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THE OLIVE
{1}
BY
K. G. BITTING, M.S.,
BACTERIOLOGIST,
GLASS CONTAINER ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
———
THE RESEARCH LABORATORY,
GLASS CONTAINER ASSOCIATION
OF AMERICA,
3344 S. MICHIGAN AVENUE,
CHICAGO, ILL.
{2}Copyright, 1920
Glass Container Association of America
OLIVES
Olea europaea L.
There is no tree nor fruit which offers more in interest than the olivetree and its fruit. To obtain anything approaching an idea of itsmany-sidedness, it is necessary to become acquainted with the life andlegends of ancient peoples, in which it entered as sustenance and assymbol; to know something of art, as the olive has furnished the motiffor much decoration, both symbolic and purely esthetic; to knowsomething of botany and horticulture, to appreciate its parts and tounderstand their structure and development; something of chemistry andphysics, to understand its various constituents and their intelligenttreatment; something of the culinary art, to understand its value andits varied uses as a food and condiment; of medicine, to appreciate themany virtues ascribed to it as a healing agent; and of cosmetics, tobelieve all that is claimed for it as a cleanser and beautifier. Eachphase offers many fascinating possibilities, revealed through the mostancient as well as the most recent literature, for with time the olivehas gained both in interest and value.
Origin
The olive according to De Candolle has been cultivated for more than4,000 years, probably the longest period for any tree. Its early historyis known only through ancient literature, and ancient remains{4} in whichit served either as decoration or as a constituent. Through these itsoriginal home has been traced to Asia Minor, a region originallyextending from Syria to Greece. That it grew on Mt. Ararat and was theharbinger to Noah of the recession of the flood is told in Genesis—“andthe dove came in to him in the evening, and, lo, in her mouth was anolive leaf pluckt off.”
The ancient Egyptians as a part of the fruit of their conquests obtainedthe olive during the 19th dynasty. Mummies, dating from the 20th to the26th dynasty, have been found surrounded by garlands of olive leaves.From Egypt it spread into northern Africa. It is said to have been takento Greece by Cecrops, the founder of Athens. The legend states that inthe reign of Cecrops both Poseidon and Athena contended for thepossession of Athens. The gods resolved that whichever of them produceda gift most useful to mortals should have possession. Poseidon struckthe ground with his trident and straightway a horse appeared. Athenathen planted the olive. The gods gave the city to the goddess from whomit was called Athenae.
Pindar says that all the slopes of Olympus were soon covered with it,and that the Athenians used to crown the victors in the Olympian gameswith its branches. Later it was used to crown their warriors and wisecitizens. The method of oil extraction was also obtained from outside.The Greeks are supposed to have had the wild olive, Oleaster,previously, but the fruit of this is valueless. They are the{5} firstEuropean people to have cultivated the olive. Its cultivation