,wild ,apples by ,henry ,david ,thoreau ,contents ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,apple-,,tree ,,the ,,wild ,,apple ,,the ,,crab ,,how ,,the ,,wild ,,apple ,,grows ,,the ,,fruit1 ,,and ,,its ,,flavor ,,their ,,beauty ,,the ,,naming ,,of ,,them ,,the ,,last ,,gleaning ,,the 8,,frozen-,,thawed0 ,,apple ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,apple-,,tree ,it is remarkable how closely the history of the ,apple-tree is connected with that of man4 ,the geologist tells us that the order of the ,rosace1 which includes the ,apple1 also the true ,grasses1 and the ,labiat1 or ,mints1 were introduced only a short time previous to the appearance of man on the globe4 ,it appears that apples made a part of the food of that unknown primitive people whose traces have lately been found at the bottom of the ,swiss lakes1 supposed to be older than the foundation of ,rome1 so old that they had no metallic implements4 ,an entire black and shrivelled ,crab-,apple has been recovered from their stores4 ,tacitus says of the ancient ,germans that they satisfied their hunger with wild apples1 among other things4 ,niebuhr#a observes that 8the words for a house1 a field1 a plough1 ploughing1 wine1 oil1 milk1 sheep1 apples1 and others relating to agriculture and the gentler ways of life1 agree in ,latin and ,greek1 while the ,latin words for all objects pertaining to war or the chase are utterly alien from the ,greek40 ,thus the apple-tree may be considered a symbol of peace no less than the olive4 #a ,a ,german historical critic of ancient life4 ,the apple was early so important1 and so generally distributed1 that its name traced to its root in many languages signifies fruit in general4 7,mlon71 in ,greek1 means an apple1 also the fruit of other trees1 also a sheep and any cattle1 and finally riches in general4 ,the apple-tree has been celebrated by the ,hebrews1 ,greeks1 ,romans1 and ,scandinavians4 ,some have thought that the first human pair were tempted by its fruit4 ,goddesses are fabled to have contended for it1 dragons were set to watch it1 and heroes were employed to pluck it4#b #b ,the ,greek myths especially referred to are ,the ,choice of ,paris and ,the ,apples of the ,hesperides4 ,the tree is mentioned in at least three places in the ,old ,testament1 and its fruit in two or three more4 ,solomon sings1 8,as the apple-tree among the trees of the wood1 so is my beloved among the sons40 ,and again1 8,stay me with flagons1 comfort me with apples40 ,the noblest part of man's noblest feature is named from this fruit1 8the apple of the eye40 ,the apple-tree is also mentioned by ,homer and ,herodotus4 ,ulysses saw in the glorious garden of ,alcinous 8pears and pomegranates and apple-trees bearing beautiful fruit40 ,and according to ,homer1 apples were among the fruits which ,tantalus could not pluck1 the wind ever blowing their boughs away from him4 ,theophrastus knew and described the apple-tree as a botanist4 ,according to the prose ,edda1#c 8,iduna keeps in a box the apples which the gods1 when they feel old age approaching1 have only to taste of to become young again4 ,it is in this manner that they will be kept in renovated youth until ,ragnark0 7or the destruction of the ,gods74 #c ,the stories of the early ,scandinavians4 ,i learn from ,loudon#d that 8the ancient ,welsh bards were rewarded for excelling in song by the token of the apple-spray20 and 8in the ,highlands of ,scotland the apple-tree is the badge of the clan ,lamont40 #d ,an ,english authority on the culture of orchards and gardens4 ,the apple-tree belongs chiefly to the northern temperate zone4 ,loudon says1 that 8it grows spontaneously in every part of ,europe except the frigid zone1 and throughout ,western ,asia1 ,china and ,japan40 ,we have also two or three varieties of the apple indigenous in ,north ,america4 ,the cultivated apple-tree was first introduced into this country by the earliest settlers1 and is thought to do as well or better here than anywhere else4 ,probably some of the varieties which are now cultivated were first introduced into ,britain by the ,romans4 ,pliny1 adopting the distinction of ,theophrastus1 says1 8,of trees there are some which are altogether wild1 some more civilized40 ,theophrastus includes the apple among the last2 and1 indeed1 it is in this sense the most civilized of all trees4 ,it is as harmless as a dove1 as beautiful as a rose1 and as valuable as flocks and herds4 ,it has been longer cultivated than any other1 and so is more humanized2 and who knows but1 like the dog1 it will at length be no longer traceable to its wild original8 ,it migrates with man1 like the dog and horse and cow2 first1 perchance1 from ,greece to ,italy1 thence to ,england1 thence to ,america2 and our ,western emigrant is still marching steadily toward the setting sun with the seeds of the apple in his pocket1 or perhaps a few young trees strapped to his load4 ,at least a million apple-trees are thus set farther westward this year than any cultivated ones grew last year4 ,consider how the ,blossom-,week1 like the ,sabbath1 is thus annually spreading over the prairies2 for when man migrates he carries with him not only his birds1 quadrupeds1 insects1 vegetables1 and his very sward1 but his orchard also4 ,the leaves and tender twigs are an agreeable food to many domestic animals1 as the cow1 horse1 sheep1 and goat2 and the fruit is sought after by the first1 as well as by the hog4 ,thus there appears to have existed a natural alliance between these animals and this tree from the first4 8,the fruit of the ,crab in the forests of ,france0 is said to be 8a great resource for the wild boar40 ,not only the ,indian1 but many indigenous insects1 birds1 and quadrupeds1 welcomed the apple-tree to these shores4 ,the tent-caterpillar saddled her eggs on the very first twig that was formed1 and it has since shared her affections with the wild cherry2 and the canker-worm also in a measure abandoned the elm to feed on it4 ,as it grew apace1 the bluebird1 robin1 cherry-bird1 king-bird1 and many more1 came with haste and built their nests and warbled in its boughs1 and so became orchard-birds1 and multiplied more than ever4 ,it was an era in the history of their race4 ,the downy woodpecker found such a savory morsel under its bark1 that he perforated it in a ring quite round the tree before he left it1--a thing which he had never done before1 to my knowledge4 ,it did not take the partridge long to find out how sweet its buds were1 and every winter eve she flew1 and still flies1 from the wood1 to pluck them1 much to the farmer's sorrow4 ,the rabbit1 too1 