Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1888-08-24
CONCERNING OLIVES.
where They Are Raised and the Way
which Taey Are Used.

elevation that would starve out a
thistle. the plant luxuriates; AID II the
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 twill
! 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 Mesa in Mo
rocco, which i ustrates this truth in
remarkable way. One OF the Kings OF
the dynasty of Saddia, being on q
military expedition, encamped here
with his army The pegs with which
he 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 are
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
ly prizing them, while Virgil men
tions three distinct varieties, each OF
which had its own fastidious support
ers in the ancient conflict OF tastes.
Pliny also tells us that they also grew
in the heart of Spain and France,
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 oil of
Spain, and to some extent that OF
Italy, this judgment stands good to the
present hour, for the reason that the
Spanish olive is larger and coarser
fruit, while the Italian growers are too
apt to detract from the limpid delicacy
of the virgin oil by the sacri-
flee 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
thin, pure liquid, almost colorless;
and with this even the most fastidious
of iSh loft
quaintance. AS the pressure is in
creased a less delicate product is the
result; while if it is still further pro-
longed rank and unwholesome
residum is obtained, wholly unfit for
edible purposes. 1t should be men,
toned that virgin oil does not main
tain its freshness for more than a
few weeks without the addition of a
little salt and sugar, and it is impos-
sibe for any one to realize the exquis- |
lite 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 the olive
and the manufactured oil of the SOUTH |
east of France are, indeed, still I'M
rlvaled 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.
lhey have proverb: IF you wish to |
leave competency to your grand
children, plant an olive Doubtless |
the advice is sounC enough, for the |
trees often flourish for more than a
century, and bear heavy crops to the
last, But to the pleasant south of
France the olive is almost what the nig
Is to the English laborer. Prudent
housewives there are as averse to the
Introduction of new fruit at table as
their thrifty English sisters are to the
NEW Loaf In fact, they habitlallv
preserve the darker berries for every
day use; for these, not being so aqree-
able to the taste, go so much further
"a necessary consideration when thew
oltener form the staple than the accom-
paniment to the meal
Olives intended for eating are oath.
cred while still green, usually in the
month OF September. They are soaked
lor some hours in the strongest posi-
Die I've to get rid of their bitterness
and are afterward allowed to stand
for fortnight in ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
fresh water, in order to be perfectlv
purified of the I've. 1t only then 70.
mains to preserve them in common
salt and water, when they are readv
Tor export. Among the Romans the
olive held the privileged position Of
oelng equally respected as a dainty
accessory and an ordinary food. II
was eaten at the table of the temperate
and the luxurious alike: and. while
aiVidlng the highly-Aavored dishes Of !
'helf eXtravagant suppers, formed q {
of Horace's pastoral ,ooaI
III olive, endive, simple tastes and {
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