Most family farms have small scraggly apple orchards that produce small scabby apples that are basically inedible, thanks to Jonny Appleseed. He sold low quality saplings to settlers who planted them to prove they were truly “settled” and get land super cheap/free.
Thanks for the cordial explanation (unlike some). I always thought Jonny Appleseed danced through the forests throwing seeds, and that's how apple trees were invented. lol
Right? Me too! I heard him described as a frontier land developer. He’d sell the cheap saplings until an area was settled then move on to the new western edge of the frontier.
Now it all makes sense.
Historian Paul Aron argues, "Chapman was.. a businessman. He bought many of the parcels of land on which he planted his seeds and ultimately accumulated about twelve hundred acres across three states.... He wore pauper's clothing by choice and not out of necessity." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_...
"Chapman planted his apples by seed.. but without grafting, about one in a 100 seedlings will yield an apple that is edible as a fruit." Apples only good for cider. "..what Johnny Appleseed was doing and the reason he was welcome in every cabin.. he was bringing the gift of alcohol to the frontier."
These orchards still dot farmland from Virginia to Minnesota. The apples they produce look (not to mention taste) nothing like the apples you find in stores. It would be a slap in the face to give them to the homeless, schools etc. Poor folks and kids deserve decent food, not our rejects.