BEsides the Olives, we make a considerable Business of the Oil, which is so necessary to Life, that we may bring it in competition with Bread and Wine. The way of making Oil Olive is little different from that of Almonds, since it depends upon nothing else towards the making of good Oil, than after the gathering of the Olives, when they begin to redden, that is to say, when they are full ripe, which is in December and January, to press out the Oil in the Mills for that purpose, which produces an Oil that is sweet, and of a pleasant Taste and Smell: And this Oil is what we call Virgin-Oil; the most valuable of which is that of Grasse, Aramont, Aix, Nice, likewise some other Places. But as the new-gather'd Olives do not yield the Quantity of Oil which those do which lie some Time up-on the Floor, those who would have a great deal of Oil, leave the Olives to rot, and afterwards press them; but the Oil which they produce is of an unpleasant and disagreeable Taste and Smell. Some also, to make them yield the more, throw boiling Water upon what remain'd of the first Pressing, which they squeeze over again; and this Oil, made thus, is what we call common Oil, not varying in Goodness, but according to the Places from whence it comes. The best common Oils come from Genoa, Oneille, and other Parts of Italy, and from Provence, and the worst come from Spain, but especially from Majorca and Portugal.
The Choice of Oil is so well known to all the World, it would be useless to insist upon it. And Oil Olive is so much used, that we have no Sort of Commodity where-of we make a greater Consumption, in that few can be without it; besides its use in Medicine, as being the Basis of all compound Oils, Cerecloths, Balsams, Ointments, and Plaisters. Besides these great Qualities that are in Oil Olive, I shall not stop to say that it is a natural Balsam for the Cure of Wounds, being beat up with Wine; and it is of Wine and this Oil, that the Samaritan Balsam is made, and it is a Medicine in vogue at this Day, as well with the Rich as the Poor. Oil Olive is also useful for burning, especially in Churches, and the like, because it does not stink so bad as other Sorts of Oils, besides it lasts longer; but its Dearness makes it that the Poor cannot use it. We likewise have a considerable Trade in Nut-Oil, which we have brought us from Burgundy, Touraine, or Orleans, which bears a great Price, because it is much us'd by Painters, and other Workmen, as Printers, Rolling-press Workers, and the like: and, besides, there's a great many who use it for the cure of Wounds, as being a natural Balsam, and so for frying withal. As to its use for burning, it is a very ill Practice, because it is quickly consumed, and moreover it is reduced to a Coal. We make further a considerable Dealing in Oil of Rapes, which we have from Flanders, and a common Sort from Champagne or Normandy. So likewise we have Oil of Camomile and Linseed from Flanders and other Parts, especially when Train or Whale-Oil is dear. Besides the Oil of Olives compleat, which is, as I have said, what is press'd out of ripe Olives, and is brought to us frequently from Florence as well as Genoa, there is the Oil Omphacine press'd out of unripe Olives, for which reason it is cooling, drying, and binding, used in several Compositions for strengthening the Stomach, healing Exulcerations, cooling the Heat of Inflammations, and repercussing Tumours in their beginning; hereof is made Oil of Roses, Omphacine and Oil of Quinces. The Oil of ripe Olives heats and moistens moderately, whereof the old mollifies more than the new, but the last is best for internal Uses, and loosens the Belly, taken in warm Ale, or the like, to an Ounce. It corrects the Dryness or Huskiness of the Breast, and allays the Pains of the Belly, relaxes the Ureters, cleanses and heals them. It is us'd with warm Water to provoke vomiting, and cleanse the Stomach. A Linctus is made of it with Syrup of Violets against Hoarseness, and Shortness of Breath, and to open Obstructions of the Breast or urinary Passages. It is us'd in Clysters to loosen the Belly, and mollify the harden'd Excrements. The distill'd Oil Olive is that which is call'd Oil of Bricks, which is a subtil and piercing Oil, and of great Virtues, but not much us'd, because it stinks so egregiously, tho' good in both Gout and Palsy.