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Wild Apples

by Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

  • Free to read
  • 35 min read
  • 8 chapters
  • Reading level: 7th grade

"Wild Apples" by Henry David Thoreau is a reflective and insightful exploration of the apple tree and its significance, written in the mid-19th century. This publication combines elements of natural history, philosophy, and botany, focusing on the wild apple's cultural and ecological importance. Thoreau intertwines his appreciation for the wild apple with commentary on human cultivation and the subtleties of nature, thus creating a celebration of the natural world. In "Wild Apples," Thoreau examines the history of the apple tree, its growth, and its various forms in nature, contrasting cultivated and wild varieties. He reflects on the beauty, flavors, and fragrances of wild apples while illustrating their connection to rural life and folklore. Through rich descriptive language, he evokes the sensory experiences of encountering wild apples, emphasizing their unique character and the joy of foraging. Thoreau also addresses the decline of these wild trees, lamenting the loss of traditional practices and the increasing preference for cultivated varieties, thus calling attention to the broader implications of human activity on nature.

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The History of the Apple-Tree

It is remarkable how closely the history of the Apple-tree is connected with that of man. The geologist tells us that the order of the Rosaceæ, which includes the Apple, also the true Grasses, and the Labiatæ, or Mints, were introduced only a short time previous to the appearance of man on the globe.

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 lakes, supposed to be older than the foundation of Rome, so old that they had no metallic implements. An entire black and shrivelled Crab-Apple has been recovered from their stores.

Tacitus says of the ancient Germans that they satisfied their hunger with wild apples, among other things.

Niebuhr[1] observes that “the words for a house, a field, a plough, ploughing, wine, oil, milk, sheep, apples, and others relating to agriculture and the gentler ways of life, agree in Latin and Greek, while the Latin words for all objects pertaining to war or the chase are utterly alien from the Greek.” Thus the apple-tree may be considered a symbol of peace no less than the olive.

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Contents

  1. The History of the Apple-Tree
  2. The Wild Apple
  3. The Crab
  4. How the Wild Apple Grows
  5. The Fruit, and Its Flavor
  6. Their Beauty
  7. The Naming of Them
  8. The Last Gleaning

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About this edition

This free edition of Wild Apples by Henry David Thoreau comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #4066, released 2003-05-01. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Essays, Letters & Speeches, Nature/Gardening/Animals, Philosophy & Ethics.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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