STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY, , 79 



The word apple is ofteu used to describe a round object, as the 

 apple of the eye; Dickens mentions apple-faced children. The 

 derivalioD of the word is uncertain, it niay signify watery fruit, 

 or a round bod^*. 



The apple tree, Pijrus 3falus, flourishes in almost every country 

 within the temperate zones, therefore it is conspicuous in the fables 

 of every race and is the popular fruit in poems, proverbs, super- 

 stitions and pictures. There is much interesting literature connected 

 with the apple, but this paper must be devoted to its practical 

 aspect, its food value. 



Wise was the Englishman who once said to some of his country- 

 men : "Had you but given to the improvement of your apples a 

 tenth part of the pains it cost you to naturalize those four species 

 of grapes, how much more substantial glory you would have won." 

 80 we might say, if American housekeepers had given half the 

 attention to the apples that they have bestowed upon fancy dishes 

 in which oranges, lemons and bananas figure, our country might 

 have gained much in health. Is it not a reflection upon our New 

 England orchards that oranges are often cheaper than apples even 

 in winter? Because the apple is so abundant in our land it is within 

 reach of the humblest lamily and it may appear in such varied 

 forms that none need ever tire of it. 



True there is a large percentage of water revealed in a chemical 

 analysis of the apple, but it is also said to have a larger per cent 

 of phosphorous than any other fruit ; and there are other double 

 distilled essences of the sunlight and glorious air in which the fruit 

 has hung for months, combined with the forcegiving elements of 

 mother earth drawn up by the roots of the sturdy tree. 



And as for water — is it not by far the larger part of our bodies? 

 we refuse to recognize this fact and persist in overloading them with 

 too solid foods^until we groan with rheumatism or some vital organ 

 rebels. 



May not^lhe^apple be as beneficial as the much lauded grape- 

 cure? Some one has observed that apple lovers are usually people 

 with healthy livers and therefore very amiable. An old proverb 

 says : "It will beggar a doctor to live where orchards thrive." No 

 other fruit is so deserving of the cook's good opinion, in that it is to 

 be had at all seasons. From the early summer sweetings around 

 to the hardy .russet in the late spring and summer there is always 

 aome variety inj prime condition. A fruit which has been in con- 



