38 PKUITS AND HOW TO USE THEM. 



cousins. Those poets who see a charm in common things 

 have Sling of its beauty. Bryant's " Planting of the Apple 

 Tree," is one of his best efforts. 



This tree, so slow and hardy in its growth will, under 

 favorable conditions, witness the progress and decay of two 

 centuries. It flourishes best in the United States in a 

 belt running from the Eastern States to the West. Be- 

 ginning to ripen in June, the fresh fruit can be kept, with 

 proper care, to the succeeding June. The evaporated ap- 

 ple, carefully cooked, can hai-dly be distinguibhed from the 

 fresh fruit, in place of which it can be used in the follow- 

 ing recipes. Beloved of the robin and the bee, the small 

 boy and the thrifty cook, the apple provides a large store 

 of the winter's food and the summer's pleasure. 



It is curious to observe that the wild crab-apple furnish- 

 es all the stock from which the nearly 1200 cultivated va- 

 rieties have sprung. It was propagated by the Komans, 

 who however, knew little of the value of the fruit as now 

 developed by careful nurtiire. 



Uncooked apples for eating ought to be perfectly ripe 

 and only a very thin peeling should be removed. The 

 more nutritious and aromatic portion of this fruit lies 

 nearest the surface, hence apples baked or stewed in their 

 skins have a more delicious taste and quality than when 

 pared. To one who has a realization of health and the 

 sweetness of simple foods, there is nothing better than a 

 juicy Pound Sweeting, Baldwin, Russet, or Spitzenberg, 

 out of which, with good, white-wheat bread and butter, a 

 palatable luncheon may always be obtained. Choaiists 

 tell us that sugar, tannic acid, malic acid, albumen, glu- 

 ten, pectin, fibrin, starch, traces of free salts and water, 

 make up the bulk of apples, but rosy-cheeked, hardy chil- 

 dren getting half their living from the products of the or- 

 chard, are practical examples of their value. 



