Who Was Johnny Appleseed 苹果核约翰尼 Chapter 2 Johnny’s Big Idea

The main road through Longmeadow was busy. People traveling to and from Connecticut and New York brought news.

In 1783 Johnny learned that the Revolutionary War was officially over. The colonies had finally gotten what they wanted—independence. Now all land from the colonies to the Mississippi River belonged to the colonists¹, except for Florida, which Spain owned.

When Johnny was about twelve, the new United States organized the Northwest Territory so that government land could be sold to settlers in smaller pieces.

The territory was bordered by the Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Great Lakes. (It later became the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota.)

A group of land developers formed the Ohio Company and bought 1.5 million acres of Ohio land. In 1788 they sent forty-eight pioneers to begin the town of Marietta, Ohio. This became the first permanent pioneer settlement in the Northwest Territory.

Over the next few years, Johnny watched settlers pass through town. They were moving west in search of a better life.

Farmland, lumber², and food weren’t as plentiful³ in the area as they had once been. In Johnny Appleseed’s time, farmers didn’t fertilize⁴ land. When their soil lost its richness after many seasons of growing crops, they looked for fresh farmland. Back then, people didn’t conserve⁵ forestland or protect animal populations either. As nearby forests were logged and animals hunted, people had to go farther from home in search of lumber and food.

They left on wagons⁷, horseback, and foot to establish farms. At that time, when pioneers said they were “going west,” they were heading for what is now Ohio or Indiana. Today, these states are called the “Midwest.”

Johnny knew settlers would want fruit when they got to the west. Apples had many uses, and lots of people grew them. But settlers wouldn’t have room in their wagons for bags of apple seeds or seedlings⁸. That gave him an idea.

Cider mills located in many towns mashed⁹ the juice out of leftover¹⁰ apples. A drink called apple cider was made from the juice. The cores of the apples were thrown away. Johnny thought this was a waste.

After all, apple cores had apple seeds. And he could have the cider mills’ seeds for free! Maybe he could take them westward¹¹ and start an apple-tree-growing business.

INSIDE A COVERED WAGON⁶

IF YOU COULD TAKE ONLY A FEW OF YOUR THINGS ON A TRIP, WHAT WOULD YOU TAKE? WHAT WOULD YOU LEAVE BEHIND? PIONEERS MOVING WEST HAD TO MAKE HARD CHOICES.

THEY SOLD THEIR HOMES BEFORE MOVING WEST. IF THEY HAD CHICKENS, PIGS, OR OTHER LIVESTOCK¹², THEY USUALLY SOLD THOSE, TOO. CHILDREN OFTEN HAD TO LEAVE BELOVED PETS OR TOYS BEHIND.

THE FLOOR OF A COVERED WAGON WAS ABOUT FOUR FEET WIDE AND SIX TO TEN FEET LONG. THAT’S ABOUT THE SIZE OF A DOUBLE BED! WAGONS WERE USED FOR SLEEPING, RIDING, AND STORAGE.

APPLES IN PIONEER TIMES

THE THREE MAIN FOODS PIONEERS ATE WERE MEAT, CORN, AND APPLES. THEY HARVESTED APPLES EVERY FALL AND ATE MANY OF THEM RIGHT AWAY. SOME, THEY BAKED INTO PIES OR BOILED TO MAKE APPLE BUTTER.

OTHERS, THEY CRUSHED TO MAKE APPLE CIDER. BEFORE THEY HAD RUNNING WATER, COLONISTS DRANK A LOT OF THAT. WITHIN A FEW MONTHS AFTER THE HARVEST, LEFTOVER APPLES STARTED TO ROT. THIS WAS A PROBLEM. PIONEERS DIDN’T WANT TO GO WITHOUT FRUIT ALL WINTER.

FRESHLY CUT APPLES TURN BROWN QUICKLY. THAT’S BECAUSE CHEMICALS IN AN APPLE REACT WITH OXYGEN IN THE AIR. THIS CHEMICAL REACTION IS CALLED “OXIDATION.” OXIDATION IS ALSO WHAT CAUSES IRON OBJECTS TO RUST¹³.

ONCE ITS JUICE IS REMOVED, AN APPLE WON’T ROT. ONE WAY PIONEERS DRIED APPLE SLICES WAS BY PLACING THEM IN A SMALL ROOM CALLED A “DRYHOUSE.” A WOOD FIRE DRIED THE APPLES, WHICH LAY ON SHELVES MADE OF SCREENS.

ANOTHER WAY WAS BY SETTING APPLE SLICES ON OUTDOOR TABLES TO DRY IN THE SUN. WASPS¹⁴ AND BEES HELPED SUCK THE JUICE OUT OF THEM!

PIONEERS TIED THEIR DRIED APPLES TOGETHER ON STRINGS¹⁵ AND HUNG THEM FROM THE KITCHEN CEILING UNTIL NEEDED FOR COOKING.
 

1 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

3 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

4 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

5 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

6 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

7 wagons   

n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车

参考例句：

• The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
• They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。

8 seedlings   

n.刚出芽的幼苗( seedling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ninety-five per cent of the new seedlings have survived. 新栽的树苗95%都已成活。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In such wet weather we must prevent the seedlings from rotting. 这样的阴雨天要防止烂秧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 mashed   

a.捣烂的

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。

10 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

11 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

12 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

13 rust   

n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退

参考例句：

• She scraped the rust off the kitchen knife.她擦掉了菜刀上的锈。
• The rain will rust the iron roof.雨水会使铁皮屋顶生锈。

14 wasps   

黄蜂( wasp的名词复数 )； 胡蜂； 易动怒的人； 刻毒的人

参考例句：

• There's a wasps' nest in that old tree. 那棵老树上有一个黄蜂巢。
• We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless ones like moths. 我们不仅生活在对象蜘蛛或黄蜂这样的小虫的惧怕中，而且生活在对诸如飞蛾这样无害昆虫的惧怕中

15 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。