OLD SOUTH CHURCH
1379
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stroyed in 1862, as it was in the way of the batteries OB. Fortress Monroe, but has been rebuilt and is very popular. The watering-place is 16 miles north of Norfolk, Va.
Old South Church or Old South Meet-ing»House» Boston, stands at the corner of Milk and Washington Streets. It occupies the site of an original wooden church; but even the present building dates back to 1729. In this church many events of historic interest have occurred. Here Judge Sewall confessed and repented his part in the witchcraft agitations which marked 1692; Benjamin Franklin was baptized; revolutionary meetings were held; and the expedition to throw the taxed tea overboard in 1773 was assembled. Old South Meeting-House was used as a riding-school in 1775, and as a post-office after the fire of 1872; but it now is in the hands of a patriotic society and houses a collection of interesting historical relics.
O'lean'der, species of Nerium, a genus belonging to the dogbane family. There are but few species, which are natives from the Mediterranean region through southern Asia to Japan. The common oleander of cultivation is N, oleander, native to the Mediterranean region; while N. odorum, a sweet-scented form, comes from the East Indies. The plant is said to be more or less poisonous, especially the leaves. N. oleander rises to a height of eight or ten feet; the leaves are thick and leathery, evergreen; the plant blooms profusely, bearing a myriad of white or pink blossoms. In warm countries it is a favorite shrub, in cooler lands a favorite house-plant. It may readily be propagated by planting cuttings previously started in bottles of water.
O'le Bull. See BULL, OLE.
O'lean', N. Y., a city in Cattaraugus County at the confluence of the Allegheny River and Olean Creek; on the Erie; Pennsylvania; and Pittsburg Shawmut and Northern railroads, about 68 miles southeast of Buffalo. It is a distributing point for large quantities of petroleum, through a pipeline system, and has manufacturing industries of importance. It has good schools, public and private; Foreman library; and about 20 church edifices. It was settled in 1804, incorporated as a village in 1854 and chartered as a city in 1893. The government is vested in a mayor, elected for two years, and a council. The city owns and operates its own water works. Population
14.743-
O'leomar'garine, a substance made from tallow, resembling butter. It is also called butterine. The making of artificial butter was first suggested by a French chemist, and is quite an important industry. American factories produce large quantities, which are used in this country mostly for cooking purposes, but, shipped to Europe, take the place of butter among the poorer classes. Beef-suet is washed several times in lukewarm
water, minced fine in a cutting machine, and. melted by steam, when salt is added. The fat floats on top and is drawn off, purified, and, after it is cold, pressed to separate the butter-oil from the stearine. This butter-oil is the true oleomargarine. It is light yellow, and has a pleasant taste. A mixture made of two thirds of this oil, about one fifth milk, with a small amount of butter and some coloring matter, is churned together, the product resembling butter in taste and appearance and having all the elements found in butter made from cream. To prevent sale of it as cream-butter, Congress passed a law taxing the sale and requiring every package to be marked as oleomargarine or butterine. In 1906 the amount on which the government tax was paid exceeded 53,-000,000 pounds weight. The value of the annual product in the United States amounts to over $10,000,000. In England the sale of margarine has grown largely of recent years; in 1906 butter and margarine were consumed to the extent of 13.9 fbs. per head. Margarine is growing steadily in favor, since good margarine, which is a wholesome and excellent foodstuff, is always to be preferred to indifferent butter.
Ol'ga, St., a Russian princess and saint of the Greek church. She governed the country during the minority of her son. Going to Constantinople, she was baptized, taking the name of Helena, and labored with great zeal to spread her new faith throughout Russia. She died in 969, and is highly venerated by the Russian church. Her festival occurs on July 21.
Ol'iphant, Mrs. Margaret (Wilson), a Scottish novelist and writer, was born in Midlothian in 1828. Her first book, Passages in the Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland, appeared in 1849, and at once attracted attention. Other works followed, some of them appearing in Blackwood's Magazine. Her reputation as a novelist was, however, first made by the publication of The Chronicles of Car-lingford. She was a prolific writer, having written over 30 novels and 10 or 12 other works. Among her works are The Makers of Florence; The Makers of Venice; The Makers of Modern Rome; Royal Edinburgh; Fran-cis of As sis si; Historical Sketches of the Reign of George II; Memoirs of the Count de Mont-alembert; and Literary History of England from 1790 to 1825. She died at London, June 2 5, 1897.
Ol'ive, species of Olea, a genus containing over 30 species, natives of the tropical and subtropical regions of the eastern hemisphere. The common commercial species are under cultivation for the well-known fruit. The olive has been cultivated from the earliest times, chiefly for the sake of the oil, which is obtained from the fruit by pressure , and is extensively used for pickles. The tree has been grown in California since the old mission-days, and is raised extensively
