Evening star., 1911-06-05

about Is per cent cottonseed, but is
nevertheless labeled and sold ~ olive on;
"The production Of ripe olives picked
in California. according to my estm' %
VARIES from four to six million gallons:
California practically uses no imported
olives or oil East Of the Rocky noun
tains the imported goods are SOLD almost
exclusively.
in California very little was known as 10
processes of manufacture Italian. French
and Spanish methods were used with poor
success. owing to the fact that we "lsheu
to put out positively a pure proouct anu
could not get the flavor of the imported
oil without the use of cottonseed These
facts have led to an entirely dlHerent
method in California. called by us the
natural process All that is necessary
is to grind the olives. press them ana
allow the Juice to settle The oil Is then
SKINNED and filtered. European oil IS
marketed very soon after manufactured
the bitter tannic acid twang being elm
mated by the use of steam ana not
water The California growers age the
oil by holding 1t from one to two years
This is done IN a dark place. great care
being taken TO keep II cool. lnasmucn az
light and heat will turn oil greehisn
cast and give 1t a rancid taste: oive OH
when first manufactured is Of golden
amber color.
Cost of Production High.
"Resarding the value of total produc-
tion Of olives and olive oil. / would sug-
gest that YOU figure 100000 pallons OF
oil at 50 per gallon and 100000 gallons
of olives at IS cents per gallon. This'
of course. would be figuring in bulk. and
not in highly attractive and expensive
packages 1t would also be figuring al
jobbing price in large quantities. Ihe
cost of production in California is far
greater than in Italy or Spain, owing 10
the higher price of all materials. as wen
as the greatly increased cost of LABOR
Then again the grower here would not
be satisfied with the small profit mace
by an Italian grower. The selling prices
on the Pacific coast of the imported goods
are slightly lower today than our own
product. notwithstanding the duty and
the long transportation. At the present
time the California growers cannot sup
ply the demand, for the reasons that
there are not enough of trees planted,
also because many groves have been sad
ly neglected, although this condition Is
reported as having improved and De
coming more rare.
1.-THE Curtis Olive Company's factory
was established in 1897. and has this year
produced and marketed more olives ana
oil than any other mill in the state. Our
capacity is 10000 gallons Of oil and
10000 gallons of olives. We do not
market our olives or oil in bulk. but sell
everything under our own brand. cater
ing to the eastern trade, where we find
the demand growing extensively for the
California product.
''The future of the olive and olive oil
industry in California" said Mr.. Stewart.
'is assured by the continually increasing
demand for these products and by the
fact that every packer sells his entire
output each year and can sell more:
also by the fact that oil res are bringing
the grower about three times as much
as they did few years ago. These con-
ditions will surely indu.e ihany people
to set out trees; but they will not bear
a small crop until five years old and will
not be doing proper work until after ten
years of growth. 1t is not possible for
people to set out trees fast enough to
keep up with the demand for the manu-
factured article"