WILD WOOL 



sidered as bearing any antagonism toward 

 each other; they are different things, planned 

 and accomplished for wholly different pur- 

 poses. 



Illustrative examples bearing upon this inter- 

 esting subject may be multiplied indefinitely, 

 for they abound everywhere in the plant and 

 animal kingdoms wherever culture has reached. 

 Recurring for a moment to apples. The beauty 

 and completeness of a wild apple tree living its 

 own life in the woods is heartily acknowledged 

 by all those who have been so happy as to form 

 its acquaintance. The fine wild piquancy of 

 its fruit is unrivaled, but in the great question 

 of quantity as human food wild apples are 

 found wanting. Man, therefore, takes the tree 

 from the woods, manures and prunes and 

 grafts, plans and guesses, adds a little of this 

 and that, selects and rejects, until apples of 

 every conceivable size and softness are pro- 

 duced, like nut-galls in response to the irritat- 

 ing punctures of insects. Orchard apples are 

 to me the most eloquent words that culture 

 has ever spoken, but they reflect no imperfec- 

 tion upon Nature's spicy crab. Every culti- 

 vated apple is a crab, not improved, but cooked, 

 variously softened and swelled out in the 

 process, mellowed, sweetened, spiced, and ren- 

 dered pulpy and foodful, but as utterly unfit 



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