New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1855-08-07
Coral Gkctebes..

FRUiT.--We never saw the fruit-shops and
market entrances more appetizingly garnished
| with the juicy offerings of Pomona than al
present There appears to be a grand mass
meeting or southern convention of fruits, from
every Latitude between Mason and Dixon's line
and the equator That hardy king of fruits
the apple; the pulpy and evanescent peach
which if not quickly consumed, will rot from its
outside to its centre; the luscious pear, which
brooks as little delay rotting from the centre to
the outside; the rosy checked nectarine; the
purple grape; the pink hearted pomegrsnate,
and the juice bursting ig-all in their different
varieties the continental army Of
good things, who meet and fratsrnize with the
golden-hued legions of the sunny Antilles-the
pineapple, orange, lemon, mango, banana and
plantain, with an occasional accompaniment of
| something unknown to many in these parts, the
alligator pear" an uncouth- looking fruit, held
at fabulous price, which has sign stuck up
to call the attention Of the passer- by. Noun
tains of melons Of every size, shape and degree,
from the Watery fifty FOUNDER to the sugared
cantelope, and the little speckled scented
| Melon" which nature created to be smelt and
not eaten, are piled around the small fry emu
merated above.
Altogether, fruit has accumulated in such
abundance, and great part of it is to be had
at such cheap prices, that the popular appetite
for it seems to be stated; and many proud pear
and blushing peach that on its first arrival
coolly asked for dime, has wasted it's sweetness
on the stingy crowd until all its beauty and
spirit has vanished, and it has terminated it's
career ANONYMOUSLY by being carried off half
rotten, and for half cent, in a Niger bows
hat
We cannot drop this subject without advert
ing to that enterprizing class Of citizens who
receive and disburse the aforesaid fruits-Who
preside over the various juicy mass meetings,
and by their skill in ranging them out and dis
playing them to the public eye, render them
more tempting than Dame Nature ever intended
| them to b. These fruit-vendors
or "Dagoes," as they are Familiarity styled.
show consummate skill and taste in displaying
their fruits in their shops; but in the market
places they show genius---deoided genius. Hun
dreds Of persons whose ideas, from poverty or
other oausss, never soar beyond pork and pota-
| toes, pass hurriedly through the fruit quarters
in the markets, withoutdeigning to look at what
is there displayed, and who only know by the
smell that fruit is near. If they would stop and
contemplate, as we do occasionally, they would
discover not only that fruit is there, and for
sale, and for sale cheap and in any quantity,
but they would discern also that it is ranged
with real artistic skill into the seeming of a
landscape the different shades and colors of
the various fruits being as effectively commin-
gled and shaped into ideality as a painters
colors ON his canvas.
We will consider, good reader, that the cur
rent Of people in which we pass one of these
fruity triumphs is river. Nearest to us is a
rough beach Or shore, made up of almond, FL
bert and pecan gravel, yam stumps, ginger
roots and cocoa-nut rocks. Next is sloping
bank Of peaches, pears, nectarines, etc. Then,
abrupt hills of apples and oranges, with melon
precipices in proper proximity. So much for
earth. The celestial scenery is represented by
gorgeous clouds of purple grapes, with sunset
glory of pine-apples and red and yellow bana-
mas Nature being thus fully represented,
architecture comes in. Little Bunker hill mon.
uments of apples and peaches are ranged along
the base ofthe apple and orange hills, while
split melons are scattered oyer the beach like
boats readyfor launching. ALI these things we
discover bytaking deliberate and proper view
of what 90 many give the go-by. as an incon-
gruous andchaotie heaping of fruit.
But it ism the architectural department that
the swarthy fruiterer displays his choicest skill
in the little peach and apple monuments Of
which We spoke. These monuments are built
when the material descends to certain stage
Of cheapnes---say Eve or six for picayune.
Three constitute the base or abutment, and
three more the shaft. So numerous are these
monuments, and 80 universally do they exist the
year round, from the perpetually cheapening
process OF some fruit or other, that people in
general think it is nothing to build them
Those who hold to this opinion have only to
make the experiment. to ascertain the difficulty
OF it. Yet these Spaniards have 80 effectually
reduced the thing to science, thatit is nothing
to them. We have often seen one of these
geniuses take handful of peaches or apples,
and pile them up fundamentally, as it seemed,
by just dropping them down, one upon another.
One would think this the acme of that kind OF
genius; but it is not We have long had dis
trust Of those little monuments, and never pur-
chase one without first taking peep at the rear
side Of it; and our dstrust has in nearly all in
stances been we'll The freckles and
moles, or, more plainly speaking, the rotten
spots in the fruit, are always to be found on the
rear side This would seem to betoken great
care and study in the building process; but no
such mental labor is requisite, according to what
we have seen.
III thou would'st view thu French Market Alright,
10 visit 1t BY the dawn's gray light
is q piece Of advice generally volunteered to
strangers in the city and such visit is no less
novelty to a" native of contemplative mood,
than to stranger. While we were there early
one Sunday morning, we were attracted by the
rapldity and apparent thoughtlessness with
which spaniard piled up his little columns of
fruit. The material was peach, of rosiest blush,
and having all suspicion of rotten spots banished
from our mind by the seemingly clumsy man
ner IN which the monuments were piled we con-
Guided to devour one of them. We bought with
out examining, and were bitten. Every peach
had rotten spot on its hind-side Our first
impulse was to quarrel with the fellow but our
second WAS to admire the cnnsumYn ate inoanr;tr