COMMON APPLE-TREE. 303 



thefl, everything went wrong in the world. The gods became old and infirm ; 

 and, enfeebled both in body and in mind, no longer paid the same attention to 

 the affairs of the earth; and men, having no one to look after them, fell into evil 

 courses, and became the prey of the evil spirit. At lengtli the gods, finding mat- 

 ters getting worse and worse every day, ronsed their last remains of vigour, and 

 combining together, forced Loke to restore the tree. 



The Druids paid particular reverence to the apple-tree, because the mistletoe 

 was supposed to grow only on it and the oak; and also on account of the great 

 usefulness of the fruit. In consequence of this feeling, the apj)le was cultivated 

 in Britain from the earliest ages of which we have any record ; and Glastonbury, 

 as has already been observed, was distinguished by the title of " Avellonia," or 

 the apple orchard, previous to the arrival of the Romans. Many old rites and 

 ceremonies are therefore connected with this tree, some of which are practised in 

 the orchard districts even at the present day. Apple-trees were sprinkled with a 

 libation of cider and toast, for a fruitful crop, on Twelfth eve or Christmas day; 

 and new apples were blessed by the priest on St. James' day, July 2oth. Divi- 

 nations were also practised with the pairing and seeds. Tossing an apple to a 

 girl was a token of love. As a symbol of Venus, it is modern. The custom of 

 bobbing for apples on All-Hallow E'en and on All Saint's day, which was formerly 

 common over all England, is still practised in some parts of Ireland. Throwing 

 up litde apples, and catching them on the points of knives, were favourite accom- 

 plishments of the Troubadours. 



>So/7 and Situation. The apple-tree, to attain its greatest perfection and pro- 

 ductiveness, requires a soil more or less calcareous, or one that rests upon strata 

 abounding in marls, marly clays, or calcareous sandstone. It has been observed 

 that the best apple orchards in England, are situated on the marls of the old red 

 sandstone of Herefordshire ; and those of the new red sandstone, the marly clays 

 of the lias, and the calcareous and often marly beds of the inferior oolite, in the 

 counties of Worcester, Gloucester, Somerset, and Devon. It has also been 

 observed in Ireland, that the apple-tree flourishes best on limestone gravel ; and 

 in Scotland, that the few orchards v/hich exist in that country, are to be found 

 on soils more or less calcareous. On the continent of Europe, the two districts 

 most famous for the apple, are Normandy and the vale of Stutgard, in both of 

 which, the soil is well known to abound in lime or marl. It has also been 

 observed, that early fruits attain their greatest perfection in light, moderately 

 rich, sandy soils ; and that the late fruits succeed best when planted in a soil that 

 is strong and clayey. Trees will sometimes grow luxuriantly on deep gravels 

 and grauwacke slate, without bearing apples. It has been found by experience 

 that the above-named principles will hold good in the various parts of the UnitecJ 

 States. Within the last few years, much light has been thrown upon the adap- 

 tation of soils to particular plants, and it is now regarded as an established fact, 

 that the apple-tree requires alkaline and probably earthy bases, as an indispen- 

 sable condition to the perfection of its fruit. It has been shown by several enlight- 

 ened chemists that the acids generated in plants are always in union with alka- 

 line or earthy bases, and cannot be produced without their presence, that all 

 deciduous trees require a considerable portion of potash for the elaboration of the 

 juices in their leaves, and that they are prosperous or otherwise, in proportion to 

 the scarcity or abundance of that substance in the soil. It is well known thai 

 all clays contain potash, and that marls are principally composed of clay and 

 carbonate of lime, and also contain potash, besides sulphate and phosphate of 

 lime. Hence the presence of alkaline and earthy bases, particularly potash and 

 lime, affords a satisfactory solution of the adaptation of marly soils to the produc- 

 tion of apples, even without taking into account the part which phosphate and 

 sulphate of lime play in their formation.* 



* See Joiirn. Eny. Act. Soe. ofEiif^land. vol. iv., p. 380. 



