Carol wrote:
"There was a guy called John did this in the US sometime in the misty past
called Johnny Appleseed. My favorite myth."
Not a myth. John Chapman did this in the 19th century; but, as Michael
Pollan ("Botany of Desire") and Frank Browning ("Apples") make clear, by
planting apple *seeds* what Chapman furthered was the cider apple. In time,
of course, new varieties of apples evolved, suitable for eating and well
adapted to the particular environment or climate in which they found
themselves.
(I conclude that this is why most American heirloom apples date from the
19th century and not earlier, but I may be basing this conclusion on
incomplete information.)
Pat
Darn it, now I have to buy another book! i'm running out of room, folks,
and have about 7 books to review. Paperback version of BOD will be out in
May. Margaret L
There's a brilliant new book out that has a lot about Johnny
Appleseed in it (not to mention Alma Ata, capital of Kazakhstan,
whose name means Father of Apples, and which is surrounded by apple
forests with weird wild apples, and where apple-trees grow up through
cracks in the paving-stones. It's called The Botany of Desire and
it's by Michael Pollan. (One of those botanical writers with a
botanical-sounding name.)