was not slow to learn the taste of its twigs and bark2 and when the fruit was ripe1 the squirrel half-rolled1 half-carried it to his hole2 and even the musquash crept up the bank from the brook at evening1 and greedily devoured it1 until he had worn a path in the grass there2 and when it was frozen and thawed1 the crow and the jay were glad to taste it occasionally4 ,the owl crept into the first apple-tree that became hollow1 and fairly hooted with delight1 finding it just the place for him2 so1 settling down into it1 he has remained there ever since4 ,my theme being the ,wild ,apple1 ,i will merely glance at some of the seasons in the annual growth of the cultivated apple1 and pass on to my special province4 ,the flowers of the apple are perhaps the most beautiful of any tree1 so copious and so delicious to both sight and scent4 ,the walker is frequently tempted to turn and linger near some more than usually handsome one1 whose blossoms are two thirds expanded4 ,how superior it is in these respects to the pear1 whose blossoms are neither colored nor fragrant6 ,by the middle of ,july1 green apples are so large as to remind us of coddling1 and of the autumn4 ,the sward is commonly strewed with little ones which fall still-born1 as it were1--,nature thus thinning them for us4 ,the ,roman writer ,palladius said3 8,if apples are inclined to fall before their time1 a stone placed in a split root will retain them40 ,some such notion1 still surviving1 may account for some of the stones which we see placed to be overgrown in the forks of trees4 ,they have a saying in ,suffolk1 ,england1-- 8,at ,michaelmas time1 or a little before1 ,half an apple goes to the core40 ,early apples begin to be ripe about the first of ,august2 but ,i think that none of them are so good to eat as some to smell4 ,one is worth more to scent your handkerchief with than any perfume which they sell in the shops4 ,the fragrance of some fruits is not to be forgotten1 along with that of flowers4 ,some gnarly apple which ,i pick up in the road reminds me by its fragrance of all the wealth of ,pomona1#e--;carrying me forward to those days when they will be collected in golden and ruddy heaps in the orchards and about the cider-mills4 #e ,the ,roman goddess of fruit and fruit-trees4 ,a week or two later1 as you are going by orchards or gardens1 especially in the evenings1 you pass through a little region possessed by the fragrance of ripe apples1 and thus enjoy them without price1 and without robbing anybody4 ,there is thus about all natural products a certain volatile and ethereal quality which represents their highest value1 and which cannot be vulgarized1 or bought and sold4 ,no mortal has ever enjoyed the perfect flavor of any fruit1 and only the godlike among men begin to taste its ambrosial qualities4 ,for nectar and ambrosia are only those fine flavors of every earthly fruit which our coarse palates fail to perceive1--just as we occupy the heaven of the gods without knowing it4 ,when ,i see a particularly mean man carrying a load of fair and fragrant early apples to market1 ,i seem to see a contest going on between him and his horse1 on the one side1 and the apples on the other1 and1 to my mind1 the apples always gain it4 ,pliny says that apples are the heaviest of all things1 and that the oxen begin to sweat at the mere sight of a load of them4 ,our driver begins to lose his load the moment he tries to transport them to where they do not belong1 that is1 to any but the most beautiful4 ,though he gets out from time to time1 and feels of them1 and thinks they are all there1 ,i see the stream of their evanescent and celestial qualities going to heaven from his cart1 while the pulp and skin and core only are going to market4 ,they are not apples1 but pomace4 ,are not these still ,iduna's apples1 the taste of which keeps the gods forever young8 and think you that they will let ,loki or ,thjassi carry them off to ,jtunheim1#f while they grow wrinkled and gray8 ,no1 for ,ragnark1 or the destruction of the gods1 is not yet4 #f ,jtunheim 7,ye7r7t-un-hime7 in ,scandinavian mythology was the home of the ,jotun or ,giants4 ,loki was a descendant of the gods1 and a companion of the ,giants4 ,thjassi 7,tee-assy7 was a giant4 ,there is another thinning of the fruit1 commonly near the end of ,august or in ,september1 when the ground is strewn with windfalls2 and this happens especially when high winds occur after rain4 ,in some orchards you may see fully three quarters of the whole crop on the ground1 lying in a circular form beneath the trees1 yet hard and green1--or1 if it is a hillside1 rolled far down the hill4 ,however1 it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good4 ,all the country over1 people are busy picking up the windfalls1 and this will make them cheap for early apple-pies4 ,in ,october1 the leaves falling1 the apples are more distinct on the trees4 ,i saw one year in a neighboring town some trees fuller of fruit than ,i remember to have ever seen before1 small yellow apples hanging over the road4 ,the branches were gracefully drooping with their weight1 like a barberry-bush1 so that the whole tree acquired a new character4 ,even the topmost branches1 instead of standing erect1 spread and drooped in all directions2 and there were so many poles supporting the lower ones1 that they looked like pictures of banian-trees4 ,as an old ,english manuscript says1 8,the mo appelen the tree bereth the more sche boweth to the folk40 ,surely the apple is the noblest of fruits4 ,let the most beautiful or the swiftest have it4 ,that should be the 8going0 price of apples4 ,between the fifth and twentieth of ,october ,i see the barrels lie under the trees4 ,and perhaps ,i talk with one who is selecting some choice barrels to fulfil an order4 ,he turns a specked one over many times before he leaves it out4 ,if ,i were to tell what is passing in my mind1 ,i should say that every one was specked which he had handled2 for he rubs off all the bloom1 and those fugacious ethereal qualities leave it4 ,cool evenings prompt the farmers to make haste1 and at length ,i see only the ladders here and there left leaning against the trees4 ,it would be well if we accepted these gifts with more joy and gratitude1 and did not think it enough simply to put a fresh load of compost about the tree4 ,some old ,english customs are suggestive at least4 ,i find them described chiefly in ,brand's 8,popular ,antiquities40 ,it appears that 8on ,christmas eve the farmers and their men in ,devonshire take a large bowl of cider1 with a toast in it1 and carrying it in state to the orchard1 they