CONCERNING APPLES 83 



And then drinking up part of the contents, he throws 

 the rest, with the fragments of the roasted apples, at 

 the tree. At each cup the company set up a shout." 

 Not in England only has the apple held such an im- 

 portant place in the national idea, for the folk-lore of 

 Scandinavia and Germany is full of apple trees and 

 golden apples ; whilst the Latin goddess Pomona was 

 the ruler over all fruit trees. Indeed, in Roman times 

 the cultivation of the apple reached a high pitch, and 

 numerous varieties named, in the same way as at 

 present, after noted men such as the Claudian, Appian, 

 and Tiberian, were known and were increased by the 

 process of grafting. 



But long before the times of Rome, and even of 

 Athens, the apple was cultivated by the Lake dwellers 

 of Switzerland in the Age of Stone. Carbonised speci- 

 mens of two varieties of apples, cut lengthwise and 

 dried, have been found in the palafittes of the lakes .of 

 Neufchatel, Lombardy, and elsewhere. 



The earliest inhabitants of Britain held the apple tree 

 in high honour and reverence, and it must have been 

 grown in orchards at a very early date, for the old 

 Roman name of Glastonbury, Avalloun, was but a 

 modification of Ynys Avalla, Celtic for Apple Orchard. 

 What varieties of apple were grown by the early 

 Britons is not known, but it is certain that new kinds 

 were introduced into England both by Romans and 

 Normans, though in former times the Crab-apple was 

 much more valued than it is at present. Ale and roasted 

 Crab-apples was a popular combination long after choice 

 varieties were numerous and common. The Pearmain 

 was grown in the twelfth century and was used for 

 cider making, and the Costard whence the name of 

 costermonger is derived was another apple of that 

 period. Among other apples cultivated in the middle 

 ages were "Bitter Swetes" (Chaucer), Pippins (" You 



