I was preparing myself to read Walden. So before that, I chose this short writing piece of Henry David Thoreau to know about his writing. This short book speaks about apples. History of the apple tree, how wild apples grow, the fruit and its flavor, their beauty, naming them..etc. After the first paragraph of this book, I thought for a moment that this would be an uninteresting fact sheet about apples. I was proved wrong soon as it was not a boring sort of writing piece, it is written in a very delightful language. Beautiful poetic references and panoramic description of the journey of ‘Apple’ has given me a sweet-smelling palatable feel in reading!
It begins with a remarkable connection between the history of an apple tree and that of a man. There are some very interesting things from Greek mythology to modern geology, about apples in the book.
“Some have thought that the first human pair were tempted by its fruit. Goddesses are fabled to have contended for it, dragons were set to watch it, and heroes were employed to pluck it”
As per the author “Of trees, there are some which are altogether wild, some more civilized.” Theophrastus includes the apple among the last one. He writes how insects and birds welcomed the apple tree in the forest of France…
“The tent-caterpillar saddled her eggs on the very first twig that was formed, and it has since shared her affections with the wild cherry; and the canker-worm also in a measure abandoned the elm to feed on it. As it grew apace, the bluebird, robin, cherry-bird, king-bird, and many more, came with haste and built their nests and warbled in its boughs, and so became orchard-birds, and multiplied more than ever.”
Then encircling one of the best bearing trees in the orchard, people drank the following toast there several times:—
“‘Here’s to thee, old apple-tree,
Whence thou mayst bud, and whence thou mayst blow,
And whence thou mayst bear apples enow!
Hats-full! caps-full!
Bushel, bushel, sacks-full!
And my pockets full, too! Hurra!’”
I don’t know if this “apple-howling” is still practiced in various counties of England on New Year’s eve, where the writer says…A troop of boys visited the different orchards, and, encircling the apple-trees, repeated the following words:—
“Stand fast, root! bear well, top!
Pray God send us a good howling crop:
Every twig, apples big;
Every bow, apples enow!”
Overall, I enjoyed this short book and it turned out to be a nice warm-up reading for me before turning to Walden! After having finished the book I am walking through a beautiful road, the fragrance of roses surrounds me, there is a river that is flowing with a loud noise, I can hear the sound of stones rolling on its foot. The road leads to the fruit market. I have seen so many decorated small and mid-size stalls there with all types of apples. I will buy some today. While walking on the road, I see no one around me. This is a rare moment for me because I don’t feel lonely even though I am alone.
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