  18. The OLIVE (Olea Europea) is a low evergreen tree, which, in its general form and appearance, somewhat resembles a willow. It is cultivated in several parts of the continent, and has spear-shaped leaves, and clusters of small white flowers, that arise at the junction of the leaves and branches (Fig. 1.) The fruit of this tree has the name of olives. These are usually about the size of a damson plum, and each contains a hard, rough stone. When first gathered they have an acrid, bitter, and unpleasant taste; and it is not until they have been steeped, for several days, in a ley of wood ashes, and then pickled in salt and water, that they are in the state to be introduced at table after dinner, in desserts. Lucca olives, being smaller than any others, have the weakest taste. The larger ones are imported from Spain, and are the strongest; but those most esteemed are the olives of Provence, which are of middle size. If olives be eaten by persons of delicate habits, especially after a solid or heavy dinner, they are considered injurious, on account of the great quantity of oil they contain. It is to this fruit that we are indebted for the salad or olive oil, which is so much in use throughout every part of Europe. The preparation of it is as follows:—The olives, when sufficiently ripe, are carefully picked, by hand, off the trees, and those that are bad are taken out and thrown aside. After having been left a little while to wither, they are first bruised, and then more completely crushed, by an upright millstone rolling upon an horizontal plane. The paste thus formed is submitted to the operation of the press. The finest oil flows first: when no more is found to flow, the pulp is The olive tree has ever been considered the symbol of peace; and the ancient poets have asserted that Minerva well merited the honour of giving her name to the city of Athens for having planted it in Attica. As a wood, this tree is in considerable request by cabinet makers, from its being beautifully veined, and taking an excellent polish. In some parts of Spain, ornamental boxes are made of the roots of the olive tree. Olive oil is employed in various branches of culinary and domestic economy. When united with soda, it is manufactured into soap. It is likewise used in medicine; is adopted as a softening ingredient in almost all kinds of ointments and plasters, and is supposed to be efficacious as a remedy against the poison of the viper. Persons copiously anointed with oil are said to have escaped the infection of the plague and yellow fever. TRIGYNIA.19. THE COMMON JASMINE (Jasminum officinale) is a well known shrub, with white, salver-shaped flowers, and opposite, winged leaves, the leaflets somewhat pointed; and is a native of Malabar and other parts of the East. As an ornamental shrub, jasmine has long been cultivated in Europe. It is chiefly trained against walls and trellis-work, and is interesting, not only from the elegance of its foliage, but also from the number of beautiful white flowers with which it is adorned throughout the summer and autumn. These exhale a sweet The Italians, by a very simple operation, prepare from the flowers of jasmine a grateful perfume. They soak cotton-wool in some kind of scentless vegetable oil, and then place, in glass vessels, alternate layers of this and of the flowers. After having been left in this state some days, the flowers are found to have given the whole of their fragrance to the oil in the cotton: they are then separated, and the oil is pressed out and removed into small glass bottles for use. 20. BLACK PEPPER is the dried berry of a climbing or trailing plant (Piper nigrum, Fig. 3) which grows in the East Indies, and in most of the islands of the Indian Sea. Its stem has numerous joints, and throws out roots at every joint. The leaves, which are somewhat egg-shaped, and pointed, are of a brownish colour, and have each seven very strong nerves. The flowers are small and white. In the cultivation of pepper it is customary to mark out the grounds into regular squares of about six feet each, which is the usual distance allowed for the plants. And, as these have not sufficient strength to support themselves in an upright growth, they are generally placed near a thorny kind of shrub, among the branches of which they creep like ivy. When they have run to a considerable height, the twigs, on which the berries hang, bend down, and the fruit appears in long slender clusters, of from twenty to fifty grains, somewhat resembling, but much more compact than, bunches of currants. The berries are green when young, but change to a bright red colour when ripe. As soon as they begin to redden, they are in a fit state to be gathered. When gathered, they are spread upon mats in the sun, where they are suffered to remain till they become dry, black, and shrivelled, as we see them. In this state they have the denomination of black pepper. White pepper is nothing more than the best and soundest of the berries, gathered when they are fully As the acridity of pepper lies principally in the skin, this kind becomes, of course, much less pungent than the other; but it has one recommendation, that it can be made only of the best and soundest grains, taken at their most perfect state of maturity. Pepper is an article of considerable traffic betwixt this country and the East Indies. That which is imported from Malabar is considered better than any other. The quantity of pepper vended at the East India Company's sales has, in some years, exceeded six millions of pounds' weight, of which seven or eight hundred thousand pounds have been retained for home consumption. Both black and white pepper are in daily use, not only as a spice, but also in cookery. When coarsely ground, pepper is eaten with peas, cabbages, cucumbers, and other flatulent and cold vegetables; and occasionally also with fish. It is sometimes employed in medicine as a stimulant. A singular imposition respecting pepper is occasionally practised in retail shops in London: artificial pepper-corns, both black and white, are mixed and sold with real pepper. The detection of this fraudulent mixture, however, is easy. If a handful of the suspected pepper be thrown into water, the artificial corns will fall to powder, or be partially dissolved, while the true pepper-corns will remain whole. The fraudulent grains are said to be made of peas-meal. 21. LONG PEPPER is the fruit of a slender climbing shrub (Piper longum) which grows in the East Indies. It is of cylindrical shape, about an inch and half in length, and a quarter of an inch in thickness; and is formed by the A considerable quantity of long pepper is annually imported in this country from Bengal and other parts of the East, for use, both in domestic economy and in medicine. The inhabitants of India drink water in which long pepper has been infused, and esteem it a valuable remedy for some disorders of the stomach. They also distil an ardent spirit from it; and they pickle this fruit in vinegar, for use at table. The fruit that is collected for exportation is gathered before it is quite ripe. 22. BETEL is the leaf of a climbing East Indian plant (Piper betel) which belongs to the same tribe as pepper; and, in shape and appearance, is not much unlike that of ivy, but is more tender, and full of juice. There is an almost incredible consumption of betel over the whole continent of India. The inhabitants chew it almost incessantly, and in such quantity that their lips become quite red, and their teeth black, a colour greatly preferred by them to the whiteness which Europeans so much affect. They carry it, in little white boxes, about their persons, and present it to each other, by way of compliment and civility, in the same manner as the Europeans do snuff. This is done by women as well as by men: and it would be considered an offence if those to whom it was offered should refuse to accept of, and chew it. The leaves are sometimes used alone, but much more commonly covered with a kind of lime made of sea shells, and wrapped round slices of the areca nut (245). |
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