Page:The Olive Its Culture in Theory and Practice.djvu/163

Rh The so-called white oil is preferred simply because some markets demand it, but it is undesirable from every point of view. As it is made from over-ripe fruit it soon becomes rancid, and lacks the delicate flavor of oil made at just the proper time. But worse than all this it is made at the expense of the tree, for it is evident that the sooner the tree can be relieved of the burden of its crop, the better it will recuperate for the following season.

It is doubtful whether the olive produces more oil when picked barely ripe, or at full maturity, or when it commences to fall from the tree. The usual belief is in favor of a deferred harvest, and the country people express it in the couplet that heads this chapter.

This is an illusion. The longer the berries hang on the trees the greater is their exposure to a variety of perils; the birds devour many, more are beaten off by storms, and unless they are taken off the ground immediately, acquire an earthy flavor which renders them unfit for oil making. Another serious danger is that of being touched by frost which diminishes the yield of oil. But even supposing all olives to remain on the tree up to the point of full maturity, they are not making any more oil but are losing water. They become softer inasmuch as they lose in bulk, thus increasing the relative but not the actual quantity of oil.

We may therefore draw the following conclusions;

First: That the greatest absolute quantity of oil is to be obtained when the olives are ripe.

Second: That in a late harvest there is no gain in quantity but an actual loss in quality.

Third: That in anticipating maturity in southern countries, it is possible to reduce the tendency to grossness, high color and bad taste and so produce a finer oil.

From very ancient times the olive has been gathered by beating the trees with poles and so knocking the berries to the ground.