rcular cases made of grass woven,
having a round hole at top and bottom; when filled they resemble in
shape our Cheshire cheeses. A number of these placed one upon another,
are put in a press, and being squeezed, the oil with all its
impurities, runs into a receptacle below fixed in the ground. From
hence it is laded into a wooden vat, half filled with water. The sordes
or dirt falls to the bottom; the oil swims a-top; and being skimmed
off, is barrelled up in small oblong casks. What remains in the vat, is
thrown into a large stone cistern with water, and after being often
stirred, and standing twelve or fourteen days, yields a coarser oil
used for lamps and manufactures. After these processes, they extract an
oil still more coarse and fetid from the refuse of the whole.
Sometimes, in order to make the olives grind the more easily into a
paste, and part with more oil, they are mixed with a little hot water:
but the oil thus procured is apt to grow rancid. The very finest,
called virgin oil, is made chiefly of green olives, and sold at a very
high price, because a great quantity is required to produce a very
little oil. Even the stuff that is left after all these operations,
consisting of the dried pulp, is sold for fuel, and used in brasieres
for warming apartments which have no chimney.

I have now specified all the manufactures of Nice which are worth
mentioning. True it is, there is some coarse paper made in this
neighbourhood; there are also people here who dress skins and make
leather for the use of the inhabitants: but this business is very ill
performed: the gloves and shoes are generally rotten as they come from
the hands of the maker. Carpenter's, joiner's, and blacksmith's work is
very coarsely and clumsily done. There are no chairs to be had at Nice,
but crazy things made of a few sticks, with rush bottoms, which are
sold for twelve livres a dozen. Nothing can be more contemptible than
the hard-ware made in this place, such as knives, scissors, and
candle-snuffers. All utensils in brass and copper are very ill made and
finished. The silver-smiths make nothing but spoons, forks, paultry
rings, and crosses for the necks of the women.

The houses are built of a ragged stone dug from the mountains, and the
interstices are filled with rubble; so that the walls would appear very
ugly, if they were not covered with plaister, which has a good effect.
They generally consist of three stories, and are covered with til