salute the apple-trees with much ceremony1 in order to make them bear well the next season40 ,this salutation consists in 8throwing some of the cider about the roots of the tree1 placing bits of the toast on the branches10 and then1 8encircling one of the best bearing trees in the orchard1 they drink the following toast three several times3-- 8#8,here's to thee1 old apple-tree1 ,whence thou mayst bud1 and whence thou mayst blow1 ,and whence thou mayst bear apples enow6 ,hats-full6 caps-full6 ,bushel1 bushel1 sacks-full6 ,and my pockets full1 too6 ,hurra6'0 ,also what was called 8apple-howling0 used to be practised in various counties of ,england on ,new-,year's eve4 ,a troop of boys visited the different orchards1 and1 encircling the apple-trees1 repeated the following words3-- 8,stand fast1 root6 bear well1 top6 ,pray ,god send us a good howling crop3 ,every twig1 apples big2 ,every bow1 apples enow60 8,they then shout in chorus1 one of the boys accompanying them on a cow's horn4 ,during this ceremony they rap the trees with their sticks40 ,this is called 8wassailing0 the trees1 and is thought by some to be 8a relic of the heathen sacrifice to ,pomona40 ,herrick sings1-- 8,wassaile the trees that they may beare ,you many a plum and many a peare2 ,for more or less fruits they will bring ,as you so give them wassailing40 ,our poets have as yet a better right to sing of cider than of wine2 but it behooves them to sing better than ,english ,phillips did1 else they will do no credit to their ,muse4 ,,the ,,wild ,,apple ,so much for the more civilized apple-trees 7urbaniores1 as ,pliny calls them74 ,i love better to go through the old orchards of ungrafted apple-trees1 at whatever season of the year1--so irregularly planted3 sometimes two trees standing close together2 and the rows so devious that you would think that they not only had grown while the owner was sleeping1 but had been set out by him in a somnambulic state4 ,the rows of grafted fruit will never tempt me to wander amid them like these4 ,but ,i now1 alas1 speak rather from memory than from any recent experience1 such ravages have been made6 ,some soils1 like a rocky tract called the ,easterbrooks ,country in my neighborhood1 are so suited to the apple1 that it will grow faster in them without any care1 or if only the ground is broken up once a year1 than it will in many places with any amount of care4 ,the owners of this tract allow that the soil is excellent for fruit1 but they say that it is so rocky that they have not patience to plough it1 and that1 together with the distance1 is the reason why it is not cultivated4 ,there are1 or were recently1 extensive orchards there standing without order4 ,nay1 they spring up wild and bear well there in the midst of pines1 birches1 maples1 and oaks4 ,i am often surprised to see rising amid these trees the rounded tops of apple-trees glowing with red or yellow fruit1 in harmony with the autumnal tints of the forest4 ,going up the side of a cliff about the first of ,november1 ,i saw a vigorous young apple-tree1 which1 planted by birds or cows1 had shot up amid the rocks and open woods there1 and had now much fruit on it1 uninjured by the frosts1 when all cultivated apples were gathered4 ,it was a rank wild growth1 with many green leaves on it still1 and made an impression of thorniness4 ,the fruit was hard and green1 but looked as if it would be palatable in the winter4 ,some was dangling on the twigs1 but more half-buried in the wet leaves under the tree1 or rolled far down the hill amid the rocks4 ,the owner knows nothing of it4 ,the day was not observed when it first blossomed1 nor when it first bore fruit1 unless by the chickadee4 ,there was no dancing on the green beneath it in its honor1 and now there is no hand to pluck its fruit1--which is only gnawed by squirrels1 as ,i perceive4 ,it has done double duty1--not only borne this crop1 but each twig has grown a foot into the air4 ,and this is such fruit6 bigger than many berries1 we must admit1 and carried home will be sound and palatable next spring4 ,what care ,i for ,iduna's apples so long as ,i can get these8 ,when ,i go by this shrub thus late and hardy1 and see its dangling fruit1 ,i respect the tree1 and ,i am grateful for ,nature's bounty1 even though ,i cannot eat it4 ,here on this rugged and woody hillside has grown an apple-tree1 not planted by man1 no relic of a former orchard1 but a natural growth1 like the pines and oaks4 ,most fruits which we prize and use depend entirely on our care4 ,corn and grain1 potatoes1 peaches1 melons1 etc41 depend altogether on our planting2 but the apple emulates man's independence and enterprise4 ,it is not simply carried1 as ,i have said1 but1 like him1 to some extent1 it has migrated to this ,new ,world1 and is even1 here and there1 making its way amid the aboriginal trees2 just as the ox and dog and horse sometimes run wild and maintain themselves4 ,even the sourest and crabbedest apple1 growing in the most unfavorable position1 suggests such thoughts as these1 it is so noble a fruit4 ,,the ,,crab ,nevertheless1 our wild apple is wild only like myself1 perchance1 who belong not to the aboriginal race here1 but have strayed into the woods from the cultivated stock4 ,wilder still1 as ,i have said1 there grows elsewhere in this country a native and aboriginal ,crab-,apple1 8whose nature has not yet been modified by cultivation40 ,it is found from ,western ,new ,york to ,minnesota and southward4 ,michaux#g says that its ordinary height 8is fifteen or eighteen feet1 but it is sometimes found twenty-five or thirty feet high10 and that the large ones 8exactly resemble the common apple-tree40 8,the flowers are white mingled with rose-color1 and are collected in corymbs40 ,they are remarkable for their delicious odor4 ,the fruit1 according to him1 is about an inch and a half in diameter1 and is intensely acid4 ,yet they make fine sweet-meats1 and also cider of them4 ,he concludes1 that 8if1 on being cultivated1 it does not yield new and palatable varieties1 it will at least be celebrated for the beauty of its flowers1 and for the sweetness of its perfume40 #g ,pronounced mee-sh2 a ,french botanist and traveller4 ,i never saw the ,crab-,apple till ,may1 #ahfa4 ,i had heard of it through ,michaux1 but more modern botanists1 so far as ,i know1 have not treated it as of any peculiar importance4 ,thus it was a half-fabulous tree to me4 ,i contemplated a pilgrimage to the 8,glades10 a portion of ,pennsylvania1 where it was said to grow to perfection4 ,i thought of sending to a nursery for it1 but doubted if they had it1 or would distinguish it