_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.