The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Part 77

The lands and climate there are stated to be as well adapted to the successful cultivation of the olive for oil, pickles, &c., as any part of Europe. Some hundreds of the trees are grown in South Carolina, and the owner expressed his conviction that this product would succeed well on the sea-coast of Carolina and Georgia. The frosts, though severe, did not destroy or injure them, and in one case, when the plant was supposed to be dead, and corn was planted in its stead, its roots sent out shoots. It is well known to be a tree of great longevity, even reaching to 1,000 or 1,200 years; so that, when once established, it will produce crops for a great while afterwards. The expense of extracting the oil is also stated to be but trifling.

The olive is of slow growth; trees 80 years of age measure only from 27 to 30 inches in circ.u.mference at the lower part of their trunks. An olive tree is mentioned by M. Decandolle as measuring above 23 feet in circ.u.mference, which, judging from the above inferences, may be safely estimated at 700 years old. Two other colossal olives are recorded, one at Hieres, measuring in circ.u.mference 36 feet, and one near Genoa, measuring 38 feet 2 inches. The produce in fruit and oil is regulated by the age of the trees, which are frequently little fortunes to their owners. One at Villefranche produces on an average, in good seasons, from 200 to 230 pounds of oil. The tree at Hieres, above-mentioned, produces about 55 imperial gallons.

The olive is found everywhere along the coast of Morocco, but particularly to the south. The trees are planted in rows, which form alleys, the more agreeable because the trees are large, round, and high in proportion. They take care to water them, the better to preserve the fruit. Oil of olives might be here plentifully extracted were taxation fixed and moderate; but such has been the variation it has undergone, that the culture of olives is so neglected as scarcely to produce oil sufficient for domestic consumption.

Olive oil might form one of the most valuable articles of export from Morocco. It is strong, dark, and fit only for manufacturing purposes.

This is, perhaps, not so much the fault of the olive as of the methods by which it is prepared. No care is taken in collecting the olives.

They are beaten from the trees with poles, as in Portugal and Spain, suffered to lie on the ground in heaps until half putrified, then put into uncleaned presses, and the oil squeezed through the filthy residuum of former years. Good table oil might be made, if care were taken, as in France and Lucca, to pick the olives without bruising them, and to press only those that were sweet and sound. But such oil would ill suit the palate of a Maroqueen, accustomed to drink by the pint and the quart the rancid product of his country.

The olive is the great staple of Corfu, which has, in fact, the appearance of an extensive olive grove. It produces annually about 200,000 barrels. Olive oil is also produced for the purposes of commerce, and for local consumption, by France, Algiers, Tuscany, Spain, Sardinia, Portugal, Madeira, and South Australia.

Olive plantations are extending considerably both in Upper and Lower Egypt. Large quant.i.ties of trees were planted under the direction of Ibrahim Pasha.

The olive tree might be expected to be quickly matured at the Cape.

The native olive, resembling the European, is of spontaneous growth and plentiful, so that if the Spanish or Italian tree were introduced, there is no doubt of its success. The wood of the olive is exceedingly hard and heavy, of a yellowish color, a close fine grain, capable of the highest polish, not subject to crack nor to be affected by worms.

The root, in consequence of its variety of color, is much used for snuff-boxes and similar bijouterie.

The wood is beautifully veined, and has an agreeable smell. It is in great esteem with cabinet makers, on account of the fine polish of which it is susceptible.

The sunny slopes of hills are best suited to its natural habits.

Layering is the most certain mode of propagating this fruit, although it grows freely from the seed, provided it has first been steeped for twelve hours in hot water or yeast.

Olives intended for preservation are gathered before they are ripe. In pickling, the object is to remove their bitterness and preserve them green, by impregnating them with a brine. For this purpose various methods are employed. The fruit being gathered are placed in a lye, composed of one part of quicklime to six of ashes of young wood sifted. Here they remain for half a day, and are then put into fresh water, being renewed every 24 hours; from this they are removed into a brine of common salt dissolved in water, to which add some aromatic plants. The olive will in this manner remain good for twelve months.

