COMMON APPLE-TREE. 323 



and all mnstiness is prevented. My pippins in May and Jinie, are as fresh as 

 when first picked. Iwen the ends of the stems look as if just separated from the 

 twigs; 3d, the sand is equally a preservative from frost, rats, &c. But after the 

 extreme heat of June takes place, all apples speedily lose their flavour, and 

 become insipid." 



The uses of the apple, as an eatable fruit, are very numerous. They are 

 equally good for the kitchen and the dessert; and may not only be used in vari- 

 ous dishes by themselves, but enter into numerous combinations with other fruits. 

 In confectionary, apple-jelly forms a most beautiful medium for preserving Sibe- 

 rian crabs, and many other kinds of fruit; and dried apples (beaufins) are pre- 

 pared in great numbers in some parts of England, by drying them slowly in 

 bakers' ovens after the bread has been drawn, and occasionally taking them out 

 and flattening them with the hand, till they are perfectly soft, and of a rich 

 deep-brown colour. In France, a kind of jam or rob, called raisine compose, is 

 prepared by boiling apples in unfermented wine. The must or wine should be 

 diminished by boiling to one half of its bulk, to be continually skimmed as fresh 

 scum arises, and afterwards strained through a cloih or a fine sieve. The apples 

 are then pared, cut into quarters, and put into this liquor, (raisine,) and left to 

 simmer gently over a fire, with a continual stirring with a wooden spatula, till 

 the apples become thoroughly amalgamated with the liquor, and the whole forms 

 a species of marmalade, which is extremely agreeable to the taste. When pre- 

 pared in the northern departments, the raisine, after the first boiling, skimming, 

 and straining, should be set in a cool place for twenty-four hours, when a saline 

 liquor, like a scum, will appear on the surface. This must be removed, and 

 the liquor strained, before it is mixed with the apples, as above. This scum con- 

 sists principally of tartaric acid, which would spoil the rasine, and prevent it 

 from keeping sweet, but which is not perceivable when the grapes have ripened 

 in a southern climate. The raisine, when properly prepared, is sweet, but with 

 a slight flavour of acidity, like lemon juice mixed with honey. The best raisine 

 is made in Burgundy. In Normandy, a similar marmalade is composed of cider 

 and pears, much resembling the "apple-butter" or "apple-sauce," of the 

 United States; but it is not so good as the raisine, being apt to ferment. In 

 some cases, the pears are put into an earthen vessel without water, and placed 

 in a baker's oven after the bread has been drawn, previously to mixing with 

 cider. The best raisine is considered very wholesome, particularly for children, 

 who eat it spread on bread, and for persons in delicate health, whose stomachs 

 will not bear butter. In Italy, the raisine is eaten with preparations either of 

 Indian corn, or of maccaroni, to give a flavour to these dishes.* 



A kind of wine is also made from apples with water and sugar ; but it is by no 

 means so good as the better classes of cider, from which a spirit is extracted equal 

 to brandy, for preserving fruit. In some parts of England and France, a drink called 

 boissofi, is made from the wild crab; and verjuice is a well known vinegar, pro- 

 duced from the most austere of this fruit. In the United States, a liquor is made 

 from cider by distillation, which is called cider brandy ; and a very agreeable, 

 and at the same time, a very strong liquor, is obtained by allowing cider to freeze, 

 and drawing off" the unfrozen part, which, of course, includes all the spirit the 

 cider contained. A liquor is also made in America, called pomona wine, by add- 

 ing one gallon of brandy to six gallons of new cider after it is racked off", which, 

 when eight or twelve months old, is a very good substitute for wine. 



Apples are stated, by persons who have made exact experiments, to yield about 

 seventy per cent, of their weight of juice; or nearly seven imperial gallons, or eight 

 and thirty-five hundredths wine gallons of juice to one hundred pounds of apples ; 



* See Nouv. Cours d'Agr., xiii., p. 44. 



