The subject of the decay of the apple has been discussed in a very interesting way in the _Popular Science Monthly_ for May, 1893, by Byron D. Halsted. Though chemical changes take place here, also, and the apple is finally resolved mostly into carbonic-acid gas, water, and mineral salts, yet these changes are brought about by the action of various fungi which find a soil favorable to their growth in the apple pulp. Though apples are considered digestible and wholesome, their digestibility is much increased by cooking. This is especially true if some of the starch is not converted to sugar, for, as noted above, starch, to be readily assimilated in the system, should be cooked. There is probably no fruit that is so uniformly wholesome and so deservedly popular with all classes as the apple. The apple and pear were known in England before the conquest, and, indeed, probably before the Saxon invasion. They have been gradually "improved" from the wild crab-apple of Europe. It is stated on good authority that there is no country on the globe so well adapted to the growth of this fruit as the temperate regions of North America, and this seems to be demonstrated by the fact that the apples of the United States are superseding the native fruit in most of the civilized countries. ANALYSES OF THE ASH OF THE APPLE. Sap-wood. Heart-wood. Potash 16.19 6.620 Soda 3.11 7.935 Chloride of sodium .42 .210 Sulphate of lime .05 .526 Phosphate of peroxide iron .80 .500 Phosphate of lime 17.50 5.210 Phosphate of magnesia .20 .190 Carbonic acid 29.10 34.275 Lime 18.63 35.019 Magnesia 8.40 6.900 Silica 1.65 .700 Organic matter 4.60 2.450 ------ ------- Totals 100.65 100.535 ANALYSES OF APPLES. One hundred pounds of average apples contain the following: No. 1. Fiber 3.2 lbs. Gluten, fat, and wax .2 " Casein .16 " Albumen 1.4 " Dextrine .7 " Sugar 8.3 " Malic acid .3 " Water 82.66 " Error .08 " ---------- 100 lbs. No. 2. Nitrates 5 lbs. Carbonates 10 " Phosphate 1 " Water 84 " -------- 100 lbs. No. 3. Water 85.0 lbs. Sugar 7.6 " Acid 1.0 " Albuminous substances .22 " Insoluble matter 1.83 " Pectous Substances 3.88 " Ash .47 " ---------- 100 lbs. WEIGHT OF APPLES.