The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-06-07

FKANCE-ConSuI General Robert P.
Skinner, Writing From Marseilles
May ;, Says:
The manufacture of crude olive oil in
Europe has undergone comparatively
little change since scriptural times.
/ The olive tree gives a good yield Of fruit
every two years. which is gathered in
France either in November or December.
In Italy. the picking season Is in either
February or March. The rule is to col
lect the olives before their maturity.
without which they fall, become bruised.
and give an oil green in color and sharp
in taste Gathered too long before their
maturity, the oil extracted has these
same disagreeable qualities. and it is
therefore necessary to recognize with
certainty ne proper moment for taking
them from the trees. At frss green.
they become yellow. then red. and finally
/ reddish brown. at which point they have
arrived At the desired state of maturity
The olives found upon the ground are
placed aside. and the trees are then
shaken. in order that the completely
ripe fruit may also fall and be put apart
The oil extracted from these olives is
Of Inferior quality and has the flavor of
the fruit itself The olives remaining
upon the tree are either picked by hand
CT beaten with long poles The latter
method IS dtsccuntenanced, as the fruit
/ is thereby necessarily bruised. with dis
/ astrous consequences to the oil, and the
/ trees themselves give less abundant
yield thereafter. This system is so ex-
! peditious, however. that in a large pro-
portion Of cases the trees are beaten
/ and the fruit falls into sheets held be-
meath for the purpose. An olive tree
ten years old should yield about six
pounds OF fresh olives. and at twice that
! age twice that quantity. and al the age
/ Of fifty years from twenty-five to TWEEN
/ ty-six pounds.
In the south OF France and in Italy.
( the croR Of olives IS gathered in large
sheets and transported 10 warehouses or
cellars. and there laid in beds six to
eight inches in thickness. They. remain
for from twenty-four 70 forty-eight
hours until they commence to wrinkle
and lose d little of their water. but not
sufficiently long to permit fermentation
to begin In ether countries. and Tar-
| ticularly in Spain, the habit is general
to store the fruit in piles. where it re
mains for from twelve 10 fifteen days.
/ a black water is drawn from this mass.
which heats and ferments. Before the
/ fermentation proceeds TOO far, a point
which is decided by thermometricaI test.
! the manufacture Of the oil begins. The
piles should not exceed . feet inches
( in height. The extraction OF oil from
olives thus manipulated is easier than
otherwise. as the cells containing the
oil are less resistant. but the oil has a
strong odor and is less desirable than
that Of more carefully handled fruit.
| The manufacture Of the oil, properly
speaking, begins with the crushing of
/ the fruit. which usually takes place in
an old-fashioned mill, although some "a
ceilent crushers are manufactured ty
/ Messrs. Coo ct Simon. in AK, B0ucbes-
! du-Rhoae The crushed fruit is placed
in round mats. OF which twenty-five are
usually placed one above the other. the
2
pounds The first pressure being applied
for the virgin oil the oil and water
drain into tubs, the proportion being 2
per cent OF water and IS per cent or oil. /
The virgin oil is set aside. and the uats,
removed from the press. are bent rack
and forth By hand. some Of the manufac-
tli-ers pouring a quart Of hot water upon
each mat. after which the twenty-two
are placed in hand or hydraulic press |
and the second pressure applied. The
pulp remaining in the mats Is removed. /
and BIZ a simple mechanical process |
which takes place in a separator. the /
kernels are separated from the pulp. /
from when latter third and very low /
grade Of oil Is obtained by chemical pro- /
cess. This process is rarely carried on |
BY the olive growers. as it requires com
plicated apparatus. Both pulp and stones /
have regular market price, however.
and are manufactured in MarseIlles on a
large scale. The local cultirator oc6u-
pies himself with the first and second
c~ushIngs Of the oil only
The oil in the tubs. as 1t comes from
tie press. Is carefully SKINNED and
placed in barrels After all the oil of
the surface has been skinned. appar-
emily, the water itself is poured into
stone OF tile cisterGs, called the "enfer "
where It remains three or four months
In the course of this period, a consid-
cradle quantity of oil in suspension
mounts to the su1 lace. and is also skim
med off and sold as "huue d'enfer"
Its odor is very strong and the price is
low. The oil OF the first pressing. or
the virgin oil, and the oil of the secEld
pressing are always kept separate and
sold for what they are. They are de-
canted three or four times from one bar
rel TO another. and finally deposited in
huge eartheIware jars, where they re- I
main unit! spring, and are then de-
eanted for the last time into barrels
and offered for sale in the market
The successful manufacturers and ez- ,
porters of olive oil find their raw ma
teriaI wherever they can, having buyers
who scour France, Italy. Spain, and Tu-
MS. and the success Of the business
hinges mainly upon the tasting capaci-