for maple-sap?"

Malcolm was about to exclaim at this idea, but he remembered just in
time that, should Miss Harson happen to question him, he himself could
not tell where the oil came from.

"The oil is pressed from the olives," was the reply; "a large, vigorous
tree is said to yield a thousand pounds of it. It is such an important
article of commerce in the regions where it is prepared that every one
desires to get as much as he can out of his olive trees, but those who
are too greedy of gain will spoil the quality of the oil to make a
larger quantity. The small olive of Syria is considered the most
delicate, and Italian olives also are very fine; those of Spain are
larger and coarser. The best olive-oil comes from the south-eastern
portion of France and is a clear, pure liquid; it is obtained from the
first pressing of the fruit. This must be only a gentle squeeze, to get
the purest oil: the quality usually sold is made by a heavier pressure;
and then, when the olives are worked over again, come the dregs, which
are not fit for table-use."

"Do they mash 'em, like making apples into cider?" asked Malcolm.

"Something like that; and the olive-farmers take the most anxious care
of their orchards, for they know that the more olives the more oil.
This with the Italians means a living, and one of their proverbs says,
'If you wish to leave a competency to your grandchildren, plant an
olive.' The poorest of the fruit is eaten in their own families, 'to
save it,' and, as it does not taste so well, it will go much farther.
They do not eat olives, though, as we see them eaten--one or two as a
relish; but a respectable dishful is provided for each person, instead
of the bread and potatoes which they do not have."

"I'd rather have the bread and potatoes," said Clara, "and I'm glad that
I don't have to eat a whole plate of olives."

"If you had always been accustomed to having olives, as the Italians
are," replied Miss Harson, "you would think them very nice. I do not
suppose that their children ever think how much more inviting are the
olives that are kept for sale. Olives intended for exportation are
gathered while still green, usually in the month of October. They are
soaked for some hours in the strongest lye, to get rid of their
bitterness, and are afterward allowed to stand for a fortnight in
frequently-changed fresh water, in order to be perfectly purified of the
lye. It only then remains to preserve them in common