, 1886-01-12
a CHAPTER ON Ms Apple.
The m biological Index Of CTviliEntioa
La Commercial Significance.

Cur modern times have not pasl a
proper respect to tho dignity of tis
apple. The anclents better appreciated
ita RANK among the fruits of tue earth;
but ns thus its o allied attributes are
shnmefully ignored. 1t is treated as
embryonic condition OF cider, n com
mon fruit" a something to be manipu-
lated into pics, and it is no more pro-
tcoted from offering hands than an UNI
trella or q quotation. A more credita-
bio state OF feeling Is getting II road
among farmers in regard TO its orchard
treatment owing 10 the convincing cir
cumstAnces of the great profit in it
when the tree is rightly TILED never
theless, where one orchard Is cared for
with zeal and circumspection there arc
ten left to grow up among the weeds or
turned out to grass like n worthless and
broken down horse. IL the same pains
were 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 10 able in a few years
10 mark as great an advance In tho
character and quality OF this fruit rs
has been obtained Tor those.
tliny enumerates twenty varietieg In
his day, and we Ind ment on OF CIDER in
Augustine, Tertullian and other A.rlcan
fathers. They Irobatly became ac-
quainted with its sparkling virtues
through tho 6oths and an ials, VINO
overran the Mediterranean pro inces 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.
Ne find likewise much mention OF the
apple in the elder 1 ersian, Arabian and
Indian poetry. 1t Is likely that the
soma. u, which, as the \ edas tells us,
was the drin OF the Hindu divinities,
wal nothing more nor less than that
amber colored nectar which now de-
lights tho mortals of New Jersey. But
Al ter all it is among the western nations
that we must expect TO find the apple
reigning. lsewhere its seepter viii al
ways lie disputed by the orange. the fig,
the grape, the date, the olive. the plan
tain. the banana or the bread food, aud
there can not lie n more substantial
proof of its merits than that it has been
aoie to 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 Iliny We have come
10 the :, w named kinds OF the cata-
logues OF Today from a sparse distribu-
ton OF its regular culture around the
basin of the Mediterranean we have
come to see it cherished al the world
over, and SO extensively grown that the
annual crop OF Mississippi valley alone
Is rated iy 10, 90, U0J 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
strzted 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 a little inferior to that vegetable
in fattening properties. 1t is an OK
cellent preventive Of disease. and is not
without important curative virtues. Ii
would seem to have Teen provided by
ntture as the chief one OF those fruits
intended to supply the stomach with the
sugar and alcohol nee, ssary for its
healthful condition. The fact is well
known that ~drunkards have no fondness
for fruit, and that the inordinate gray
ing or drink which torments them is
checked and assuaged ~ the consump-
lion of fruit. There Is not q herb
doctor in the land but is acquainted
with and enthusiast; about the gentle,
propulsiye power of q roasted apple, nor
u sailor on the sea who Toes not know
the Ialsamic virtues of ''snits' upon all
scorbutic affections.
The commercial value Of the apple Is
much greater than is generally con-
ceiNed. We all know of the large guam
titles OF apples shipped from this coun-
try to the tour 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 emp Dyed
in the manufacture of cider and its
products. Then, think of apple butter,
apple leather and apple jack. Think of
apple dumplings, those ingenio s pro-
ducts OF culinary invention, the most
delightful yet heaviest OF all deserts.
AS Tor apple butter, il one wishes 10
form an idea of the extent to which the
sweet lul ricator for crusts is manufact-
ured and consumed, he must visit the
interior regions OF pennsylvania.
How could the feeble, invalid woman
DO aIle to dispense with her roasted
applet And how should we manage IL
deprived of our cider, our sauces and
pickles, our innumerable appeti ers aud
palate ticklers. that each W their very
existence to the fruit OF the tree from
which cider is made.-Brooklyn Eagle