Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-03-30

III u. ~. fho"e " thc oents hnh hkeht "
he HrRALD
A Neglected source or wealth.
Without doubt the cultivation Of the
olive is destined TO attain . much more
important place In the industries Of
Southern California than II has thus far
reached. In Los Angeles county, espe.
ciAlly. there has been singular indiffer.
encs to this most valuable Of fruits, Mr..
Frank Kimball, Of San Diego and Mr..
Elwood Cooper, Of Santa Barbara, hav-
ing done more for the development Of
this plant than oil our horticulturists
put together. There existed formerly
IN army Of which it was said that it
could 20 anywhere and do anything"
The olivs is the living vegetable counter
part Of this extinct phenomenon. With
In certain latitudes 1t will grow any.
whore, and serve for almost every pur.
pose. On q dry and stony elevation that
would starve out thistle the plant lux.
uriAtes; and II the sen breezes may but
Tan the young shoots, 80 much more Of
promise is there for the olive harvest.
Propagated chiefly by cuttings the Evil.
lowy" looking twigs take root with
proud defiance Of ordinary limitations,
and there ID whimsically planted grove
ef olive trees Of unusual size and beauty
near the town Of Mesa, in Morocco,
which illustrates this trait in q remark
able way. One Of the kings Of the dyn-
asty Of 6addia. being on . military OK
pedition, encamped here with his army.
The pegs with which the cavalry picket.
Cd their horses were cut from the olives
q their neighborhood, and some sudden
cause Of alarm leading to the abandon
msnt Of the position, the pegs were left
in the ground, and, making the best of
ths nituation, developed into the hand
somest group Of olive trees in the dis
trfct. Olives are mentioned in the
earIiest records Of Egypt, and their
Introduction into Greece took place as
early as 1900 years before our era.
Thence thsir cultivation naturally passed
Into Italy. the Romans especially pricing
them, while Virgil mentions three
distinct varieties, each Of which had its
OWN fastidious supporters "a .he ancient
conflict of tastes. Pliny tells us that
they also grew in the heart Of Spain and
France. though he awards tho palm to
the smaller olive of Syria, the oil Of
6 which was at least more delicate than
that produced in the western countries.
b far as regards the oil Of Spain, and
70 some extent that Of Italy, this judg-
mont continues good to tho present
hour, for the reason that the Spanish
olive Il larger and coarser fruit, while
the italian growers are to apt to detract
from the limpid delicacy Of the virgin
I'll by the sacrifice Of quality to guam
tity. For the olive, like all generous
givers, demands that you should
s'squsexs" him gently. The oil is ex.
pressed from the entire pulp and body
q the fruit. and its quality inevitably
stands in inverse proportion to the
quantity produced. The first pressure
yislds thin, pure liquid, almoet color
1ess; and with this even the most fastidi.
ous of English palates rarely makes
acquaintance. As the pressure is in.
creased less delicate product is the
result, while II it is still further pro-
longed, rank and unwholesome re-
'sidum is obtained, wholly unfit for
edible purposes. 1t should be mention
ed that the virgin oil does not retain its
ireshness for more than few weeks
without the addition of little salt or
sugar, and il is almost impossible for
any one to realize the exquisite delicacy
Of this first expression of the freshly
gathered olive unless he has sojourned
b such district as that Of which, say,
Avignon Is the centre. The oil of Ara
mont. in Provence, was formerly sup
posed to have no equal in Europe.
Both the olives and the manufactured
oil Of the southwest of France are, in
deed, still unrivalled by those of any
other country. The Italians pay more
respect to the commercial aspects Of
their production, and among them the
number of olive farmers and merchants
is very large. They have proverb;
s'If you wish to leave competency to
your grandchildren, plant olive trees. u
Doubtless the advice is sound enough,
for the trees often flourish for more than
century and bear heavy crops to the
last. But to the peasant of southern
France the olive is almost what the pig
10 to the English laborer. Prudent
housewives there are as averse to the
Introduction OF new fruit at table
Is their thrifty English sisters
are of the "new" loaf. In
fact, they habitually presrve the
darker berries for every day use; for
these not being so agreeable to the taste
''gonm6ch further-a necessary consid.
ration when they oftener form the sta
ple than the accompaniment of the meal
olives intended for eating are gathered
while still green, usually in the month
of October. They are soaked for some
hours in the strongest possible lye to
get rid of their bitterness, and are after
ward allowed to stand for fortnight in
frequently changed fresh water, in order
10 be perfectly purified Of the lye. 1t
only then remains to preserve them in
common salt and water, when they are
ready for export
Among the Romans the olive held the
privileged position OF being equally re-
spectsd as dainty accessory and an Or
dinary food. 1t was eaten at the table
Of the temperate and the luxurious alike,
and, while dividing the highly favored
dishes of their extravagant suppers.
formed a constituent of Horace's pastor.
al meal
OF olive, endiye, simple tastes
And maow.
At what precise date olives began to
fill their. present office in England is not
quite clear, but they were plentiful in