For oil, the ripe fruit is gathered in November; the oil, unlike other plants, being obtained from the pericarp, and immediately bruised in a mill, the stones of which are set so wide as not to crush the kernel.

The pulp is then subjected to the press in bags made of rushes; and, by means of a gentle pressure, the best or virgin oil flows first. A second, and afterwards a third quality of oil is obtained, by moistening the residuum, breaking the kernel, &c., and increasing the pressure. When the fruit is not sufficiently ripe, the recent oil has a bitterish taste, and when too ripe it is fatty.

The following are the present market prices of olive oil in Liverpool, (October, 1853,) and they are 40 per cent, higher than a few years ago:--Galipoli, per tun of 252 gallons, 68; Spanish, 64; Levant, 60. French olives, in half barrels of two gallons, are worth 3 to 4; Spanish, in two gallon kegs, 9s. to 10s.

The preserved or pickled olives, so admired as an accompaniment to wine, are, as we have seen the green unripe fruit, deprived of part of their bitterness by soaking them in water, and then preserved in an aromatised solution of salt.

The marc of olives after the oil has been expressed, indeed, the refuse cake of all oil plants, is most valuable, either as manure or for feeding cattle.

More than 29,000 acres are under culture with the olive in the Austrian empire, Venice, Dalmatia, Lombardy, Carinthia, and Carniola.

The climate of Dalmatia is highly suitable for the olive, and the oil is better than that produced in most parts of Italy. Nearly 17,000 cwt. are annually obtained.

In 1837 there were 11,526 acres of ground under cultivation with olives in Southern Illyria, which yielded 261,800 gallons. Olives and sumach form the princ.i.p.al crops of the landholder. I have not been able to get any recent correct statistics of the culture and produce.

The oil of Istria is considered equal to that of Provence. The stones and refuse are used there for fuel. The olive is also extensively cultivated in the Quarnero Islands, especially Veglia and Cherso, and in Corfu. There were in 1836, 219,339 acres under cultivation in the Ionian Islands, producing 113,219 barrels. The olive is gathered there in December. The average price of the barrel of olive oil was 48s. 3d.

Nearly two millions of gallons of olive oil were exported from Sicily in 1842. Naples alone shipped five millions of gallons in 1839, and about 2,500 cwts. of oil is shipped annually from Morocco. Russia imports about 500,000 poods (40 lbs. each) of olive oil annually.

"Provence oil, the produce of Aix, is the most esteemed. Florence oil is the virgin oil expressed from the ripe fruit soon after being gathered; it is imported in flasks surrounded by a kind of network formed by the leaves of a monocotyledonous plant, and packed in half chests; it is that used at table under the name of salad oil. Lucca oil is imported in jars holding nineteen gallons each. Genoa oil is another fine kind. Galipoli oil forms the largest portion of the olive oil brought to England, it is imported in casks. Apulia and Calabria are the provinces of Naples most celebrated for its production; the Apulian is the best. Sicily oil is of inferior quality; it is princ.i.p.ally produced at Milazzo. Spanish oil is the worst. The foot deposited by olive oil is used for oiling machinery, under the name of' droppings of sweet oil.'"--("Pereira's Materia Medica.")

The manufacture of olive oil in Spain has undergone very considerable improvement during the last few years; in particular, the process for expressing the oil has been rendered more rapid and effectual by the introduction of the hydraulic press, and thus the injurious consequences which resulted from the partial fermentation of the fruit are avoided.

There are four different kinds of oil known in the districts where it is prepared.

1. _Virgin oil_--A term which is applied, in the district Montpellier, to that which spontaneously separates from the paste of crushed olives. This oil is not met with in commerce, being all used by the inhabitants, either as an emollient remedy, or for oiling the works of watches. A good deal of virgin oil is, however, obtained from Aix.

2. _Ordinary oil_.--This oil is prepared by pressing the olives, previously crushed and mixed with boiling water. By this second expression, in which more pressure is applied than in the previous one, an oil is obtained, somewhat inferior in quality to the virgin oil.

