CCg  Olive    Oil  /Am.  Jour.  Pb ami. 
->->°  wiiue   WU.  |  November,  1901. 
The  average  life  of  an  olive  tree  is  about  one  hundred  years,  but 
it  may  continue  to  bear  fruit  for  a  great  many  years  after  that  age. 
It  attains  its  full  bearing  capacity  at  about  forty  years,  so  that  he 
who  plants  the  tree  does  so  more  for  posterity  than  for  his  own 
use,  hence  the  old  Tuscan  proverb,  Vile  di  mio  padre,  olive  di  mio 
nonno,  which,  freely  translated,  means,  "  The  vineyard  from  my 
father  ;  the  olive  yard  from  my  grandfather." 
When  the  tree  has  reached  its  maturity  it  is  about  25  feet  in 
height,  has  a  very  large  trunk  with  widespreading  branches,  and 
small  white  flowers  which  grow  in  clusters,  giving  the  tree  a  most 
beautiful  appearance  during  the  early  spring  months. 
THE  OLIVE  AND    ITS  HARVEST. 
The  olives  which  are  intended  for  preserving  are  picked  early  in 
September  while  they  are  still  green,  while  those  which  are 
intended  for  oil  are  left  until  November,  or  even  until  the  following 
year,  by  which  time  they  have  turned  from  a  light  green  to  an 
almost  black  color. 
The  oil  pressed  from  the  olives  gathered  in  midwinter  is  pre- 
ferred  on  account  of  its  keeping  properties  ;  but  the  reason  for  an 
early  harvest  is  that  the  insects  have  less  chance  to  propagate  in  the 
fruit  and  that  the  new  shoots  which  are  to  bear  fruit  the  following 
year  have  not  started  and  are  thus  safe  from  all  injury. 
The  critical  period  of  the  olive  is  during  the  month  of  October 
when  the  fruit  changes  color,  as  in  event  of  heavy  rains  or  strong 
winds  it  is  liable  to  be  seriously  damaged  and  it  is  therefore  neces- 
sary to  have  experienced  men  constantly  looking  after  the  olive 
trees  and  to  gather  the  nearly  ripe  fruit  to  prevent  its  being  affected 
by  these  causes. 
In  former  years  the  crops  were  gathered  by  women  and  children, 
who  carelessly  knocked  down  the  fruit  with  long  poles  and  in  that 
way  seriously  damaged  the  berries  so  that  they  were  unfit  for  mak- 
ing the  finer  grades  of  olive  oil. 
Nowadays,  the  olives  are  harvested  by  experienced  men  assisted 
by  women  and  children.  At  first  the  ground  around  the  tree  is 
covered  with  large  sheets  of  muslin  to  prevent  the  olive  from  be- 
ing bruised  when  falling  to  the  ground,  as  well  as  to  protect  them 
from  the  dirt  which  would  greatly  diminish  the  quality  of  the  oil 
produced.  The  trees  are  then  carefully  shaken  to  bring  down  the 
ripe  fruit. 
