The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-25

yet bacteriology has taught us that they
are OF the greatest value.
With the general intelligence thus far
manifested, the splendid equipments OF
our institutions, guided by such dis
tinguished scientist as Prot. Hilgard, the
future for the rapid spread of viticulture
in California is assured,
OLIVE CULTURE.
From the time the first missionary
fathers landed on this coast the olive has
found more or less prominent place in
our orchards. To-day q very conservative
estimate places the value of the olive or
chards at more than five millions of dol
lars. The rapid planting out of new
orchards each year indicates that in few
years the value will MOI be five millions
but twenty. 1t is to be noted that the in
vestigations made by the experiment
station Of the university have proved that,
other things being equal, the olive thrives
better in California than in the old world
from where we obtained it.
This is shown not only by the more rapid
and perfect development of the tree, but
the heavier crops of olives that are larger
and richer in oil. I have noted that tn
normal development of an olive tree of
fifteen years III this State was fully equal
| to that OF a tree of forty-tive years in the
Old World. The drupes are, variety for
variety, of larger size here than in the
country from which the variety in question
was originally created. Moreover the
European olive has more pit and less
flesh than the California olive, while
the flesh contains weight for weight
more oil. which, when properly made
from proper varieties grown on good soils,
is, think, of far superior quality to Eu-
ropean oils. Of course l mean when
mutual adaptability OF varieties and soils
is taken into proper account.
People are fast becoming accustomed to
the taste OF nourlshing ripe olives and 1
am glad to note that there is decided ten
dency to give up the use of that form OF
concentrated dyspepsia known as the
green pickle olive for the most wholesome
OF all foods, the ripe picked olive. AS In
the case Of viticulture the first attempts at
olive culture were more or less crude at
tempts on the part of unskilIed men to
make oil or pickles by guesswork. There
soon developed a class OF men led by such
eminent men as Elwood Cooper, who rap
idly raised the industry to higher plane
While there is still a quantity OF oil an
nually spoiled by careless handling of
either the olives before the oil is made, or
the oil after the pressing, yet on the whole
we have every reason to be proud of the
results obtained. California oil has al
ready wrested gold medals from foreign
nations and will continue to do so in a
more striking way IN the future.
Investigations made at the university
experiment station. have shown that, as
with wine, a proper appreciation of the
laws governing the growth and develop
ment OF mlcro-organiSm is necessary in
olive culture, either as regards oil-making
| or picking. The reports published by the
| university on this subject are more COM
plete and scientific than those found in
any other language. They are certainly
| more modern. We are now growing in
California over fifty of the finest vari-
cites OF olives the entire world could
supply. AS soon as these are properly
adapted California will become the
most important olive-growing country
of the world, for our soil, climates and
methods are vastly superior to those of the
Ola World, and the great food value of the
products Of the oil will win for it an un-
limited market throughout America. Per-
haps the greatest lessons learned in the
science OF handling the olive and it's
products have been from bacte-iology
The whole may be summed up in the sin
gle word Cleanliness" This has so many
bearings that have been revealed by science
| that it would take too much space to enter
into details. Scientific olive culture is GER
tainly more developed in California than
abroad