Page:Tree Crops; A Permanent Agriculture (1929).pdf/132



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 and the latest horticulturists. 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.

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