But the cow is the friend of the apple. How many trees she has plantedabout the farm, in the edge of the woods, and in remote fields andpastures. The wild apples, celebrated by Thoreau, are mostly of herplanting. She browses them down to be sure, but they are hers, and whyshould she not?

What an individuality the apple-tree has, each variety being nearly asmarked by its form as by its fruit. What a vigorous grower, forinstance, is the Ribston pippin, an English apple. Wide branching likethe oak, and its large ridgy fruit, in late fall or early winter,is one of my favorites. 0r the thick and more pendent top of thebelleflower, with its equally rich, sprightly uncloying fruit.