There is a wild species called the Virginia
crab-apple, which bears beautiful pink flowers as fragrant as roses, but
its small apples are intensely sour. The blossoms of the cultivated
apple tree are more beautiful than those of any other fruit; they are
delicious to both sight and scent."
"And do look, Miss Harson," said Clara, "at these lovely half-open buds!
They are just like tiny roses, and _so_ sweet!"
Down went Clara's head among the clustered blossoms, and then Edith had
to come too; and Malcolm declared that between the two they would smell
them to death.
"It seems," continued Miss Harson, "that the apple tree grows wild in
every part of Europe except in the frigid zone and in Western Asia,
China and Japan. It is thought to have been planted in Britain by the
Romans; and when it was brought here, it seemed to do better than it had
done anywhere else. It is said that 'not only the Indians, but many
indigenous insects, birds and quadrupeds, welcomed the apple tree to
these shores. The butterfly of 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. It was an era in the history of their race in
America.
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