flontological. 
TASTE AS APPLIED TO FRUITS AND 
VEGETABLES. 
S. B. PECK. 
It lias been said “ there is no accounting for 
tastes.” This may be true in the main, but I 
think there are many, if not a majority, of the 
eccentric or abnormal cases that can be traced 
to a whim, a disordered imagination, or to 
somebody’s remark, that the food was special¬ 
ly healthy or uuhealtliy. It is most certain 
that the imagination has much to do with the 
flavor or supposed flavor of substances taken 
into the mouth. Cases are related where sim¬ 
ple bread pills have caused violent vomiting, 
when taken under the impression that they 
were a nauseous emetic, and patients have 
been known to take easily every day for a 
week medicines that their stomachs would not 
have retained a moment had they known what 
they had taken. And. singular as it may seem, 
those who have the most confidence in their 
own ability to detect any such imposition, are 
often deceived the most easily. 
The Baldwin apple has a very high reputa¬ 
tion among apple growers, uutl, of course, 
amoug nurserymen who supply them with the 
trees. So great is the reputation of this apple 
that several, when asked what kinds they would 
recommend for an orchard of 100 trees, have 
answered; “Ninety-nine Baldwins and the 
odd one another Baldwin.” But is it because 
of any peculiarly delicious flavor of the fruit ? 
No! if tasted iu the dark, most persons would, 
from the mere taste, prefer the Swaar, Peck's 
Pleasant, Spy. Red Canada, and severaFof the 
Pippins, and perhaps the Greening and Spitz- 
euberg. The reputation of the Baldwin is 
derived, not from any fine flavor, hut from the 
vigor aud tluiftincss of the tree, the fairness 
and fine appearance of the fruit, its good 
handling aud keeping qualities; hut, most of 
all, from its extraordinary productiveness, iu 
which, as far as dollars and cents are con¬ 
cerned, it Is doubtless superior to any other oi 
the long-tested varieties. Such being the case, 
those who raise apples for profit, show good 
judgment in planting largely of this variety, 
hut the consumer, when he goes into market 
to select fruit for family use. does not show 
good judgment when he gives a preference in 
choice, and many times in price, for the Bald¬ 
win, simply because of its high reputation. 
Even the Peunoek—about the poorest of all 
good-looking apples;—I have seen selected for 
home use, because there was stamped on the 
barrel head, “ Baldwin.” My object is not by 
any meaus to decry this apple, hut to show 
upon what foundation opinions and tastes are 
formed. 
In grapes aud other small fruits, it is well 
for us to consider which of their constituents 
it is that gives them their luscious flavor, their 
cooling and thirst-allaying effects. Without 
going into the naming of the many simple ele¬ 
ments of which they arc composed in common 
with all fruits, we may say that what gives 
them their peculiar relish is a certain propor¬ 
tion of acids, sugar and water. Admitting this 
to he true, we would suppose, as the office of 
water is simply to dilute the other ingredi¬ 
ents, that those varieties which contain the 
most sugar and acid would be the most palat¬ 
able aud nutritious, the richest and must satis¬ 
factory to the appetite. They certainly con¬ 
tain, per bulk, more of the elemeuts of 
nutrition, but I think they are not generally 
preferred as table fruits and why ? 
Dr. Grant and Mr. Meade have much to say 
about the “ education of taste,” and I must ad¬ 
mit that there is much iu it, for I have noticed 
that those persons who have never been fully 
supplied with our common li uits, see little dif¬ 
ference in the different varieties of the same 
kind. What constitutes the sweet or sour 
taste of our fruits is not the absence of either 
of the compounds, but the predominance of 
one over the other. Of strawberries I have 
never seen an analysis of different varieties, 
but my own opinion, judging trom what I 
have seen aud tasted, is that the Wilson is at 
about the hight of richness in sugar and acid, 
aud that when you go above that in size, you 
get simply an addition to the water, and if yon 
like the larger kiuds belter because they are 
less acid, is it not because the sugar aud acid 
are simply diluted ? The Concord grape ad¬ 
mitted to bo “ the grape for the millions," hut 
eo far as the fruit elemeuts, sugar and acid, are 
concerned, it is weak, especially in the former, 
consequently It lacks flavor, and. as compared 
with many others, it is simply diluted. The 
Clinton is called by many a poor, sour grape, 
but In these fruit elements it is one of the 
richest. I have the analyses of 38 varieties of 
Northern grapes, in which the Clinton contains 
the most sugar, almost double that of the Cou- 
cord, but it also contains over three times as 
much acid. I do not wish to quarrel with those 
who cannot bear sour fruits, and who think 
that excellence in them consists solely iu their 
sweet flavors, but richness in these fruits is 
certainly a desirable quality, if we can educate 
9 ar tastes up to a relish of therp. 