from ,european varieties4 ,at last ,i had occasion to go to ,minnesota1 and on entering ,michigan ,i began to notice from the cars a tree with handsome rose-colored flowers4 ,at first ,i thought it some variety of thorn2 but it was not long before the truth flashed on me1 that this was my long-sought ,crab-,apple4 ,it was the prevailing flowering shrub or tree to be seen from the cars at that season of the year1--about the middle of ,may4 ,but the cars never stopped before one1 and so ,i was launched on the bosom of the ,mississippi without having touched one1 experiencing the fate of ,tantalus4 ,on arriving at ,st4 ,anthony's ,falls1 ,i was sorry to be told that ,i was too far north for the ,crab-,apple4 ,nevertheless ,i succeeded in finding it about eight miles west of the ,falls2 touched it and smelled it1 and secured a lingering corymb of flowers for my herbarium4 ,this must have been near its northern limit4 ,,how ,,the ,,wild ,,apple ,,grows ,but though these are indigenous1 like the ,indians1 ,i doubt whether they are any hardier than those back-woodsmen among the apple-trees1 which1 though descended from cultivated stocks1 plant themselves in distant fields and forests1 where the soil is favorable to them4 ,i know of no trees which have more difficulties to contend with1 and which more sturdily resist their foes4 ,these are the ones whose story we have to tell4 ,it oftentimes reads thus3-- ,near the beginning of ,may1 we notice little thickets of apple-trees just springing up in the pastures where cattle have been1--as the rocky ones of our ,easter-brooks ,country1 or the top of ,nobscot ,hill in ,sudbury4 ,one or two of these perhaps survive the drought and other accidents1--their very birthplace defending them against the encroaching grass and some other dangers1 at first4 ,in two years' time 't had thus ,reached the level of the rocks1 ,admired the stretching world1 ,nor feared the wandering flocks4 ,but at this tender age ,its sufferings began3 ,there came a browsing ox ,and cut it down a span4 ,this time1 perhaps1 the ox does not notice it amid the grass2 but the next year1 when it has grown more stout1 he recognizes it for a fellow-emigrant from the old country1 the flavor of whose leaves and twigs he well knows2 and though at first he pauses to welcome it1 and express his surprise1 and gets for answer1 8,the same cause that brought you here brought me10 he nevertheless browses it again1 reflecting1 it may be1 that he has some title to it4 ,thus cut down annually1 it does not despair2 but1 putting forth two short twigs for every one cut off1 it spreads out low along the ground in the hollows or between the rocks1 growing more stout and scrubby1 until it forms1 not a tree as yet1 but a little pyramidal1 stiff1 twiggy mass1 almost as solid and impenetrable as a rock4 ,some of the densest and most impenetrable clumps of bushes that ,i have ever seen1 as well1 on account of the closeness and stubbornness of their branches as of their thorns1 have been these wild-apple scrubs4 ,they are more like the scrubby fir and black spruce on which you stand1 and sometimes walk1 on the tops of mountains1 where cold is the demon they contend with1 than anything else4 ,no wonder they are prompted to grow thorns at last1 to defend themselves against such foes4 ,in their thorniness1 however1 there is no malice1 only some malic acid4 ,the rocky pastures of the tract ,i have referred to--for they maintain their ground best in a rocky field--are thickly sprinkled with these little tufts1 reminding you often of some rigid gray mosses or lichens1 and you see thousands of little trees just springing up between them1 with the seed still attached to them4 ,being regularly clipped all around each year by the cows1 as a hedge with shears1 they are often of a perfect conical or pyramidal form1 from one to four feet high1 and more or less sharp1 as if trimmed by the gardener's art4 ,in the pastures on ,nobscot ,hill and its spurs they make fine dark shadows when the sun is low4 ,they are also an excellent covert from hawks for many small birds that roost and build in them4 ,whole flocks perch in them at night1 and ,i have seen three robins' nests in one which was six feet in diameter4 ,no doubt many of these are already old trees1 if you reckon from the day they were planted1 but infants still when you consider their development and the long life before them4 ,i counted the annual rings of some which were just one foot high1 and as wide as high1 and found that they were about twelve years old1 but quite sound and thrifty6 ,they were so low that they were unnoticed by the walker1 while many of their contemporaries from the nurseries were already bearing considerable crops4 ,but what you gain in time is perhaps in this case1 too1 lost in power1--that is1 in the vigor of the tree4 ,this is their pyramidal state4 ,the cows continue to browse them thus for twenty years or more1 keeping them down and compelling them to spread1 until at last they are so broad that they become their own fence1 when some interior shoot1 which their foes cannot reach1 darts upward with joy3 for it has not forgotten its high calling1 and bears its own peculiar fruit in triumph4 ,such are the tactics by which it finally defeats its bovine foes4 ,now1 if you have watched the progress of a particular shrub1 you will see that it is no longer a simple pyramid or cone1 but out of its apex there rises a sprig or two1 growing more lustily perchance than an orchard-tree1 since the plant now devotes the whole of its repressed energy to these upright parts4 ,in a short time these become a small tree1 an inverted pyramid resting on the apex of the other1 so that the whole has now the form of a vast hour-glass4 ,the spreading bottom1 having served its purpose1 finally disappears1 and the generous tree permits the now harmless cows to come in and stand in its shade1 and rub against and redden its trunk1 which has grown in spite of them1 and even to taste a part of its fruit1 and so disperse the seed4 ,thus the cows create their own shade and food2 and the tree1 its hour-glass being inverted1 lives a second life1 as it were4 ,it is an important question with some nowadays1 whether you should trim young apple-trees as high as your nose or as high as your eyes4 ,the ox trims them up as high as he can reach1 and that is about the right height1 ,i think4 ,in spite of wandering kine and other adverse circumstance1 that despised shrub1 valued only by small birds as a covert and shelter from hawks1 has its blossom-week at last1 and in course of time its harvest1 sincere1 though small4 ,by the