Thoreau's "Wild Apples" first appeared in The Atlantic Monthly in
November of 1862. The story begins with a short history of the apple
tree, tracing its path from ancient Greece to America. Thoreau saw the
apple as a perfect mirror of man, and eloquently lamented where they
were both heading. Though his words were written more than 150 years
ago, they live on today as a reminder of the need to preserve what is
wild. Thoreau wrote, "...our wild apple is wild only like myself,
perchance, who belong not to the aboriginal race here, but have strayed
into the woods from the cultivated stock." This short work is part of
Applewood's "American Roots" series, tactile mementos of American
passions by some of America's most famous writers and thinkers.