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TEANSACTION 



exotic, and its fragrance is seldom excelled by the rarest flowers. Go out m 

 the morning in spring time, when your orchard is in full bloom, and tell me, 

 did you ever witness any thing more delightful ? The trees themselves are 

 graceful objects, standing in regular order, spreading their branches into 

 globular shaped tops, and clothed in dresses of dark green leaves. Myriads 

 of buds and blossoms, of a delicate rosy hue, are intermingled with the foli- 

 age, and diffuse on the morning breeze a delicious ordor. The happy song 

 birds are there, while the apple blossoms descend on delicate wings to nestle 

 among the grass blades and the diamond dew drops. ■ 



" Now the earth prolific swells. 

 With leafy buds and flowery bells ; 

 Gemming shoots the olive twine ; 

 Clusters ripe festoon the vine ; 

 All along the branches creeping, 

 Through the velvet foliage peeping, 

 Little infant fruits we see, 

 Nxursing into luxury." 



In autumn, too, the orchard is a princely show, laden with ripe, delicioua 

 fruits, red-cheeked and golden. Fair, rip^, mellow peaches blush in beauty, 

 like a young maiden, and their charms vie with the rosy-tinted apples and 

 purple grapes, that hang like swinging gems in the tree tops, and nestle 

 among the dark green leaves of the vine. 



Ripe fruit is a healthful luxury when partaken in proper quantities and at 

 . proper times. Apples, peaches, pears, strawberries, grapes, in all their 

 variety of form and flavor— when most needed, most agreeable— are luxuries 

 indeed. But when by the magical culinary art, they are transformed into 

 pies, tarts, sauces and sweetmeats, by our wives and daughters, is not the 

 " Ne plus ultra " of luxuries fairly reached ? 



Ripe fruits promote health, and form, with other articles of aliment, 

 wholesome food, alleviate thirst, and give energy to the digestive organs. 

 Ripe apples and peaches are good for persons recov^ing from fevers and 

 dysenteries, and help to hasten the return of health. Scopoli " was cured 

 of dyspepsia by eating ripe apples." Says Dr. Willach, " in diseases of the 

 chest, either roasted, boiled, or stewed, they are of much service, and may 

 be employed in decoctions, which, if drank plentifully, tend to abate fever 

 and allay cough." Cider, or the fertoented juice of apples, is an excellent 

 acid tonic for scrofulous persons, to be taken in moderate quantities with 

 other food. In consumption and catarrhal coughs, cider is useful to allay 

 both fever and cough, and is preferable to brandy or wine as a tonic. Dr. 

 Newman was cured of a chronic dysentery by eating ripe peaches. Linnse- 

 us, the great botanist, was cured of the gout by the use of strawberries. 

 Ripe grapes are said to be useful in a case of torpid liver. The seeds of the 

 quince, infused, in cold water, form "one of the most valuable mucilages ; and 

 a decoction of the dried quince, sweetened with white sugar, is superior to 

 almost any other acidulated drink in nearly all kinds of fever, and, sweet> 

 ened with honey and liquorice, it is excellent in consumptive coughs. 



