TASTE, AS APPLIED TO FRUITS. 227 



broad distinction between the good and 'the 

 bad, and they will not be slow to choose the 

 one and reject the other. We have only to 

 show them that, while the good yields both 

 nourishment and enjoyment, the bad yields 

 but little of either, and they will be at no 

 loss which to select. We have no more faith 

 in pandering to a depraved taste in matters of 

 food and drink, than we have in pandering 

 to a depraved taste in morals, literature, or 

 the arts. All are essentially bad, and equally 

 to be condemned. 



It is a fallacy to suppose that poor kinds 

 of grapes can be grown cheaper than good 

 ones, and that we must therefore grow the 

 poor kinds for the " million." No sensible man 

 should try to deceive himself with that spe- 

 cious kind of reasoning. Good grapes, in 

 this happy land at least, are not to be a lux- 

 ury for one class alone. They can, and must, 

 be placed within the reach of all, rich and 

 poor alike. Taste is the common inheritance 

 of man, and not, as is often supposed, some- 

 thing which follows in the wake of wealth. 

 It is sometimes found as keen and apprecia- 

 tive in the cottage as in the palace. It is 

 doubtless preserved in greater purity by some 



