V 



196 The Apple. 



native species of our own, which has just been described, still 

 the general opinion prevails among botanists that our stock of 

 Apples originated not from this, but from European importations. 

 As that may be, however, we undoubtedly produce the finest 

 Apples, both for size and flavor, in the world ; those of England 

 and France, by universal acknowledgment, cannot stand, for a 

 moment, a comparison with them. It will flourish, we are told, 

 in every part of the United States, except the low lands of the 

 maritime districts of Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and the low 

 prairies or savannahs bounding the Gulf of Mexico. Ripe Ap- 

 ples form an exceedingly wholesome food, alleviating thirst and 

 fortifying a weak stomach ; they are excellent in dysentery, and 

 equally efficacious in putrid and malignant fevers ; we are told 

 that Scopoli recovered from a weakness of the stomach and 

 indigestion, by using them. Dr. Willach states, that in dis- 

 eases of the chest, either roasted, boiled, or stewed, they are 

 of considerable service, and may be employed in decoctions, 

 which, if drank plentifully, tend to abate fever and relieve 

 coughs. 



Deduit of Mazeras has found that one third of apple pulp 

 baked with two-thirds of flour, having been properly fermented 

 with yeast for twelve hours, makes a very excellent bread full of 

 eyes and extremely palatable. Kenrick says that beaten with 

 lard the pulp forms pomatum ; and quotes Bosc to mention that 

 the prolonged stratification of apples with elder flowers in a close 

 vessel, gives the former an odor of musk exceedingly agreeable 

 to those who relish that perfume. The jelly is made by paring 

 them,taking out the core, and putting them in a closely covered pot 

 without water, inside an oven. When cooked, strain the juice 

 through a cloth, add a little white of egg and some sugar, skim 

 the whole and boil it down to a proper consistence. Apples may 

 be preserved in syrup or by thoroughly drying them, and in this 

 state, as Mr. Knight informs us in his treatise on the Apple and 

 Pear, are very valuable, and may be advantageously used on 

 long voyages. Many instances have been cited of their efficacy 

 in curing the diseases of and rapidly fattening up horses, cattle, 

 and swine. The bark of the Apple tree will produce a yellow 

 color, and the wood is used in turning, and for various purposes 

 where hardness, compactness, and variegation of color are the 

 chief objects. 



