THE OLIVE 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. COPYRIGHT, 1920 GLASS CONTAINER ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA OLIVES _Olea europaea_ L. There is no tree nor fruit which offers more in interest than the olive tree and its fruit. To obtain anything approaching an idea of its many-sidedness, it is necessary to become acquainted with the life and legends of ancient peoples, in which it entered as sustenance and as symbol; to know something of art, as the olive has furnished the motif for much decoration, both symbolic and purely esthetic; to know something of botany and horticulture, to appreciate its parts and to understand their structure and development; something of chemistry and physics, to understand its various constituents and their intelligent treatment; something of the culinary art, to understand its value and its varied uses as a food and condiment; of medicine, to appreciate the many virtues ascribed to it as a healing agent; and of cosmetics, to believe all that is claimed for it as a cleanser and beautifier. Each phase offers many fascinating possibilities, revealed through the most ancient as well as the most recent literature, for with time the olive has gained both in interest and value. Origin The olive according to De Candolle has been cultivated for more than 4,000 years, probably the longest period for any tree. Its early history is known only through ancient literature, and ancient remains in which it served either as decoration or as a constituent. Through these its original home has been traced to Asia Minor, a region originally extending from Syria to Greece. That it grew on Mt. Ararat and was the harbinger to Noah of the recession of the flood is told in Genesis--“and the dove came in to him in the evening, and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off.”