ains in
comparison with other fruits.

THE PLUM.--The plum is one of the earliest of known fruits. Thebes,
Memphis, and Damascus were noted for the great number of their plum
trees in the early centuries. Plum trees grow wild in Asia, America, and
the South of Europe, and from these a large variety of domestic plum
fruits have been cultivated.

Plums are more liable than most other fruits to produce disorders of
digestion, and when eaten raw should be carefully selected, that they be
neither unripe nor unripe. Cooking renders them less objectionable.

THE PRUNE.--The plum when dried is often called by its French
cognomen, _prune_. The larger and sweeter varieties are generally
selected for drying, and when good and properly cooked, are the most
wholesome of prepared fruits.

THE APRICOT.--This fruit seems to be intermediate between the peach
and the plum, resembling the former externally, while the stone is like
that of the plum. The apricot originated in Armenia, and the tree which
bears the fruit was termed by the Romans "the tree of Armenia." It was
introduced into England in the time of Henry VIII. The apricot is
cultivated to some extent in the United States, but it requires too much
care to permit of its being largely grown, except in certain sections.

THE CHERRY.--The common garden cherry is supposed to have been
derived from the two species of wild fruit, and historians tell us that
we are indebted to the agricultural experiments of Mithridates, the
great king of ancient Pontus, for this much esteemed fruit. It is a
native of Asia Minor, and its birthplace.

THE OLIVE.--From time immemorial the olive has been associated with
history. The Scriptures make frequent reference to it, and its
cultivation was considered of first importance among the Jews, who used
its oil for culinary and a great variety of other purposes. Ancient
mythology venerated the olive tree above all others, and invested it
with many charming bits of fiction. Grecian poets sang its praises, and
early Roman writers speak of it with high esteem. In appearance and size
the fruit is much like the plum; when ripe, it is very dark green,
almost black, and possesses a strong, and, to many people, disagreeable
flavor. The pulp abounds in a bland oil, for the production of which it
is extensively cultivated in Syria, Egypt, Italy, Spain, and Southern
France. The fruit itself is also pickled and preserved in various ways,
but, like all other simi