Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

OLIEA. OLEA. 825pruned. The system of culture here indicated was oil was employed for a variety -of purposes, but
followed so generally that it had become embodied chiefly
in a proverb "Veteris proverbii memninisse con- a. As an article of food.
venit, emn qui aret olivetum, rogare fructum; qui /. For anointing the body, and in this case
stercoret, exorare; qui caedat, cogere." (Columell. was frequently made a vehicle for perfumes
v. 9. ~ 15.) Besides this, the whole surface of (unguenta).
the ground was regularly ploughed at the usual y. For burning in lamps.
seasons, and cropped in alternate years, the manure PRESERVING OLIVES. (Condere oleas, oliapplied for these crops being altogether inde- varum coadizlrcl, conditio.)
pendent of that supplied to the trees specially. Olives might be preserved in various ways,
Moreover, since olives bore fruit, in abundance at either when unripe (albae, acerbue), or ripe (nigrae);
least, only once in two years, matters were so ar- or half-ripe (variae,fitsecae).
ranged that the land should yield a crop in those Green olives, the Pausia being used principally
years when the trees were unproductive. for this purpose, were preserved in strong brine
2. A second method of propagation was to cut (s2zeuria), according to the modern practice, or they
the roots of wild olives into small pieces in such were beaten together into a mass, steeped in water
a manner that each should contain an eye or rudi- which was frequently changed, then pressed and
ment of a lateral fibre (sradiczum oculis silvestrium thrown with salt into a jar of vinegar, to which
olearun lhortulos excolesre), and these pieces were various spices or flavouring condiments were added,
treated precisely in the same manner as the taleae especially the seeds of the Pistachia Lentiscus, or
described above. Gum Mastich tree, and fennel. Sometimes, instead
3. A third method is indicated by Virgil in the of vinegar, inspissated must (sapa, defzutusm), or
lines sweet wine ( passuar ) or honey were employed, in
Quin et cudicibs sects miraile dictu, which case the olives were preserved sweet, and
Tuint et cudsicco radix olea ils a li nosometimes salt pickle, vinegar, must and oil, seem
Truditur e sicco radix oleagina lign0, to have been all mixed together.
-, 0 9 to ha-e been all mixed together.
and is still pursued in some parts of Italy, where, Half-ripe olives (and here again the Peusia was
as we are told, "an old tree is hewn down and the the favourite ) were picked with their stalks and
stock cut into pieces of nearly the size and shape covered over in a jar with the best oil. In this
of a mushroom, and which from that circumstance manner they retained the flavour of the fresh fruit
are called novoli; care at the same time is taken for more than a year.
that a small portion of bark shall belong to each Ripe olives, especially the orelcilis, were sprinkled
novolo. These, afterhaving been dipped in manure, with salt, and left untouched for five days, the salt
are put into the earth, soon throw up shoots, are was then shaken off, and they were dried in the
transplanted at the end of one year, and in three sun. Or they were preserved sweet in defrutunm
years are fit to form an olive yard." without salt.
Grafting or budding (inseesre, insitio, oculos in- The peculiar preparation called Epiyiyrum2 was
serere) were also resorted to for the purpose of in- made by taking olives in any of the three stages,
troducing fine varieties or of rendering barren trees extracting the stones, chopping up the pulp and
fruitful. (Cat. R. R. 40, 42, 43, 45; Varr. R. R. throwing the fragments into a jar with oil, vinegar,
i. 40; Columell. v. 9, De Arbor. 17; Plin. IT. N. coriander seeds, cumin, fennel, rue and mint, the
xviii. 19. s. 30; Pallad. iii. 8, 18, x. 1, xi. 8; quantity of oil being sufficient to cover up the coul-:
Geopon. ix. 5, 6, &c.; Blunt's Vestiges of Ancient pound and exclude the air. In fact, it was an oli-ve
Ilanrners, &c., in Italy, p. 215.) salad, and, as the name imports, eaten with cheese.
OLIVE GATHERING (Oleitas, Olivilas). The (Cat. R. R. 11] 7, 118, 119; Varr. R. R. i. 60;
olive usually comes to maturity, in Italy, about the Co!umell. xii. 49; Geopon. ix. 3, 32.)
middle or latter end of December, but, according to OIL MAKING (Oleu?7 conficere). The fruit of
the views of the proprietors, it was gathered in the olive tree consists of two parts, the pulpy
various stages of its progress, either while yet green pericarp (caro), and the stone (nucleus).
(alba), or when changing colour (van-ia), or when The caro or pulp yielded two fluids: one of
fully ripe (sigsa), but it was considered highly these of a watery consistence, larkl in colour, bitter
desirable that it should never be allowed to re- to the taste, flowed from the olive upon very slight
main so long as to filt of its own accord. The pressure; it was called a&p-pym? by the Greeks,
fruit was picked as dar as possible with the bare Aslmrca by the Latins, and was extensively used as
hand, but such as could not be reached from the a manure and for a great number of purposes con-:
ground or by the aid of ladders was beaten down nected with domestic economy. The other fluids
with long reeds, which were preferred to sticks as which flowed from the pulp, when subjected to
less likely to injure the basrk of the branches and more forcible pressure, was the oil (olezm, olivue),:
the young bearers, a want of attention to this pre- mingled however to a certain extent with amurca
caution on the part of the gatherers (leguli) being and other impurities (f'aces, fleeces), and this was
in the opinion of Varro the cause why olive trees of different qualities, according to the state of the
so seldom yielded a full crop for two years con- fruit, and the amount of pressure. The finest oil:
secutively. (Varr. R. R. i. 55; Plin. LH.. xv. 3. was made from the fruit before it was fully ripe,
s. 6; Geopon. ix. 17.) and from this circumstance, or from its greenish
DIFFERENT USES. The fruit (bacca) of the olive colour, was termed Oleuns viride, and by the
was for the most part employed for one of two pur- Greeks gmpcpdcKtvov: the quantity given out was how-,
poses. ever small, and hence the remark of Cato, Qmualsa
1. It was eaten as a fruit, either fresh, pickled, acerbissima olea ole2um7 facies trns oleusm optinmum7s
or preserved in various ways.. erit: domino de amatura olea oleumz fieri maximon.
2. It was pressed so as to yield the oil and expediet.
other juices which it contained. And again, the A distinction is made by ColumelIa, between the,