26 FRUIT RECIPES 



was of old considered Nature's complement for nuts, the 

 eating of them together offsetting too great richness (by 

 over-indulgence) of nut-fat and preventing indigestion. 

 Salt was eaten with them at night to assist in digesting 

 acid and fat: the three forming a notable trio. Cooked, 

 the apple is also laxative, tonic and nourishing. 



Fresh, sweet cider, bubbling with beauty, scintillating 

 with sun-shafts, needs neither poetry nor spiking to recom- 

 mend it, so evident is its simple wholesomeness to even the 

 wayfaring man unless he be a fool. The crab-apple's 

 juice (" ver-juice ") is not pleasing until well fermented 

 but in age (at even but three years) attains similarity to 

 champagne. Medicinally ver-juice is valued. It should 

 be mentioned here that the common crab-apple and the 

 Siberiah crabs are of different species, the latter being 

 Pyrus baccata and Pyrus prunifolia. 



Cider (with the possibility of gingerbread) and apples, 

 salt, and nuts at the old time gatherings "by early candle- 

 lighting" were more apt to be followed by sleep and health 

 than the complicated "refreshments" at later hours of 

 modem evening parties. When it is realised that in any 

 reasonable form, a diet of apples rivals the famous grape- 

 cures and is a diet conducive to beauty, this old-fashioned 

 first of fruits must certainly come back into favour and be 

 given its former prestige. 



The following is the analysis of a pint of the cider given 

 regularly to day-labourers in the agricultural districts of 

 England (according to Voelker; Enc. Brit.): 



Gum and Albuminous 



Water Alcoho Grape Hug. Extractive Matter Malic Acid Ash Compounds 



8ag24i 36769 31-67 4S05 44-86 18-38 1.04 



grs. grs. grs. grs. grs. grs. gre. 



