there in 1048.* 
Several Olive trees were planted against a warm wall at Camden House 
near Kensington, which succeeded very well, till their tops advanced above 
the wall; after which they were generally cut down to the top of the wall in 
winter. These in 1^10 produced a number of good fruit, which grew so 
large as to be fit for pickling, but after that time their fruit seldom grew to 
any size. With a little protection in severe frost, the Olive tree may be 
maintained against a wall, in the latitude of London; but in Devonshire there 
are some of these trees, which have grown in the open air many years, and 
are in a very flourishing state. 
The Olive was, by the ancients, considered as a maritime tree, and they 
supposed it would not thrive at any distance from the sea; but by expe¬ 
rience, we find it will thrive very well in any country, where the air is of a 
proper temperature, though it is found to bear the spray of the sea better 
than most other plants. 
We would recommend the same attention here as with the Tea tree, to 
obtain seeds from the more northern parts of Europe, and to endeavour to 
* Sort. Kew. 
