Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-07-11
CONCERNING OLIVES.

CONCERNING OLIVES.
Where They Are Raised and the Way IN
Which They Are Used.
Within certain latitudes' the olives
will grow anywhere and serve for al
most any purpose. On a dry and stony
elevation that would starve out q
thistle, the plant luxuriates; and if tho
sea breezes may but fan the young
shoots, SO much more of promise is
there for the olive harvest. Propa-
gated chiefly by cuttings, the evil
lowy" looking twigs take root with q
proud defiance of ordinary rules, and
there is whimsically planted grove
of olive trees of unusual size and
beauty near the town of Messa in Mo-
rocco, which illustrates this truth in
remarkable way. One of the Kings Of
the dynasty of Saddia, being on a
military expedition, encamped here
with his army. The pegs with which
the cavalry picketed their horses
were cut from olives in the neighbour
hood, and some sudden cause of alarm
leading to the abandonment of the po.
sition, the pegs were left in the ground,
and making the best of the situation,
developed into the handsomest group
of olives in the district. Olives arc
mentioned in the earliest records of
Egypt, and their Introduction into
Greece took place at least as early as
fifteen hundred years before our era
Thence their cultivation naturally
passed into Italy, the Romans especial
~ pricing them, while Virgil men,
tions three distinct varieties, each of
which had its own fastid;ous support
ers in the ancient conflict of tastes.
Pliny also tells us that they also grew
in the heart of Spain and Franco,
though he awards the palm to the
smaller olive of Syria, the olive of
which was at least more delicate than
that produced in the Western
countries. So far as regards the OF! OF
Spain, and to some extent that of
Italy, this judgment stands good to tho
present hour, for the reason that the
Spanish olive is a larger and coarser
fruit, while the Italian growers arc too
apt to detract from the limpid delicacy
of the virgin oil by the sacri-
fee of quality to quantity. For
the olive, like all generous
givers, demands that you should
"squeeze" him gently. The oil is ex-
pressed from the entire pulp and body
of the fruit, and its quality stands in
inverse proportion to the quantity pro-
duced. The first pressure yields a
thin, pure liquid, almost colorless;
and with this even the most fastidious
of English palates rarely makes ac-
quaintance. AS the pressure is in
creased less delicate product is the
result; while if it is still further pro-
longed rank and unwholesome
residum is obtained, 0wholly unfit for
edible purposes. 1t should be men,
toned that virgin oil does not main-
tain its freshness for more than q
few weeks without the addition of a
little salt and sugar, and it is impos-
sible for any one to realize the exquis-
tie delicacy of this first expression Of
the freshly-gathered olive, unless he
has sojourned in such district as that
of which, say, Avignon is the center.
The oil of Aramont, in Provence, was
formerly supposed to have no
equal in Europe. Both tho olive
and the manufactured oil of the SOUTH
east of France are, indeed, still UNI
rivaled by those of any other country.
The Italians pay more respect to the
commercial aspect of their production,
and among them the number OF olive
farmers and merchants is very large.
They have a proverb: If you wish to
leave a competency to your grand
children, plant an olive." Doubtless
the advice is sound enough, for tho
trees often flourish for more than q
century, and bear heavy crops to the
last. But to the pleasant south of
France the olive is almost what the pig
is to the English laborer. Prudent
housewives there are us avcrsc to tho
introduction of a new fruit at table az
their thrifty English sisters are to tho
''new loaf" In fact, they habitrally
preserve the darker berries for every
day use; for these, not being so :>grco-
able to the taste, ''go' so much further
"a necessary consideration when they
oftener form the staple than the accom-
paniment to the meal.
! Olives intended for eating are gath
cred while still green, usually in the
month of September. They are soaked
for some hours in the strongest posi-
bic "lye" to get rid of their bitterness,
and are afterward allowed to stand
for fortnight in frequently-changed
fresh water, in order to be perfectly
purified of the lye. 1t only then re-
mains to preserve them in common
salt and water, when they are ready
for export. Among the Romans tho
! olive held the privileged position of
being equally respected as a dainty
accessory and an ordinary food. 1t
was eaten at the table of the temperate