3. _Oil of the infernal regions_.--The water which has been employed in the preceding operation is in some districts conducted into large reservoirs called the _infernal regions_, where it is left for many days. During this period, any oil that might have remained mixed with the water separates and collects on the surface. This oil being very inferior in quality, is only fit for burning in lamps, and is generally locally used.

4. _Fermented oil_ is obtained in the departments of Aix and Montpellier, by leaving the fresh olives in heaps for some time, and pouring boiling water over them before pressing the oil. But this method is very seldom put in practice, for the olives during this fermentation lose their peculiar flavor, become much heated, and acquire a musty taste, which is communicated to the oil.

The fruity flavor of the oil depends upon the quality of the olives from which it is pressed, and not upon the method adopted in its preparation,"--(French "Journal de Pharmacie.")

The price of olive oil is sufficiently high to lead to its admixture with cheaper oils. The oil of poppy seeds is that which is usually employed for its adulteration, as it has the advantage of being cheap, of having a sweet taste, and very little smell. M. Gobley has invented an instrument which he calls an areometer, to detect this fraud. It is founded on the difference between the densities of olive oil and oil of poppies.

The imports, which in 1826 were only 742,719 gallons, had risen in 1850 to 5,237,816 gallons. The following figures show the progressive imports and consumption:--

Imported. Retained for home consumption.

gallons. gallons.

1827 1,028,174 1,070,765 1831 4,158,917 1,928,892 1835 606,166 554,196 1839 1,793,920 1,806,178 1843 3,047,688 2,516,724 1847 2,190,384 -- 1848 2,541,672 -- 1849 4,274,928 -- 1850 5,860,806 -- 1851 2,898,756 2,749,572 1852 2,242,296 1,066,400

The imports of olive oil into the port of Liverpool were 9,815 tuns in 1849, and 10,038 tuns in 1850. It was brought from Manila, Malaga, and Corfu, but chiefly from Barbary, Palermo, Gallipoli, and the Levant. In 1850 we imported from France 259,646 imperial gallons of olive oil, officially valued at 34,638; the average in ordinary years is only about 20,000 gallons from the continent.

ALMOND OIL.--To the south of the Empire of Morocco there are forests of the Arzo tree, which is th.o.r.n.y, irregular in its form, and produces a species of almond exceedingly hard. Its fruit consists of two almonds, rough and bitter, from which an oil is produced, very excellent for frying. In order to use this oil it requires to be purified by fire, and set in a flame, which must be suffered to die away of itself; the most greasy particles are thus consumed, and its arid qualities wholly destroyed. "When the Moors gather these fruits they drive their goats under the trees, and as the fruit falls the animals carefully nibble off the skins, and then greedily feed.

The oil of almonds is more fluid than olive oil, and of a clear, transparent, yellowish color, with a very slight odor and taste. It is occasionally employed for making the finer kinds of soap, and also in medicine.

In manufacturing it the fruit are first well rubbed or shaken in a coa.r.s.e bag or sack, to separate a bitter powder which covers their epidermis. They are then pounded to a paste in mortars of marble, which paste is afterwards subjected to the action of a press, as in the case of the olive.

About 80 tuns of almond oil are annually imported into this country, the price being about 1s. per pound. Five-and-a-half pounds of almond oil will yield by cold expression one pound six ounces of oil, and three-fourths of a pound more if the iron plates are heated.

SESAME OR TEEL.--Of this small annual plant there are two or three species. _Sesamum orientale_, the common sort; and _S. indic.u.m_, a more robust kind, cultivated at a different season, are both natives of the East Indies. _S. indic.u.m_ bears a pale purple flower, and _S.

orientals_ has a white blossom. It is the latter which is chiefly grown, and the seeds afford the Gingellie oil or suffed-til, already extensively known in commerce in the East. The expressed oil is as clear and sweet as that from almonds, and probably the Behens oil, used in varnish, is no other. It is called by the Arabs "Siriteh," and the seed, "bennie " seed, in Africa. _S. orientals_ is grown in the West Indies under the name of "w.a.n.gle." It is said to have been first brought to Jamaica by the Jews as an article of food. 1,050 bags of gingelly teel, or sesame seed, were imported into Liverpool, in 1849, from the East, South America, and Africa, for expressing oil, and 3,700 bags in 1850. There are two kinds of seed, light and dark, and it is about the same size as mustard seed, only not round.

