14 THE FLORIST. 



It is to Parkinson we are indebted for the best account of the 

 early English varieties, of which he enumerates no less than fifty-nine, 

 with ' tweentv sorts of sweetings and none good ;* and from him may 

 be dated the dawn of British Pomology. But it was not till the pub- 

 lication of Forsyth's Treatise, and subsequently the establishment of 

 the London Horticultural Society, that a full knowledge and thorough 

 investigation of the different varieties existing in this country were 

 obtained. In the Society's catalogue upwards of 1400 are enume- 

 rated, the greater portion of which are proved to be unworthy of 

 cultivation for any purpose whatever. 



The Apple is a very wholesome fruit. In its raw state it is 

 highly esteemed in the dessert, and when either roasted, boiled, or 

 in pies, it forms a wholesome and nutritious food. Dr. Johnson says 

 he knew a clergyman, of small income, who brought up a family very 

 reputably, which he chiefly fed on apple dumplings ! Administered 

 to invalids it is cooling, refreshing, and laxative. It is well known 

 as furnishing an excellent sauce ; and apple jelly forms one of the 

 finest preserves. Norfolk Beefings are that variety of Apple baked 

 in ovens after the bread is drawn, and flattened to the form in which 

 they are sold in the shops of the confectioners and fruiterers. In 

 Normandy and America Apples are, to a considerable extent, dried 

 in the sun, in which state they may be preserved for a long period 

 and used at pleasure, when they form an excellent dish stewed with 

 sugar, cloves, and other spices. Those dried in America are cut into 

 quarters, while those of Normandy are preserved whole. On the 1st 

 of November, which was the day dedicated to the good spirit presid- 

 ing over the in-gathering of fruits, it was usual in this country, as it 

 is still, I believe, in some parts of Ireland, for our ancestors to regale 

 themselves with Lambs icool, or more properly Lamasool, a word de- 

 rived from La niaes Ahhal, which signifies the day of Apple fruit. 

 This was a drink composed of ale and the pulp of roasted apples, 

 with sugar and spice. It is mentioned by Gerard, and in an old song 

 called • The King and the Miller,' we find it referred to: 

 ' A cup of Lambs- wool they drank to him there.' 

 Besides these, and many other uses to which the Apple is applied, its 

 juice produces cider, which forms in many parts of this country, — in 

 Normandy and the United States, — an indispensable beverage. The 

 juice of the wild species, called crab vinegar, or verjuice, when ap- 

 phed externally is good for strains, spasms, and cramps. 



The chemical composition of the Apple is chlorophylle, sugar, 

 gum, vegetable fibre, albumen, malic acid, tannin, and gallic acid, 

 lime, and a great quantity of water." 



DAHLIAS FOR EXHIBITION. No. I. 



" You grow few^er Dahlias annually, yet every season shew better," 

 is a remark that is often made. Of course improvement is being 

 eflfected in the varieties themselves ; but this is not all, we find from 



