Daily Yellowstone journal., 1886-02-09
C.,hp ,ea ON THE APPLE.
Tho PomoioRicni Index Of Civilization
10, Commercial Significance.

tho T"motoRtrhl inneh =" sNfshtbh-
10, Commercial Significance.
tur modern times have not paid a
proper respect TO the dignity of the
apple. The nncients better appreciated
its rams among the fruits Of the earth;
hut 20 Jus its allied attributes are
sh meguly ignored IL is treated rs
en- r oniu condition of cider, CON.
mon fruit something TO be manipu-
lated in;5 pies, and it is no more pro-
tcetc.l from offering hands than an um
,ralla OK quotation. A more eredita-
hlo state OF feeling is getting a. road
among farmers in regard to its orchard
treatment, owing TO the convincing rlr-
cumstanres of the great profit IN Il
whom the tree Is rightly titled never
tleie1s, where one orchard is cared for
with zeal end circumspection there are
ten left TO grow up among the weeds or
turned out to grass like a worthless ana
broken down horse. II the same pains
wers given to the cultivation OF the
apple and the Improvement OF its
varieties that American fruit culturiSts
have bestowed upon tie pear and the
grape, we should be able in a few years
to mark as great an advance IN the
character and quality of this fruit as
has heen obtained for those.
rliny enUmerates twenty varieties in
his DAY. and We find mention of CIDER in
Augustine, Tertullian and other African
fathers. They probably became ac-
quainted with its sparkling virtues
through the Goths and \andals, who
overraD the Mediterranean provinces in
their day, and who impaired their
knowledge OF the new beverage to the
con ,uered, in compensation for the sad
work they made in fields and temples.
We find likewise much mention of the
apple IN the elder Persian, Arabian and
Indian poetry. II is likely that the
somaiu, which, as the Vedas tells us,
was the drink Of the Hindu divinites,
was nothing more nor less than that
amber colored nectar which now de-
lights the mortals of New Jersey. But
alter all it is among the western nations
that We must expect to tind the apple
reigning lsewhere its scepter will al
ways lie disputed by the orange. the fig,
the grape, the date, the olive, the plan
tain, the banana or the bread food, and
there can not te more substantial
proof of its merits than that il has been
able 10 secure mention even where these
fruits abound.
The spread of the apple and the in
crease Of the number of its varieties are
strong testimony OF its value. rom
the twenty sorts of Pliny We have come
to the !, 100 named kinds of the cata-
logGeS of TO day; from a sparse distribu-
ton of its regular culture around the
basin Of the Mediterranean We have
come to See it cherished all the world
over, and so extensively grown that the
annual crop of Mississippi valley alone
is rated by 10, 0O0, 00J bushels. AT the
present day the increased propagation
of the apple in this country is one of
the most wonderful features of our We
hement national growth. Millions of
trees are planted annually, and the in
dustrial Importance of the fruit is aug
menting from day to day.
One Of those terrible professors who
pick everything to pieces and weigh the
fragments in. a vacuum, has demon
strated that the apple is richer than the
potato in the principles that go to make
up the muscles and brains of man, and
is only little inferior to that vegetable
in fattening properties. 1t is an en-
cellent preventive of disease. and is not
without important curative virtues. Ii
would seem 10 have teen provided 10y
nature as the chief one of those fruits
intended TO supply the stomach with the
sugar and alcohol Necessary for its
healthful condition. The fact is well
known that drunkards have no fondness
for fruit, and that the inordinate crav.
ing Tor drink which torments them is
checked and assuaged hy the consump-
ton OF fruit. There Is not herb
doctor in the land but is acquainted
with and enthusiastic about the gentle,
propulsive power or a roasted apple, nor
a sailor on the sea who does not know
the balsamic virtues of ''snits' upon all
scorbutie affections.
The commercial value Of the apple is
much greater than is generally con.
ceived. We all know Of the large guam.
titles Of apples shipped from this coun-
try to the four quarters of the globe,
but We do not consider what a cipher
this is in comparison with the vast in.
land trade in the fruit, both mellow
and dried, the large industry employed
in the manufacture of cider and its
products. Then, think of apple butter,
apple leather and apple jack. Think of
apple dumplings, those ingenious pro-
ducts of culinary invention, the most
delightful yet heaviest of all deserts.
As for apple butter, if one wishes to
form an idea of the extent to which the
sweet lutrieator for crusts is manufact-
ured and consumed, he must visit the
interior regions of Pennsylvania.
How could the feeble, invalid woman
be able to dispense with her roasted
applet And how should we manage if
deprived Of our cider, our sauces and
pickles, our innumerable appetilers and
palate ticklers, that each owe their very
existence 10 the fruit of the tree from