THE ? D R A L NEW-YORKER 
Wc gather and eat our fruits before they are 
ripe; the ripening process in fruits consists 
largely in the transformation of acids into 
fruit or grape sugar. We of the laity are not 
expected to be chemists, but if we look into 
our childrens’ school books on chemistry, we 
«hall see that, these fruit sugar and acids, are 
composed of the same elements, differing only 
In their proportions. Nature is a great chemist. 
In the green corn she puts sugar, in the ripen¬ 
ing process she changes this sugar to starch. 
quantities being, as a general rule, poor ship¬ 
ping apples. Golden Pippin is in fair demand, 
being a very tart aud highly flavored apple, 
making it desirable for cooking and drying. 
Maiden’s Blush and Gravenstein are also used 
for these purposes, the latter being, however, 
the most desirable for eating. 
Early Winter or Fall Apples are always 
in good demand aud are grown extensively. 
They realize fair prices. The favorites of this 
class are Belle-Fleur. Jonathan, Rhode Island 
other, aud so be made more productive thau 
the original improved seed; or, second, that 
the mere presence of a plant from seed pro¬ 
cured at a distance will have a beneficial Influ¬ 
ence on plants from the improved seed. In 
regard to tbe first cause, I do not think there 
is auy difficulty in proving that no mixture or 
crossiug will take place, and consequently 
there can be no gain from that cause. 
If auy of the readers of the Rural will go 
into their wheat fields next spring and exam¬ 
ine a few heads of wheat, commencing their 
examination assoou as the head shows itself 
and continuing the observations until the 
stamens fall, they will find that fertilization 
always takes place before the chaff opens, or 
before the stamens, or what farmers call the 
blossom, cau be Been on the outside of the 
chaff. This blossom is merely the cast-off 
stamens, their duty being done usually from 
twelve to thirty hours before they make their 
appearance on the. outside. They will also 
find that up to the time these stamens are cast 
off, the chaff is quite close—so close, in fact, 
that it is impossible for pollen from another 
plant to enter, uuless by accident the chaff 
should he Opened by some extraneous cause, 
such as birds, or striking against some hard 
substance. Even then the chances arc not one 
in a thousand that cross-fertilization will take 
place in auy of our cereals. Artificial fertili¬ 
zation requires the greatest care aud patience 
to make sure of even a very small percentage 
of croased seeds: and although I have prac¬ 
ticed it, more or less, for the last fifteen years, 
I consider that I do well if I succeed in getting 
twenty or twenty-five per cent really crossed. 
Again, if we consider tbe second supposed 
cause, we find that plants do not create a par¬ 
ticle of matter, and therefore do not originate 
iu themselves any of the elements which com¬ 
pose them, nor does one plant exhale any con¬ 
stituent that is available for another plant of 
the same variety, when placed under the same 
circumstances: consequently one plant cannot 
act as a manure to another of the same variety 
while growing sido by side. It may be trite 
that seeds of entirely different varieties, such 
as peas and oats, mixed and bowu together, 
will produce a greater yield, hut the cause of 
this is well known—they absorb different ele¬ 
mentary constituents from the earth. Peas 
contain more than double the quantity of 
uitrogen that oats do, while oats have the 
more carbon; peas most oxygeu, and so on. 
Peas also absorb the greater purt of their con¬ 
stituents from the air |? Ena. | while oats derive 
most of theirs tyotu the earth. This being the 
case, peas and oats really interfere very little 
with each other, aud each has, therefore, more 
room thau where the same quantity of either 
grain is sown alone. Now. where the saute 
variety of grain is sown, each grain requires 
just the same elemeuts, and acquires these 
elements in just the same way, either from tiie 
earth or air. 
