CHAPTER XI
THE PERSIMMON: A PASTURE TREE FOR THE BEASTS AND A KINGLY FRUIT FOR MAN
A CASE OF STRANGE NEGLECT
One of the remarkable things about the human mind is its power of resistance to new ideas. By way of illustration consider the present status of the persimmon in American agriculture. The persimmon has been praised, and its bright future has been predicted by the earliest explorers[1] and the latest horticulturists.[2] Captain John Smith, first explorer of Virginia, declared that the persimmon was as delicious as an "apricock."
Persons interested in the persimmon as human food should know that the well-known puckering astringency can sometimes be removed by simple processes.[3]
Ten generations of Americans have spent some thrilling autumn nights pulling fat opossums out of the persimmon trees, where they so love to feed. Every animal on the American
- ↑ "Plumbs there be of three sorts. The red and white are like our hedge plumbs; but the other which they call Putchamins, grow as high as a Palmeta; the fruit is like a medlar; it is first green, then yellow, and red when it is ripe; if it be not ripe it will draw a man's mouth awrie with much torment; but when it is ripe it is as delicious as an apricock." (The Industrialist, Manhattan, Kansas, March 4, 1904. Vol. XXX. No. 20, "Persimmons.")
- ↑ "I am convinced that the persimmon is destined to be one of the most important fruits grown in the United States." (Walter T. Swingle, Physiologist in charge, United States Department of Agriculture, letter, August 25, 1927-) "The persimmon is gradually being recognized as an important food for hogs." (C. C. Newman. Horticulturist, Clemson College, South Carolina, letter, May 27, 1913.)
- ↑ See U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Chemistry, Bulletin 141 and Bulletin 155.
