The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-12-21

soils, under various climatic conditions.
Edward w. Fries spent over so, 900 and
ten years In finding variety of olive
trees best adapted to oil production in
southern California. Elwood Cooper
planted and Teplanted large acreage to
Imported olive trees In his effort to ascer-
tam the most satisfactory variety for the
seacoast lands of sunny Santa Barbara
County. About eight years ago Califor-
MA olives began to be seen in the mar
kets ana today they are shipped east in
hogshead quantities. The early expert
ments are at least reaping their reward
In substantial profits for all their outlay
and work.
has been confined to a row of bottled
olives on the shelf of grocery store or
10 barrels or kegs of the fruits near the
store coutner, 1t will be news to learn that
there are in Spain, Italy and California
some 290 varieties of olives, the oil of each
being as distinct In flavor as the wines
81 different grapes, and the colors of the
Oils ranging from amber to deep gold.
lhe picking olive is no more to be con-
fused with the oil olive than the raisin
grape with the wine grape
The picking and harvesting of olives
In California is largely done by boys and
girls, who drive their prepared wagons
under the branches or spread canvas on
the ground to catch the fruit. The tree
Is generally shaken. or the fruit may be
dropped by hand or dlslodged by padded
rakes, the gatherer being duly impressed
ey the ancient precept, DO not cut or
strike Minerals sacred tree"
10 secure the olive oil the olives have
hrst TO be reduced to a paste-like sub
stance, the mass being packed by hand
into round, fat MANILA mats, imported
from +taly and Spain, and known as brus-
coles, so that each mat holds about half
a bushel of olive pulp. The mats are
piled one upon another to the height of a
yard and placed In a powerful hydra ulic
press. The pressure upon them is grad
ual, continuing for several hours, until
the pulp has been squeezed dry. The oil
runs with the water of vegetation" into
tin tanks below. The next process is fl
tering and separating the oil and water,
and then comes a series of Qualifications
of the oil to suit the demands of COM
merce and to please the appetite of con-
sumers. The process OF clarifying olive
oil requires about a week in a constant
temperature Of So degrees Extreme care
must be exercised in order to keep any
odor or faint of atmosphere from the
apartment where the Qualification Is in
progress for olive oil is unusually sus-
oeptl9le to attracting and holding odors
The edible oils and some of the others,
perhaps, are filtered through prepared
cotton or charcoal lying between sand and
chalk, the sand holding the gross impur-
ties snd the charcoal the subtler, while
vegetation" The final product is pre-
served in earthen jars or in cool reser-
Voirs.
Up to this time a small quantity of the
California olives have found their way
into the markets east of Chicago the call
for them in the West having been more
than equal to the supply. Minneapolis,
Omaha, New Orleans. San Francisco and
the City of Mexico have all been good
points for the sale of the olives from
this coast this year. There is a feeling
among hortieulturists all over California
that, the Eastern people being welded
to the particular favor of the green olives
of the old world there, and having a con-
servatism that Is unknown in the West,
hard work and patient effort will be re-
quiTed to cultivate general consumption
there of olives from this State. The won
derful success had, however, in the last
seven years in introducing California
prunes and raisns in the most conserv-
alive Eastern markets give the olive
growers good reason for believing their
product will in time be as popular there