But it may he said that I am quite astray as 
to the cause of the increased yield; that the 
change of seed from one locality to auother is 
the cause. Then why mix your owu improved 
seed with that procured from a distance, as 
there would be a still greater increase by sovv- 
iug the latter unmixed, If Professor Beal, or 
any of the Rural readers will take the trouble 
to make the following experiments, he will 
flud that not only will there be no increased 
yield, but a serious decrease: Select the largest 
heads from the most prolific plant, and from 
these select the very largest grains, aud sow. 
The following year do the same from the seed 
grown from the selected seed. Continue this 
selection for four or five years, and thou pro¬ 
cure ordinary seed from a distance and mix 
with the selected seed. A decrease both In 
quantity and quality will surely be the result. 
Where this selecting process is continued 
from year to year for a length of time, a won¬ 
derful improvement will be observed, notwith¬ 
standing the fact that the grain has always 
been grown on the same farm. This improve¬ 
ment, by selecting the most perfect seeds, 
holds good in all plants. Where turnip seed 
has been screened, and the large and small 
seeds sown separately, hut side by side, the 
large seed will produce the best turnips and 
the greatest yield. I might mention many ex¬ 
periments to increase the productiveness of 
our cereals, but this would be wandering from 
my text and making the sermon too long. 
In conclusion, I may say that without further 
proof I will not believe this doctrine of Mr. 
Darwin’s any more than I believe another 
statement of his—that any of my remote an¬ 
cestors were cither monkeys or frogB; hut I 
do believe that where a farmer lias improved 
his seed, either in the way 1 have mentioned or 
in other ways, if he chango his seed he gener¬ 
ally snffers a loss in quantity aud quality, and 
frequently has a gain of a complete stock of 
weeds. 
Ontario. Canada. 
[ It may be presumed (1st) that the seed pro¬ 
cured from a distance would have also been 
improved by selection, and (2d) that wa refer 
only to varieties of plants which do mix with¬ 
out artificial aid.— Eds.] 
but when you plant this corn for a new crop, 
about the first thing she does is to change tins 
starch hack again to sugar, to give nutriment 
to the new plant, which starch cannot do. So 
when we eat this ripe corn, nature seizes upon 
its starch aud changes it to sugar before it can 
not as nutriment to the system. This fruit 
sugar, however, is not the same article that we 
suppose we buy for the table, but the kind with 
which the. sugar refiners are now charged with 
adulterating or rather diluting the common 
sugar; namely, glucose, or fruit sugar, it 
being precisely the same as our table or cane 
sugar, with about teu percent, of water chemi¬ 
cally combined with it. 
.Muskegon Co., Mich. 
-♦♦♦ ■ - 
THE APPLE IN CALIFORNIA. 
MARKETING THE APPLE CROP. 
The apple is one of the most popular of all 
fruits in California, which possesses a climate 
and soil unsurpassed for the favorable produc¬ 
tion of this fruit. The foot-hills of the Sierra 
Nevada constitute the great apple section, al¬ 
though apple trees are cultivated and thrive 
well in nearly all parts of the State. The flav¬ 
or of the foot-hill | apples, however, is much 
finer than that of those grown along the coast, 
while the valley apples are mealy and lack 
the sprightly acid taste of those from the foot¬ 
hills. 
Fruit-growers, however, iu the foot-hill sec¬ 
tion labor under the disadvantage of being far 
from the Sau Francisco market. From our 
large apple orchards much of the fruit is ship¬ 
ped to that point, although a considerable 
quantity is shipped to Nevada. In shipping to 
San Francisco, even with regular telegraphic 
communication, it is difficult to know exactly 
when to ship; for as fruit is seut there from 
all parts of the State, it is quite difficult for 
our orchardists to watch flic markets closely 
enough to enable them to get their product in 
when it would realize the fairest figures. If 
the fruit arrives when the market is active and 
not overstocked, it is quite sure to fetch a good 
price; while, on the other hand, if by sudden 
and large shipments from other sections, the 
markets have been overstocked, the fruit is al¬ 
most a dead loss to the shipper. 
Immense quantities of apples are annually 
dried, and last season the amount disposed of 
iu this manner has been fourfold greater than 
iu any former season, owing to the introduc¬ 
tion of numerous patent driers. Although 
such immense quantities have been shipped 
and dried, hundreds Of tons have been fed to 
hogs or allowed to rot on the ground. 
