6 BRITISH POMOLOGY, ETC, 



was the means of producing. Through the exertions of 

 this gentleman, and his iUustrious cotemporaries, Sahine, 

 Wilhams, and Braddick, the gardens of the Horticultural 

 Society, became a depository for all the varieties which 

 could be gathered together from all parts of Europe and 

 America, and the result has been, that in the last edition 

 of the Society's Catalogue, Mr. Thompson has enume- 

 rated upwards of 1400 varieties of the apple alone, the 

 greater portion of which, however, 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 an excellent and nutri- 

 tious 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 Ame- 

 rica, 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. There is a drink with which our ancestors were wont 

 to regale themselves called Lambs-wool, or more properly 

 Lamasool, a word derived from La maes Abhal, which signi- 

 fies the day of apple fruit. This drink was 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 Clip 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 in- 

 dispensable beverage. The juice of the wild species, called 



