COMMON APPLE-TREE. 3Q3 
theft, everything went wrong in the world. The gods became old and infirm; 
and, enfeebled both in body and in mind, no longer paid the same attention to 
the affairs of the earth; and men, having no one to look after them, fell into evil 
courses, and became the prey of the evil spirit. At length the gods, finding mat- 
ters getting worse and worse every day, roused their last remains of vigour, and 
combining together, forced Loke to restore the tree. 
The Druids paid particular reverence to the apple-tree, because the mistletoe 
was supposed to grow only on it and the oak ; and also on account of the great 
usefulness of the fruit. In consequence of this feeling, the apple was cultivated 
in Britain from the earliest ages of which we have any record ; and Glastonbury, 
as has already been observed, was distinguished by the title of " Avellonia," or 
the apple orchard, previous to the arrival of the Romans. Many old rites and 
ceremonies are therefore connected with this tree, some of which are practised in 
the orchard districts even at the present day. Apple-trees were sprinkled with a 
libation of cider and toast, for a fruitful crop, on Twelfth eve or Christmas day; 
and new apples were blessed by the priest on St. James' day, July 25th. Divi- 
nations were also practised with the pairing and seeds. Tossing an apple to a 
girl was a token of love. As a symbol of Venus, it is modern. The custom of 
bobbing for apples on All-Hallow E'en and on All Saint's day, which was formerly 
common over all England, is still practised in some parts of Ireland. Throwing 
up little apples, and catching them on the points of knives, were favourite accom- 
plishments of the Troubadours. 
Soil and Situation. The apple-tree, to attain its greatest perfection and pro- 
ductiveness, requires a soil more or less calcareous, or one that rests upon strata 
abounding in marls, marly clays, or calcareous sandstone. It has been observed 
that the best apple orchards in England, are situated on the marls of the old red 
sandstone of Herefordshire ; and those of the new red sandstone, the marly clays 
of the lias, and the calcareous and often marly beds of the inferior oolite, in the 
counties of Worcester, Gloucester, Somerset, and Devon. It has also been 
observed in Ireland, that the apple-tree flourishes best on limestone gravel ; and 
in Scotland, that the few orchards which exist in that country, are to be found 
on soils more or less calcareous. On the continent of Europe, the two districts 
most famous for the apple, are Normandy and the vale of Stutgard, in both of 
which, the soil is well known to abound in lime or marl. It has also been 
observed, that early fruits attain their greatest perfection in light, moderately 
rich, sandy soils ; and that the late fruits succeed best when planted in a soil that 
is strong and clayey. Trees will sometimes grow luxuriantly on deep gravels 
and grauwacke slate, without bearing apples. It has been found by experience 
that the above-named principles will hold good in the various parts of the United 
States. Within the last few years, much light has been thrown upon the adap- 
tation of soils to particular plants, and it is now regarded as an established fact, 
that the apple-tree requires alkaline and probably earthy bases, as an indispen- 
sable condition to the perfection of its fruit. It has been shown by several enlight- 
ened chemists that the acids generated in plants are always in union with alka- 
line or earthy bases, and cannot be produced without their presence, that all 
deciduous trees require a considerable portion of potash for the elaboration of the 
juices in their leaves, and that they are prosperous or otherwise, in proportion to 
the scarcity or abundance of that substance in the soil. It is well known that 
all clays contain potash, and that marls are principally composed of clay and 
carbonate of lime, and also contain potash, besides sulphate and phosphate of 
lime. Hence the presence of alkaline and earthy bases, particularly potash and 
lime, affords a satisfactory solution of the adaptation of marly soils to the produc- 
tion of apples, even without taking into account the part which phosphate and 
sulphate of lime play in their formation.* 
* See Journ. Roy. Asx. Soc. of England, vol. iv., p. 3S0. 