VARIETIES. 
Every section of the country, every locality, 
has a climate peculiar to itself, so it will be 
found that every clime will have its own pe¬ 
culiar kinds of fruits, which will attain the 
highest degree of perfection there only, and 
will lose some of their good qualities as soon 
as removed elsewhere, it is impossible to de¬ 
cide the varieties suitable for one clime by 
those that thrive in another. Early spring 
Eastern apples, for instance, become summer 
ones here, Eastern autumn apples change into 
winter, and of real w inter or subsequent spring 
apples, wc have very few. 
Early Apples are cultivated only in quanti¬ 
ties for the local trade. Red Astrachan is the 
favorite for either eating or cooking purposes. 
Early Harvest is a good variety for eating, but 
remains for such a short time in perfection that 
it is not cultivated much. Red or Early Junes 
are in fair demand, and as a succession to Red 
Astraclians are cultivated iu fair quantities. 
Summer Apples are cultivated in small 
Greening, Fall Pippin, Santa Clara King, 
Gloria Mundi. Smith’s Cider aud Winesup. 
Late Winter Apples are in good demand. 
Those in general cultivation arc the Yellow 
Newtown Pippin, White Winter Poarmain, 
Nickajack. Large Striped Winter Pcarmaiu, 
and Baldwin, Swaar, Beauty of Kent and 
Esopus Spitzenbcrg. 
Culture. 
The wonderful crops first obtained from Cali¬ 
fornia soils gave our farmers an idea that good 
culture was unnecessary. The sanxe idea got 
into the heads of orchardists and as a result we 
find, in many cases, that beyond irrigation, few 
aids are given to nature. No manure at all, or 
very little is used. The. trunks arc seldom 
scraped <>r washed, and beyond picking off a 
few of the thickest, very little else is done to 
promote the value rtf the fruit. Thu days of this 
style of fruit-growing are past, however. The 
poorer fruit is rapidly being grafted and good 
culture is becoming the rule. 
The Apple Crop of 1878 
*was the largest ever known in the State. The 
quality was very fine in all varieties. I have 
seen numerous specimens that would weigh 
two and three pounds apiece, and, as a rule, the 
size was above the average iu all varieties. 
Eldorado Co., cal. W. C. L. Drew. 
-♦♦♦-— 
STUART’S GOLDEN APPLE. 
Of this Apple, Mr. Charles Downing writes 
us: “The specimens of this apple were seut 
me by J. R. Black, of Bremen, Fairfield Co , 
Ohio, who informs me that it originated on 
the farm of William Stuart of that county. 
The tree is hardy, a good healthy grower, 
spreading, an early and abundant bearer on 
alternate years. Fruit, rather below medium 
iu size; oblate, sometimes slightly oblique; 
skin, bright yellow, with ashade of orange red 
where fully exposed, and a few brown dots ; 
stalk, short, small; cavity, medium, rather 
deep, often slightly russeted; calyx, small, 
closed; basin of medium size, saucer-like 
shape, slightly plaited ; llesli, whitish, or 
whitish yellow, half fine, tender, juicy, pleas¬ 
ant sub-acid, rather rich, and of very good 
quality; core, small; in its best condition 
from February till April. I think it worthy of 
notice." 
Jatm ^rollout!). 
CHANGE OF SEED. 
T. F. FORFAR. 
In the Rural of Feb. 15, it is said that “al¬ 
though a man may he a good farmer, and 
have continued to improve his seed grain (we 
did not say grain.— Ed.] for many years in 
succession, he will gain a large percentage by 
procuring seed from auother locality aud of 
the same variety as his own, aud mixing the 
two together.” It is further said that “ this is 
no mere gucHB-work, or theory, hot is the re¬ 
sult of a long series of experiments by Mr. 
Charles Darwin, aud corroborated by Profes¬ 
sor Beal.” 
Now, I have read most of Mr. Darwin’s 
works, hut this 1 have not seen; consequently, 
the above extracts are all 1 have to guide me, 
and tbe statement appears so strange to me 
that I must beg to doubt its truth. If it. is true, 
then the percentage gained must result from 
either of two causes: First, that the mixed 
seed will he crossed or fertilized one by the 
