.

You said that the olive is an Evergreen: to what plant or shrub is the
term particularly applied?

To any shrub or tree whose leaves continue fresh and green all the
year round, winter and summer, as the laurel, pine, cedar, holly, &c.,
which do not shed their leaves in autumn as other trees.

Is oil a production confined to the Olive alone?

By no means. Oil is a fatty, inflammable matter, drawn from many
vegetable and animal bodies. The oils in common use are of three
different kinds. The first are mere _oily_ or fatty bodies, extracted
either by pressure, or by decoction: of the first kind are those of
almonds, nuts, olives, &c.; and of the other, those of different
berries, &c., which are procured by boiling the substance in water,
which causes the oil to collect on the top.

_Decoction_, act of boiling--a chemical term.

What are the second and third kinds of Oils?

The second are those drawn from vegetables by common distillation in
the alembic, with the aid of water; these contain the _oily_ and
volatile part of the plant, and are called _essential_ oils. The third
sort are those produced by distillation, but of a different kind in an
open vessel, and without the help of water. They are likewise divided
into _vegetable_ oils, _animal_ oils, and _mineral_ oils; which last
are those drawn from amber, and a few other substances partaking both
of the vegetable and mineral natures, as Petroleum, commonly known as
kerosene or coal oil.

_Alembic_, a chemical vessel used in distilling. It consists
of a vessel placed over a fire, containing the substance to
be distilled; the upper part, which receives and condenses
the steam, is called the head; the beak of this is fitted to
a vessel called a receiver.

_Volatile_, easily escaping, quickly flying off.

Whence is the word Oil derived?

From the Latin _oleum_, formed from _olea, olive-tree_, the fruit of
which abounds in oil.

What immense fish is it that furnishes us with a quantity of _animal_
oil?

The Whale, the largest and noblest inhabitant of the waters. It is
protected from the cold by a case or coating of blubber, that is, a
thick oily fat from which the oil is made; numbers of them are caught
for the sake of that. Ambergris, highly prized in perfumery, is a
product of the sperm whale.

In what seas are they found?

Chiefly in the Northern Seas: extensive whale fisheries are carried on
by the A