end of some ,october1 when its leaves have fallen1 ,i frequently see such a central sprig1 whose progress ,i have watched1 when ,i thought it had forgotten its destiny1 as ,i had1 bearing its first crop of small green or yellow or rosy fruit1 which the cows cannot get at over the bushy and thorny hedge which surrounds it2 and ,i make haste to taste the new and undescribed variety4 ,we have all heard of the numerous varieties of fruit invented by ,van ,mons#h and ,knight4#i ,this is the system of ,van ,cow1 and she has invented far more and more memorable varieties than both of them4 #h ,a ,belgian chemist and horticulturist4 #i ,an ,english vegetable physiologist4 ,through what hardships it may attain to bear a sweet fruit6 ,though somewhat small1 it may prove equal1 if not superior1 in flavor to that which has grown in a garden1--will perchance be all the sweeter and more palatable for the very difficulties it has had to contend with4 ,who knows but this chance wild fruit1 planted by a cow or a bird on some remote and rocky hillside1 where it is as yet unobserved by man1 may be the choicest of all its kind1 and foreign potentates shall hear of it1 and royal societies seek to propagate it1 though the virtues of the perhaps truly crabbed owner of the soil may never be heard of1--at least1 beyond the limits of his village8 ,it was thus the ,porter and the ,baldwin grew4 ,every wild-apple shrub excites our expectation thus1 somewhat as every wild child4 ,it is1 perhaps1 a prince in disguise4 ,what a lesson to man6 ,so are human beings1 referred to the highest standard1 the celestial fruit which they suggest and aspire to bear1 browsed on by fate2 and only the most persistent and strongest genius defends itself and prevails1 sends a tender scion upward at last1 and drops its perfect fruit on the ungrateful earth4 ,poets and philosophers and statesmen thus spring up in the country pastures1 and outlast the hosts of unoriginal men4 ,such is always the pursuit of knowledge4 ,the celestial fruits1 the golden apples of the ,hesperides1 are ever guarded by a hundred-headed dragon which never sleeps1 so that it is an herculean labor to pluck them4 ,this is one and the most remarkable way in which the wild apple is propagated2 but commonly it springs up at wide intervals in woods and swamps1 and by the sides of roads1 as the soil may suit it1 and grows with comparative rapidity4 ,those which grow in dense woods are very tall and slender4 ,i frequently pluck from these trees a perfectly mild and tamed fruit4 ,as ,palladius says1 8,and the ground is strewn with the fruit of an unbidden apple-tree40 ,it is an old notion1 that1 if these wild trees do not bear a valuable fruit of their own1 they are the best stocks by which to transmit to posterity the most highly prized qualities of others4 ,however1 ,i am not in search of stocks1 but the wild fruit itself1 whose fierce gust has suffered no 8inteneration40 ,it is not my 8highest plot ,to plant the ,bergamot40 ,,the ,,fruit1 ,,and ,,its ,,flavor ,the time for wild apples is the last of ,october and the first of ,november4 ,they then get to be palatable1 for they ripen late1 and they are still1 perhaps1 as beautiful as ever4 ,i make a great account of these fruits1 which the farmers do not think it worth the while to gather1--wild flavors of the ,muse1 vivacious and inspiriting4 ,the farmer thinks that he has better in his barrels2 but he is mistaken1 unless he has a walker's appetite and imagination1 neither of which can he have4 ,such as grow quite wild1 and are left out till the first of ,november1 ,i presume that the owner does not mean to gather4 ,they belong to children as wild as themselves1--to certain active boys that ,i know1--to the wild-eyed woman of the fields1 to whom nothing comes amiss1 who gleans after all the world1--and1 moreover1 to us walkers4 ,we have met with them1 and they are ours4 ,these rights1 long enough insisted upon1 have come to be an institution in some old countries1 where they have learned how to live4 ,i hear that 8the custom of grippling1 which may be called apple-gleaning1 is1 or was formerly1 practised in ,herefordshire4 ,it consists in leaving a few apples1 which are called the gripples1 on every tree1 after the general gathering1 for the boys1 who go with climbing-poles and bags to collect them40 ,as for those ,i speak of1 ,i pluck them as a wild fruit1 native to this quarter of the earth1--fruit of old trees that have been dying ever since ,i was a boy and are not yet dead1 frequented only by the wood-pecker and the squirrel1 deserted now by the owner1 who has not faith enough to look under their boughs4 ,from the appearance of the tree-top1 at a little distance1 you would expect nothing but lichens to drop from it1 but your faith is rewarded by finding the ground strewn with spirited fruit1--some of it1 perhaps1 collected at squirrel-holes1 with the marks of their teeth by which they carried them1--some containing a cricket or two silently feeding within1 and some1 especially in damp days1 a shelless snail4 ,the very sticks and stones lodged in the tree-top might have convinced you of the savoriness of the fruit which has been so eagerly sought after in past years4 ,i have seen no account of these among the 8,fruits and ,fruit-,trees of ,america10 though they are more memorable to my taste than the grafted kinds2 more racy and wild ,american flavors do they possess1 when ,october and ,november1 when ,december and ,january1 and perhaps ,february and ,march even1 have assuaged them somewhat4 ,an old farmer in my neighborhood1 who always selects the right word1 says that 8they have a kind of bow-arrow tang40 ,apples for grafting appear to have been selected commonly1 not so much for their spirited flavor1 as for their mildness1 their size1 and bearing qualities1--not so much for their beauty1 as for their fairness and soundness4 ,indeed1 ,i have no faith in the selected lists of pomological gentlemen4 ,their 8,favorites0 and 8,non-suches0 and 8,seek-no-farthers10 when ,i have fruited them1 commonly turn out very tame and forgetable4 ,they are eaten with comparatively little zest1 and have no real tang nor smack to them4 ,what if some of these wildings are acrid and puckery1 genuine verjuice1 do they not still belong to the ,pomace1 which are uniformly innocent and kind to our race8 ,i still begrudge them to the cider-mill4 ,perhaps they are not fairly ripe yet4 ,no wonder that these small and high-colored apples are thought to make the best cider4 ,loudon quotes from the ,herefordshire ,report that 8apples of a small size are always1 if equal in quality1 