458     Cultivation  of  the  Olive,  near  Ventimiglia.  {^olt^mt*1 
Olive  culture  is  so  simple  that  any  one  of  ordinary  intelligence  may 
engage  in  it.  The  process  of  manufacturing  the  oil  is  an  entirely 
different  business,  and  belongs  separate  and  apart  from  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  olive.  In  time,  it  will  not  be  expected,  as  now,  that  each 
grower  shall  be  manufacturer  also.  As  soon  as  the  supply  of  olives 
in  a  neighborhood  is  sufficient  to  warrant  the  erection  of  suitable  ma- 
chinery for  expressing  the  oil,  every  requisite  for  the  purpose  will  be 
at  hand.  The  olive  grower's  labors  for  the  season  will  end  with  the 
deposit  of  his  berries  at  the  oil  manufactory ;  and  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  olive  districts  of  Europe,  one  half  the  oil  from  his 
berries  will  subsequently  be  returned  to  him,  ready  for  use  and  for 
market. 
A  large  part  of  the  oil  sold  in  this  country,  and  purporting  to  be 
olive  oil  of  Eropean  manufacture,  is  the  product  of  adulteration  and 
imitation.  It  is  generally  manufactured  in  this  country,  and  is  com- 
posed principally  of  animal  oil,  though  mustard  seed  oil  and  other  in- 
ferior vegetable  oils  also  form  materials  for  its  adulteration.  Every 
housewife  knows  that  olive  oil  purchased  from  the  grocer,  when  ex- 
posed to  a  cold  atmosphere,  sometimes  thickens  and  turns  white  or 
opaque  in  the  lower  part  of  the  bottle  ;  and  every  one  familiar  with 
the  nature  of  olive  oil  knows  that  it  retains  its  perfect  transparency 
and  uniform  oily  consistence  under  any  temperature.  Animal  oil 
oondenses  under  the  influence  of  cold;  but  vegetable  oil  does  not.* 
This  difference  has  been  well  noted  on  the  shelves  of  stores  where  the 
genuine  and  the  adulterated  oil  have  been  ranged  for  sale,  side  by 
side.  The  genuine  oil  glows  clear  beneath  the  glass  in  all  weathers ; 
the  adulterated  oil  turns  flaky  with  the  cold,  and  the  lard  goes  down 
with  the  fall  of  the  winter's  thermometer.  It  is  an  advantage,  also, 
of  the  genuine  "virgin  oil,"  obtained  by  home  manufacture,  that  it 
retains  its  perfect  sweetness  longer  than  any  other  oil.  "  Virgin  oil," 
made  at  the  Santa  Barbara  Mission  four  years  ago,  is  to-day  in  pos- 
session of  the  nice  delicacy  of  its  first  flavor  when  fresh  from  the 
berries. — Scientific  American,  Sept.  28,  1872. 
ON  THE  CULTIVATION  OF  THE  OLIVE,  NEAR  VENTIMIGLIA. 
By  Mr.  L.  Winter. 
(From  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Daniel  Hanbury,  F.R.S.) 
As  you  wish  for  a  little  information  on  the  propagation  of  the  olive 
*  Pure  olive  oil  separates  granular  crystals  below  10°  C.  (50°  F.),  consisting 
of  palmitin. — Ed.  Amkr.  J.  Ph. 
