THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



327 



in favour of the system as a source of revenue to the 

 landowner. It is impossible to separate the cause from 

 the effect ; for uuless the consumption of spirits in- 

 creases in proportion to the production, the system 



would prove a failure ; and the consumption cannot 

 increase without involving the consequences we depre- 

 cate, exactly in proportion to the extent to which the 

 system is carried out. C. 



THE APPLE— ITS CULTURE AND USES. 



Of the various fruits with which we are favoured, 

 apples are the most abundant and cheapest, and yet, 

 perhaps, the least appreciated, and receive the small- 

 est amount of attention as regards improvement or ex- 

 tended home culture. Some fev/ of the western coun- 

 ties possess, indeed, extensive orchards, and a few fine 

 varieties for the table are raised by our fruit growers ; 

 but we have no pomological conventions like the 

 United States, nor is the fruit grown in anything like 

 the quantity which the demand warrants. And yet 

 the apple has been well termed the world-renowned 

 fruit of temperate climates. It figures in history, 

 in poetry, and in the ancient mythologies as a fruit of 

 wonderful virtues. The allegorical tree of knowledge 

 bore apples; and the celebrated golden fruit of the 

 orchards of Hesperus, guarded by the sleepless dragon, 

 which it was one of the triumphs of Hercules to slay, 

 were also apples, according to the old legends. It was 

 simply the award of an apple to the Goddess of Beauty 

 that led to the great Trojan war, and its yet more famous 

 chronicle. We read, too, of apples which were believed 

 to possess tliepowerof conferringimmortality, and which 

 werejealously watched over by the goddess Iduna. The 

 falling of an apple in the presence of the great Newton 

 led to the disco vei'y of the law of gravitation ; and the 

 price of the same fruit in the markets of Paris, com- 

 pared with its cost in the provinces where it is produced, 

 awakened the thoughtful Fourier to a sense of the sub- 

 versive character of civilized commerce, and resulted in 

 the final discovery of his grand social science. Thus 

 the history of the apple is closely interwoven through- 

 out with the history of the human race. 



As a mai'ket ft'uit and soui'ce of profit, nothing re- 

 quiring so little care will produce so great return ; and 

 so well is thisappreciatedin America, that many sections 

 of the United States are becoming more a fruit or apple- 

 growing country than of repute in the growth of any 

 other product. Besides about 50,000 bushels of apples 

 which they ship to this country, immense quantities 

 are sent to diiFerent large cities of the Union, and even 

 as far a-field as California, to which from 1 5,000 to 

 20,000 barrels of dried apples are shipped. For long 

 keeping or shipment as fresh apples, a fruit has to be 

 selected possessed of two distinct qualities — namely, en- 

 durance from decay, and retention of flavour. It is 

 the winter description of apples, therefore, that are most 

 esteemed in America, because they can be more safely 

 shipped to distant markets, make far better cider and 

 dried fruit, and ars more raluable for family use. 

 They will fetch about a dollar or a dollar-and-a-half a 

 bushel, but the price of course varies with the crop. 

 Long-keeping apples may be sent safely from America 



to any part of Europe, and they are found to pay better 

 than wheat. The United States growers have certainly 

 paid more attention to their orchards and apples than 

 we have; and their best varieties, numbering about 

 two thousand, comprise many quite unknown here. It 

 is true they have a larger range of climate and soil to 

 work upon, and land is also cheaper, than it is here, so 

 that fruit orchards may be indefinitely extended. It 

 is well known that sweet apples are excellent for feed- 

 ing pigs, and even horses and cattle ; mild sub-acid 

 apples, too, are found to be very good for this purpose, 

 but then we cannot obtain them here in sufficient 

 quantity for feeding cattle, for our home production 

 does not keep pace with our town demands. We im- 

 ported in 1856 537,274 bushels of raw apples, chiefly 

 from the Continent, and upwards of 2,000 bushels dried. 

 But we do not use half so much of this fruit as an article 

 of food for ourselves as we ought. Apple dumplings, 

 apple fritters, and apple-sauce do occasionally appear 

 at our boards, and the apple holds its place as an es- 

 teemed dessert fruit ; but we should like to see it more 

 generally grown, so that we might be less dependent 

 for supplies on our neighbours across tlie Channel. 

 Some think stewed apples more wholesome and better 

 flavoured than preserves ; and hence arises, probably, 

 the demand for Normandy pippins. 



The apple in its various preparations for the table is 

 both nutritious and wholesome ; and more attention 

 ought to be paid to our fruit orchards, which, though 

 exceedingly profitable, are usually looked upon as a 

 very subsidiary affair. 



The apple is not so much influenced by soil and 

 climate as the pear, still several varieties are affected by 

 these to a considerable extent ; some thriving best in 

 a warm sandy soil, others in a rich heavy soil, while 

 some prove equally good on almost any land. A fair 

 average product of an acre of orchard, in good bearing 

 condition, may be stated at from 200 to 300 bushels of 

 apples a year. Swine fattened on apples have been 

 found to attain good weights, and the pork was solid 

 and of excellent quality. A peck of apples fed to a 

 cow has been found to add more than a quart to the 

 daily quantity of milk, besides greatly increasing its 

 richness and improving the condition of the cow. The 

 effect of apples is equally favourable on other stock. 

 Horses fatten on them, and their coats assume a bril- 

 liancy which hardly any other food will give them. 



Dr. Salisbury (Trans. N. Y. State Agric. Soc, 1849) 

 examined chemically the composition of the apple, to 

 determine whether or not it contained a sufficient per- 

 centage of nutritious matter to render it profitable as 

 food for stock. The result of his analyses of several 