to be preferred to those of a larger size1 in order that the rind and kernel may bear the greatest proportion to the pulp1 which affords the weakest and most watery juice40 ,and he says1 that1 8to prove this1 ,dr4 ,symonds of ,hereford1 about the year #ahjj1 made one hogshead of cider entirely from the rinds and cores of apples1 and another from the pulp only1 when the first was found of extraordinary strength and flavor1 while the latter was sweet and insipid40 ,evelyn#aj says that the 8,red-strake0 was the favorite cider-apple in his day2 and he quotes one ,dr4 ,newburg as saying1 8,in ,jersey 't is a general observation1 as ,i hear1 that the more of red any apple has in its rind1 the more proper it is for this use4 ,pale-faced apples they exclude as much as may be from their cider-vat40 ,this opinion still prevails4 #aj ,an ,english writer of the seventeenth century4 ,all apples are good in ,november4 ,those which the farmer leaves out as unsalable1 and unpalatable to those who frequent the markets1 are choicest fruit to the walker4 ,but it is remarkable that the wild apple1 which ,i praise as so spirited and racy when eaten in the fields or woods1 being brought into the house1 has frequently a harsh and crabbed taste4 ,the ,saunter-er's ,apple not even the saunterer can eat in the house4 ,the palate rejects it there1 as it does haws and acorns1 and demands a tamed one2 for there you miss the ,november air1 which is the sauce it is to be eaten with4 ,accordingly1 when ,tityrus1 seeing the lengthening shadows1 invites ,melibus to go home and pass the night with him1 he promises him mild apples and soft chestnuts4 ,i frequently pluck wild apples of so rich and spicy a flavor that ,i wonder all orchardists do not get a scion from that tree1 and ,i fail not to bring home my pockets full4 ,but perchance1 when ,i take one out of my desk and taste it in my chamber ,i find it unexpectedly crude1--sour enough to set a squirrel's teeth on edge and make a jay scream4 ,these apples have hung in the wind and frost and rain till they have absorbed the qualities of the weather or season1 and thus are highly seasoned1 and they pierce and sting and permeate us with their spirit4 ,they must be eaten in season1 accordingly1--that is1 out-of-doors4 ,to appreciate the wild and sharp flavors of these ,october fruits1 it is necessary that you be breathing the sharp ,october or ,november air4 ,the out-door air and exercise which the walker gets give a different tone to his palate1 and he craves a fruit which the sedentary would call harsh and crabbed4 ,they must be eaten in the fields1 when your system is all aglow with exercise1 when the frosty weather nips your fingers1 the wind rattles the bare boughs or rustles the few remaining leaves1 and the jay is heard screaming around4 ,what is sour in the house a bracing walk makes sweet4 ,some of these apples might be labelled1 8,to be eaten in the wind40 ,of course no flavors are thrown away2 they are intended for the taste that is up to them4 ,some apples have two distinct flavors1 and perhaps one-half of them must be eaten in the house1 the other out-doors4 ,one ,peter ,whitney wrote from ,northborough in #aghb1 for the ,proceedings of the ,boston ,academy1 describing an apple-tree in that town 8producing fruit of opposite qualities1 part of the same apple being frequently sour and the other sweet20 also some all sour1 and others all sweet1 and this diversity on all parts of the tree4 ,there is a wild apple on ,nawshawtuck ,hill in my town which has to me a peculiarly pleasant bitter tang1 not perceived till it is three-quarters tasted4 ,it remains on the tongue4 ,as you eat it1 it smells exactly like a squash-bug4 ,it is a sort of triumph to eat and relish it4 ,i hear that the fruit of a kind of plum-tree in ,provence is 8called ,prunes sibarelles1 because it is impossible to whistle after having eaten them1 from their sourness40 ,but perhaps they were only eaten in the house and in summer1 and if tried out-of-doors in a stinging atmosphere1 who knows but you could whistle an octave higher and clearer8 ,in the fields only are the sours and bitters of ,nature appreciated2 just as the wood-chopper eats his meal in a sunny glade1 in the middle of a winter day1 with content1 basks in a sunny ray there1 and dreams of summer in a degree of cold which1 experienced in a chamber1 would make a student miserable4 ,they who are at work abroad are not cold1 but rather it is they who sit shivering in houses4 ,as with temperatures1 so with flavors2 as with cold and heat1 so with sour and sweet4 ,this natural raciness1 the sours and bitters which the diseased palate refuses1 are the true condiments4 ,let your condiments be in the condition of your senses4 ,to appreciate the flavor of these wild apples requires vigorous and healthy senses1 papill#aa firm and erect on the tongue and palate1 not easily flattened and tamed4 #aa ,a ,latin word1 accent on the second syllable1 meaning here the rough surface of the tongue and palate4 ,from my experience with wild apples1 ,i can understand that there may be reason for a savage's preferring many kinds of food which the civilized man rejects4 ,the former has the palate of an outdoor man4 ,it takes a savage or wild taste to appreciate a wild fruit4 ,what a healthy out-of-door appetite it takes to relish the apple of life1 the apple of the world1 then6 8,nor is it every apple ,i desire1 ,nor that which pleases every palate best2 ',t is not the lasting ,deuxan ,i require1 ,nor yet the red-cheeked ,greening ,i request1 ,nor that which first beshrewed the name of wife1 ,nor that whose beauty caused the golden strife3 ,no1 no6 bring me an apple from the tree of life40 ,so there is one thought for the field1 another for the house4 ,i would have my thoughts1 like wild apples1 to be food for walkers1 and will not warrant them to be palatable1 if tasted in the house4 ,,their ,,beauty ,almost all wild apples are handsome4 ,they cannot be too gnarly and crabbed and rusty to look at4 ,the gnarliest will have some redeeming traits even to the eye4 ,you will discover some evening redness dashed or sprinkled on some protuberance or in some cavity4 ,it is rare that the summer lets an apple go without streaking or spotting it on some part of its sphere4 ,it will have some red stains1 commemorating the mornings and evenings it has witnessed2 some dark and rusty blotches1 in memory of the clouds and foggy1 mildewy days that have passed over it2 and a spacious field of green reflecting the general face of ,nature1--green even as the fields2 or a yellow ground1 which implies a milder flavor1--yellow