New-York tribune., 1907-12-15
OLIVE GROWING IN ITALY.
Gathering and Marketing the Fruit-Waste
Material Made Into Green Sulphur Oil.

Vice-Consul H II. Byington. of Naples in re-
sponse to an inquiry concerning the olive oil in
dustry in Italy forwards the following report from
II. NJ Haigh. Consular Agent Bari
Olive growers in Southern Italy. as a rule, do
not take ther fruit a mill, as each grove has its
own presses. grower. however. will sometimes
sell his olives on the trees to spectators who pick
| the crop themselves The price paid varies from
eo cents TO 81 is a tomolo.' the price huctuatinS
accordingly the crop is heavy light and the
olives have developed oil or to 1bre. A tomoIo
is the measure used In this section for everything
except liquids: three tomoli, heaped up. make
quintal. and qIintal is equal o kiIos.
Quintals being equal TO a ton of 22oi.6 pounds
AS nearly as can be estimated. ths cost Of pick
Ing fruit Is about - francs 81 ton. which
estimate is liberal one. Two three years ago
the average day wage Of the contadini a franc
and half. but now the price has up two
francs. and occasionally during harvest zine ii is
necessary TO pay three francs. The children who
gather the olives get from half Crane day TO
70 centessimi Q5 Cents).
In good year tomolo will yield from seven to
eight ltres of oil. This would average twenty-five
from about slNty-three 10 siXJy-nyc gallons. OH
Sesr S9a at the fro S can m be bought usually IN good
to to-. the quality and according 10 the district ~
must be filtered before being bottled unned foF
In the pickling branch OF the olive industry IL
appears that this section OF Italy mas developed
usually has few trees OF "a peculiar variety which
are picked in august green, and the'e ar" picked
his own. The picking Industry is monopozed by
Spain. the Italian olive being used entiEely tor
making oil.
The waste material. pomace after The olives
pressed, which is called ''sanse IN Italy. fur
nishes the basis OF of the most valuable and
the newest OF Industries IN the country This waste
material is all contracted for from the farmers or
growers by the sulphur oil factories and is made
into the green sulphur oil commonly called olive
oil foots in America, and Is shipped from Italy all
over the world for making the green CASTLE soap.
the largest quantity being used by the SILK Overs
for washing the silk. The farmers usually contract
with these factories at prices running from ~ TO
3Is francs a Quintai. according to the quality or
usually figres that what he gets for his viii
about pay for the making OF his oil. This industry
was Introduced into Italy about thirty years ago by
the French. There is trust OF these factories
with headquarters in Bari.
These factories now have process for hleachlng
the green sulphur oil yellow that II looks almost
like a natural yellow olive oil gone rancid and II
takes an expert tell the difference This Is USED
for making a white CASTLE soap and VIII make
almost good piece OF soap as natural yellow
Spanish olive oil. - - !.
olive groves wflF run in age from Is years up 10
30 years There many trees In the famous
district OF Bitonto which two hundred years
old however, a good medium grove, with trees
the size OF medium apple trees, Is usually about
seventy years old. Trees will bear olives when
they are three Old. but are mere shrubs ana
Weld only q handful OF fruit. New groves have
been set out upon the mountain slopes during tlle
last thirty years which now commencing 10
show very good results and produce a fnc OIL TINS
being about the only land available not already IN
olives almonds and grapes.