The operation of stuffing consists in removing the pit and filling the cavity with some other substance, particularly pimiento, these forming the bulk of the stuffed olive trade. The bright red of the latter gives a pleasing contrast with the green, and the mild pungency is very agreeable to many persons. Pickled celery, capers, etc., have been used, but were not so favorably received, and at present, the substances used to any extent, aside from the pimiento, are Manzanillos stuffed with pieces of Queens, and some stuffed with anchovies for the South American trade. Pitting machines have been devised, and also machines for stuffing the olives, but the work done by the stuffing machines is crude as compared with hand work. The olives used for stuffing are the Manzanillo which are smaller than the Queen. The sizes are as follows: MANZANILLO (Stuffed) 180-200 200-220 220-240 240-260 260-280 280-300 300-320 320-340 340-360 They are packed in barrels of about 45 gallons capacity, and like the Queen, are repacked into individual containers in this country. A few olives are packed with a mince of capers, anchovies, truffles, etc., and the olives preserved in oil. A few are also packed for garnishing, in which cubes are cut out and the spaces filled with bright peppers. Domestic In California the commercially prepared olives are practically all ripe, only a very limited quantity of green ones being prepared. Since the olives, even on the same tree, ripen at various periods, three pickings are made during the season, when olives well colored and of an equal degree of ripeness are taken. In excessively ripe olives, the skin toughens, and the fruit is difficult to pickle. The trees are pruned so as to keep them low enough to be reached by the harvesters on step ladders, in order that all picking may be done by hand. The picked fruit is taken to a central point to be filled into boxes or barrels, for transportation to the factory. For the best grades of olives, particular care is taken during this part of the work to avoid bruising the fruit, which is picked into canvas bags, pails, etc., then poured into barrels partly filled with water, so that the water will furnish a cushion for the fruit. The olives are transported to the factory in these barrels. These precautions are taken as bruised spots soften and become black, and the resulting processed fruit will not be of first quality. Many [Illustration: Sorting Olives for Size by Machine]