A hectare of land in Algeria yields 1,475 kilogrammes of seed, which estimated at 50 cents the kilogramme, amounts to 737 francs, whilst the cost of production is only 259 francs, leaving a profit of 478 francs (nearly 20). The oil obtained from this seed is inferior to good olive oil, but is better adapted for the manufacture of soap.

This plant is not unlike hemp, but the stalk is cleaner and semi-transparent. The flower also is so gaudy, that a field in blossom looks like a bed of florist's flowers, and its aromatic fragrance does not aid to dispel such delusion. It flourishes most upon land which is light and fertile. The fragrance of the oil is perceptibly weaker when obtained from seed produced on wet, tenacious soils. A gallon of seed seems to be the usual quant.i.ty sown upon an acre. In Bengal, _S.

orientale_ is sown during February, and the crop harvested at the end of May; but _S. indic.u.m_ is sown on high, dry soil, in the early part of the rains of June, and the harvest occurs in September. About Poonah it is sown in June and harvested in November. In Nepaul two crops are obtained annually; one is sown as a first crop in April and May, and reaped in October and November; the other as an autumn crop, after the upland rise in August and September, and reaped in November and December.

In Mysore, after being cut it is stacked for a week, then exposed to the sun for three days, but gathered into heaps at night; and between every two days of such drying, it is kept a day in the heap. By this process, the pods burst and shed their seeds without thrashing.

The seeds contain an abundance of oil, which might be subst.i.tuted for olive oil; it is procured from them in great quant.i.ties, in Egypt, India, Kashmir, China, and j.a.pan, where it is used both for cooking and burning. It will keep for many years and not acquire any rancid smell or taste, but in the course of a year or two becomes quite mild, so that when the warm taste of the seed, which is in the oil when first expressed, is worn off, it is used for all the purposes of salad oil. It possesses such qualities as fairly ent.i.tle it to introduction into Europe; and if divested of its mucilage, it might perhaps compete with oil of olives, at least for medicinal purposes, and could be raised in any quant.i.ty in the British Indian Presidencies. It is sufficiently free from smell to admit of being made the medium for extracting the perfume of the jasmine, the tuberose, narcissus, camomile, and of the yellow rose. The process is managed by adding one weight of flowers to three weights of oil in a bottle, which being corked is exposed to the rays of the sun for forty days, when the oil is supposed to be sufliciently impregnated for use. This oil, under the name of Gingilie oil, is used in India to adulterate oil of almonds.

The flour of the seed, after the oil is expressed, is used in making cakes, and the straw serves for fuel and manure.

The oil is much used in Mysore for dressing food, and as a common lamp oil. From 200 to 400 quarters under the name of Niger seed are imported annually into Liverpool for expressing oil.

Three varieties of Til are extensively cultivated throughout India, for the sake of the fine oil expressed from their seeds, the white seeded variety, the parti-colored, and the black. It is from the latter that the sesamum or gingelly oil of commerce is obtained.

Sesamum seed contains about 45 per cent. of oil. Good samples of the oil were shown at the Great Exhibition from Vizianagram, Ganjain, Hyderabad, Tanjore, the district of Moorshedabad, and Gwalior. The gingelly seed is stated to be worth about 4 per ton in the North Circars.

An oil resembling that of sesamum is obtained from the seed of _Guizotea oleifera_ and _Abyssinica_, a plant introduced from Abyssinia, and common in Bengal. The ram til, or valisaloo seeds, yield about 34 per cent, of oil. The oil is generally used for burning, and is worth locally about 10d. per gallon.

BLACK TIL (_Verbesena sativa_).--This is known as kutsela or kala til, in the Deccan. It is chiefly cultivated in Mysore and the western districts of Peninsular India, as well as in the Bombay presidency.