THE APPLE. 11 



brownish russety skins, marked with dull yellow and red, 

 the desirable properties of being crisp, juicy, and well 

 flavoured are always more likely to be met with than in 

 fruit displaying one uniform colour of pale yellow, light- 

 green, or bright red. 



The earliest apple to grace Pomona's annual wreath is 

 the small, roundish, pale yellow Joanneting, termed in 

 old Latin writings the Joannina, because it became ripe 

 about St. John's Day (June 24th). Opinions, however, 

 have been by no means unanimous as to either the ortho- 

 graphy or the etymology of the Joanneting, Dr. John- 

 son having written it " Grineting," considering that it 

 must have been named after some French Janet ; while 

 some gardeners, giving neither to sanctity nor to gallantry 

 the credit of having prompted its title, derive the name 

 from the nature, and write it " Juneating," or " June- 

 eating." This fruit lasts but for a short time, and is best 

 eaten fresh gathered, as it very soon becomes dry and 

 mealy. 



The Codlin, a large pale fruit, having the property of 

 " falling" into a pulp when cooked, even when quite un- 

 ripe, is another very early apple, and an old variety, de- 

 riving its name from " coddle," to parboil codlins and 

 cream having once been one of the principal dishes of 

 English cookery. Unlike most other varieties, the Codlin 

 can be propagated by seeds, its pips almost always grow- 

 ing into plants exactly similar to the parent, whereas in 

 other sorts this very rarely occurs. 



The Costard, too, now not very often met with, is one 

 of our oldest English apples, being found mentioned, 

 under the name of " Poma Costard," in the fruiterers' 

 bills of Edward I., in 1292, when it was sold for Is. per 

 100. It is believed to have been very extensively grown ; 

 and, indeed, it would seem that the " costard-mongers," 

 who hawked the fruit about ancient London, must have 

 outnumbered their congeners who retailed in like manner 

 other articles, or they would hardly have left their name, 

 as they have done, to characterize in modern times the 

 whole tribe of street sellers, or coster mongers. It has- 

 been confounded by some with 



