1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



101 



THE VALUE OF APPLES. 



I same amount in a shorter period, than an equal 

 T !• xi_ -n J. Qi. i 1 « « ^^ I weight of starch, for this reason, that the two 



In some of the Eastern Sates apples are ex- 1 ^^^^^^. ^^^^.^^ ^^j^^,^ nearly the same in com- 

 tensively used for feechng and fottennig stock ^ i position with the ktter, yet are pliyslcally fur- 

 winter; and while .j'^ are sotting out orchards ^V advanced in organization, and hence, proba- 

 in the west, It IS wor.hy of consideration whether ,^j^^^ approximate nearer the constitution of fat. 



may be re- 

 -producing 

 I ju ricfiGr 

 question acquires a greater importance smce we , f^^ ^j^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^j^^^ tho^ potato. In 

 have been deprived of potatoes, and are unable ^j,^^^^^- ^j^^ ^^ j^ ^.^^^^ ^^^^^ fl^^ ^^^ 



to find any root-crop which will supply the de-,^^j^ji^ j^^ ^^^^j^^ f^^ reverse is the case. The ag- 

 ficiency. What every former needs during win- 1 ^^^^^^^ ^^ albumen, casein and gluteS, 



ter IS some root or iruit, containing a large » » o ^ 



amount of water or juice, with positive nutritive 

 qualities, afforded at a Ioav price. Apples, when 

 once planted, cost nothing but the gathering and 

 the interest. They keep well, with slight trouble, 

 during winter ; properly planted, they are a very 

 certain crop ; the only thing to be decided, there- 



fore, is, are they sufficiently nutritive to render: -^^^^j- ^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^t,^^^ the muscle-forming 

 themAvorth erowinc: for the fottenins of stock ^ compounds abound. A siccct apple is superior 



for a fattening or milking animal ; the sour apple 

 for one that is workino;. But, practically, the 



in good varieties of the apple, is more than double 

 that of the same bodies in the potato ; hence the 

 apple may be regarded as richest in those sub- 

 stances which form muscle, brain, nerve, &c.,and 

 build up and sustain the important portions of 

 the body. The difference feetween sweet and sour 

 apples appears to be', that in the first the fat- 



growin^ ^ 



Dr. Salisbury, of Albany, N. Y., has studied 

 them with this very point in view ; and we ab- 

 stract the following fnjm his report, which we 

 recommend to the careful study of every farmer : 



Per centage of ivater and dry matter in the 



Mean inorganic analysis of the composition of five 

 varieties of apples {without carbonic acid.) 



Silica, (sand) 1.637 



Phosphate of iron 1.593 



Phosphoric acid 13.267 



Lime, (bones) 4.199 



Macrnesia ." l.GOO 



Potash 37.510 



Sjda, (common salt) 24.799 



Chlorine do 2.169 



Sulphuric acid 7.229 



Organic matter 5.828 



Thus the salts of the apple are, chiefly, potash, 

 soda, bones and plaster — using the common names. 



Mean analysis of the organic {or feeding matter) 

 of the apple, compared ivith the same in the po- 

 tato ; and of 1000 parts of the ^'■Tohnan Swcet- 

 ing.'^ 



1000 parts 100 lbs. 100 lbs. 



fresh sweeting, fresh apple, fresh potato. 



Cellular Fibre 33.90 3. 2 5. 8 



Glutinous matter, ) fattening.. 3.52 0. 2 0. 2 



Fat and wax, 5 substances 0. 8 



Dextrine " 28.96 3. 1 1.27 



Sujrar and extract " 99.05 8. 3 2.64 



Malic acid 2.-50 0. 3 



Albumen,? flesh-forming 8.97 1. 4 \ 



Casein, <, matter 0.89 0.16 0.45 



Water 815.20 82.66 79.7 



Starch, (fattening) none none 9. 9 



By comparing the composition of the apple 

 with that of the potato, it will be noticed: 1. 

 That the former contains about 3 per cent, more 

 of water than the latter. 2. That the dextrine 

 and sugar in the apple take the place of the 

 starch, dextrine and sugar in the potato. The 

 al)ove principles are the main bodies in the apple 

 and potato, which go to form fat. In the ag- 

 gregate amount of fat-producing products, the 

 apple and potato do not materially difl'cr. It 

 would be natural, however, to infer "^that 50 lbs. 

 of dextrine and sugar would, if taken into the 

 system, be more likely to make a greater quantity 

 oi fat in a given time, or at least to make the 



difference is greater than the analysis would 

 show ; the sweet apple not only contains a larger 

 amount of unformed fat, but the acid of the sour 

 apple tends to destroy or prevent the deposit of 

 fat in an animal ; and, as is well known, sour 

 apples will dry up a milch cow, while sweet ones 

 add to the milk. The money value of apples, 

 compared with potatoes, may be stated somewhat 

 as follows : for fattening, 1000 lbs. of sweet apples 

 are worth about 1050 lbs. of potatoes ; for feed- 

 ing to growing or working stock, 1000 1I)S. of 

 good sour apples are equivalent to 2000 lbs. of 

 l^otatocs ; and, in practice, should produce the 

 same effect. So that, in the first case, a farmer 

 would only be justified in paying 25 cents a bushel 

 for apples ; in the latter, he might pay 50 cents 

 without losing. (By the word " sour " we mean 

 any that are not positively " sweet.") 



According to Dr. Salisbury's analysis, no two 

 varieties are exactly alike in composition or wa- 

 ter, the proportions constantly differing. Thus, 

 in six kinds, he found the water to vary from 79 

 to 80 per cent. ; or, in other words, a person 

 buying 100 lbs. of each, got 7 lbs. more pure 

 water in one lot than another ; and, consequently, 

 lost to that extent. It were an interesting inves- 

 tigation which are actually the cheapest — tlie 

 small and hard, or the overgrown and soft apples. 

 We suspect that there is as much nourishment in 

 three-quarters [of a bushel of " llhode Island 

 Greenings" as in a whole bushel of " Monstrous 

 Pippins." 



In conclusion, we call upon such western far- 

 mers as expect to remain on their forms, to set out 

 apples. Select your orchard carefully for your 

 own use and for sale ; and then plant all over 

 your farm, in fence corners and every vacant spot, 

 good sweet apples ; and even put them ia your 

 fields, at 40 or 50 feet apart, and set four posts 

 round them to prevent cattle and plows hurting 

 them. Every tree that yields, on an annual av- 

 erage, twenty l)ushels of apples, or forty bushels 

 each alternate year, is worth $1<H) invested at 

 five pt-r cent. ; and l)y planting orchards, you arc 

 leaving a fortune to your posterity, or adding to 

 th(! value of your farm if you wish to sell it. — 

 Farmers^ Companion, Detroit. 