as the harvest1 or russet as the hills4 ,apples1 these ,i mean1 unspeakably fair1--apples not of ,discord1 but ,concord6 ,yet not so rare but that the homeliest may have a share4 ,painted by the frosts1 some a uniform clear bright yellow1 or red1 or crimson1 as if their spheres had regularly revolved1 and enjoyed the influence of the sun on all sides alike1--some with the faintest pink blush imaginable1--some brindled with deep red streaks like a cow1 or with hundreds of fine blood-red rays running regularly from the stem-dimple to the blossom-end1 like meridional lines1 on a straw-colored ground1--some touched with a greenish rust1 like a fine lichen1 here and there1 with crimson blotches or eyes more or less confluent and fiery when wet1--and others gnarly1 and freckled or peppered all over on the stem side with fine crimson spots on a white ground1 as if accidentally sprinkled from the brush of ,him who paints the autumn leaves4 ,others1 again1 are sometimes red inside1 perfused with a beautiful blush1 fairy food1 too beautiful to eat1--apple of the ,hesperides1 apple of the evening sky6 ,but like shells and pebbles on the sea-shore1 they must be seen as they sparkle amid the withering leaves in some dell in the woods1 in the autumnal air1 or as they lie in the wet grass1 and not when they have wilted and faded in the house4 ,,the ,,naming ,,of ,,them ,it would be a pleasant pastime to find suitable names for the hundred varieties which go to a single heap at the cider-mill4 ,would it not tax a man's invention1--no one to be named after a man1 and all in the lingua vernacula8#ab ,who shall stand god-father at the christening of the wild apples8 ,it would exhaust the ,latin and ,greek languages1 if they were used1 and make the lingua vernacula flag4 ,we should have to call in the sunrise and the sunset1 the rainbow and the autumn woods and the wild flowers1 and the woodpecker and the purple finch1 and the squirrel and the jay and the butterfly1 the ,november traveller and the truant boy1 to our aid4 #ab ,lingua vernacula1 common speech4 ,in #ahcf there were in the garden of the ,london ,horticultural ,society more than fourteen hundred distinct sorts4 ,but here are species which they have not in their catalogue1 not to mention the varieties which our ,crab might yield to cultivation4 ,let us enumerate a few of these4 ,i find myself compelled1 after all1 to give the ,latin names of some for the benefit of those who live where ,english is not spoken1--for they are likely to have a world-wide reputation4 ,there is1 first of all1 the ,wood-,apple 7,malus sylvatica72 the ,blue-,jay ,apple2 the ,apple which grows in ,dells in the ,woods 7sylvestrivallis71 also in ,hollows in ,pastures 7campestrivallis72 the ,apple that grows in an old ,cellar-,hole 7,malus cellaris72 the ,meadow-,apple2 the ,partridge-,apple2 the ,truant's ,apple 7,cessatoris71 which no boy will ever go by without knocking off some1 however late it may be2 the ,saunterer's ,apple1--you must lose yourself before you can find the way to that2 the ,beauty of the ,air 7,decus ,aris72 ,december-,eating2 the ,frozen-,thawed 7gelato-soluta71 good only in that state2 the ,concord ,apple1 possibly the same with the ,musketa-quidensis2 the ,assabet ,apple2 the ,brindled ,apple2 ,wine of ,new ,england2 the ,chickaree ,apple2 the ,green ,apple 7,malus viridis72--this has many synonyms2 in an imperfect state1 it is the ,cholera morbifera aut dysenterifera1 puerulis dilectissima2#ac--the ,apple which ,atalanta stopped to pick up2 the ,hedge-,apple 7,malus ,sepium72 the ,slug-,apple 7limacea72 the ,railroad-,apple1 which perhaps came from a core thrown out of the cars2 the ,apple whose ,fruit we tasted in our ,youth2 our ,particular ,apple1 not to be found in any catalogue1--,pedestrium ,solatium2#ad also the ,apple where hangs the ,forgotten ,scythe2 ,iduna's ,apples1 and the ,apples which ,loki found in the ,wood2 and a great many more ,i have on my list1 too numerous to mention1--all of them good4 ,as ,bodus exclaims1 referring to the culti-vated kinds1 and adapting ,virgil to his case1 so ,i1 adapting ,bodus1-- 8,not if ,i had a hundred tongues1 a hundred mouths1 ,an iron voice1 could ,i describe all the forms ,and reckon up all the names of these wild apples40 #ac ,the apple that brings the disease of cholera and of dysentery1 the fruit that small boys like best4 #ad ,the tramp's comfort4 ,,the ,,last ,,gleaning ,by the middle of ,november the wild apples have lost some of their brilliancy1 and have chiefly fallen4 ,a great part are decayed on the ground1 and the sound ones are more palatable than before4 ,the note of the chickadee sounds now more distinct1 as you wander amid the old trees1 and the autumnal dandelion is half-closed and tearful4 ,but still1 if you are a skilful gleaner1 you may get many a pocket-full even of grafted fruit1 long after apples are supposed to be gone out-of-doors4 ,i know a ,blue-,pearmain tree1 growing within the edge of a swamp1 almost as good as wild4 ,you would not suppose that there was any fruit left there1 on the first survey1 but you must look according to system4 ,those which lie exposed are quite brown and rotten now1 or perchance a few still show one blooming cheek here and there amid the wet leaves4 ,nevertheless1 with experienced eyes1 ,i explore amid the bare alders and the huckleberry-bushes and the withered sedge1 and in the crevices of the rocks1 which are full of leaves1 and pry under the fallen and decaying ferns1 which1 with apple and alder leaves1 thickly strew the ground4 ,for ,i know that they lie concealed1 fallen into hollows long since and covered up by the leaves of the tree itself1--a proper kind of packing4 ,from these lurking-places1 anywhere within the circumference of the tree1 ,i draw forth the fruit1 all wet and glossy1 maybe nibbled by rabbits and hollowed out by crickets and perhaps with a leaf or two cemented to it 7as ,curzon#ae an old manuscript from a monastery's mouldy cellar71 but still with a rich bloom on it1 and at least as ripe and well kept1 if not better than those in barrels1 more crisp and lively than they4 ,if these resources fail to yield anything1 ,i have learned to look between the bases of the suckers which spring thickly from some horizontal limb1 for now and then one lodges there1 or in the very midst of an alder-clump1 where they are covered by leaves1 safe from cows which may have smelled them out4 ,if ,i am sharp-set1 for ,i do not refuse the ,blue-,pearmain1 ,i fill my pockets on each side2 and as ,i retrace my steps in the frosty eve1 being perhaps four or five miles from home1 ,i eat one first from this side1 and then from that1 to keep my balance4 #ae ,robert ,curzon was a traveller who searched for old manuscripts in the monasteries of the ,levant4 ,see his book1 ,ancient ,monasteries of the ,east4 ,i learn from ,topsell's ,gesner1 whose authority appears to be ,albertus1 that the following is the way in which the hedgehog collects and carries home his apples4 ,he says3 8,his meat is apples1 worms1 or grapes3 when he findeth apples or grapes on the earth1 he rolleth himself upon them1 until he have filled all his prickles1 and then carrieth them home to his den1 never bearing above one in his mouth2 and if it fortune that one of them fall off by the way1 he likewise shaketh off all the residue1 and walloweth upon them afresh1 until they be all settled upon his back again4 ,so1 forth he goeth1 making a noise like a cart-wheel2 and if he have any young ones in his nest1 they pull off his load wherewithal he is loaded1 eating thereof what they please1 and laying up the residue for the time to come40 ,,the 8,,frozen-,,thawed0 ,,apple ,toward the end of ,november1 though some of the sound ones are yet more mellow and perhaps more edible1 they have generally1 like the leaves1 lost their beauty1 and are beginning to freeze4 ,it is finger-cold1 and prudent farmers get in their barrelled apples1 and bring you the apples and cider which they have engaged2 for it is time to put them into the cellar4 ,perhaps a few on the ground show their red cheeks above the early snow1 and occasionally some even preserve their color and soundness under the snow throughout the winter4 ,but generally at the beginning of the winter they freeze hard1 and soon1 though undecayed1 acquire the color of a baked apple4 ,before the end of ,december1 generally1 they experience their first thawing4 ,those which a month ago were sour1 crabbed1 and quite unpalatable to the civilized taste1 such at least as were frozen while sound1 let a warmer sun come to thaw them1 for they are extremely sensitive to its rays1 are found to be filled with a rich1 sweet cider1 better than any bottled cider that ,i know of1 and with which ,i am better acquainted than with wine4 ,all apples are good in this state1 and your jaws are the cider-press4 ,others1 which have more substance1 are a sweet and luscious food1--in my opinion of more worth than the pine-apples which are imported from the ,west ,indies4 ,those which lately even ,i tasted only to repent of it1--for ,i am semi-civilized1--which the farmer willingly left on the tree1 ,i am now glad to find have the property of hanging on like the leaves of the young oaks4 ,it is a way to keep cider sweet without boiling4 ,let the frost come to freeze them first1 solid as stones1 and then the rain or a warm winter day to thaw them1 and they will seem to have borrowed a flavor from heaven through the medium of the air in which they hang4 ,or perchance you find1 when you get home1 that those which rattled in your pocket have thawed1 and the ice is turned to cider4 ,but after the third or fourth freezing and thawing they will not be found so good4 ,what are the imported half-ripe fruits of the torrid ,south to this fruit matured by the cold of the frigid ,north8 ,these are those crabbed apples with which ,i cheated my companion1 and kept a smooth face that ,i might tempt him to eat4 ,now we both greedily fill our pockets with them1--bending to drink the cup and save our lappets from the overflowing juice1--and grow more social with their wine4 ,was there one that hung so high and sheltered by the tangled branches that our sticks could not dislodge it8 ,it is a fruit never carried to market1 that ,i am aware of1--quite distinct from the apple of the markets1 as from dried apple and cider1--and it is not every winter that produces it in perfection4 ,the era of the ,wild ,apple will soon be past4 ,it is a fruit which will probably become extinct in ,new ,england4 ,you may still wander through old orchards of native fruit of great extent1 which for the most part went to the cider-mill1 now all gone to decay4 ,i have heard of an orchard in a distant town1 on the side of a hill1 where the apples rolled down and lay four feet deep against a wall on the lower side1 and this the owner cut down for fear they should be made into cider4 ,since the temperance reform and the general introduction of grafted fruit1 no native apple-trees1 such as ,i see everywhere in deserted pastures1 and where the woods have grown up around them1 are set out4 ,i fear that he who walks over these fields a century hence will not know the pleasure of knocking off wild apples4 ,ah1 poor man1 there are many pleasures which he will not know6 ,notwithstanding the prevalence of the ,baldwin and the ,porter1 ,i doubt if so extensive orchards are set out to-day in my town as there were a century ago1 wrhen those vast straggling cider-orchards were planted1 when men both ate and drank apples1 when the pomace-heap was the only nursery1 and trees cost nothing but the trouble of setting them out4 ,men could afford then to stick a tree by every wall-side and let it take its chance4 ,i see nobody planting trees to-day in such out-of-the-way places1 along the lonely roads and lanes1 and at the bottom of dells in the wood4 ,now that they have grafted trees1 and pay a priee for them1 they collect them into a plat by their houses1 and fence them in1--and the end of it all will be that we shall be compelled to look for our apples in a barrel4 ,this is 8,the word of the ,lord that came to ,joel the son of ,pethuel4 8,hear this1 ye old men1 and give ear1 all ye inhabitants of the land6 ,hath this been in your days1 or even in the days of your fathers8444 8,that which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten2 and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten2 and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten4 8,awake1 ye drunkards1 and weep6 and howl1 all ye drinkers of wine1 because of the new wine6 for it is cut off from your mouth4 8,for a nation is come up upon my land1 strong1 and without number1 whose teeth are the teeth of a lion1 and he hath the cheek-teeth of a great lion4 8,he hath laid my vine waste1 and barked my fig-tree2 he hath made it clean bare1 and cast it away2 the branches thereof are made white4444 8,be ye ashamed1 ,o ye husbandmen6 howl1 ,o ye vine-dressers6444 8,the vine is dried up1 and the fig-tree languisheth2 the pomegranate-tree1 the palm tree also1 and the apple-tree1 even all the trees of the field1 are withered3 because joy is withered away from the sons of men40#af #af ,,joel1 chapter i41 verses #a-ab4