Apples, ho When Papa decides to pull up roots and move from Iowa to Oregon, he cant bear to leave his precious apple trees behind. Or his peaches, plums, grapes, cherries, and pears. Oh, and he takes his family along too. But the trail is cruel -- first theres a river to cross thats wider than Texas...and then there are hailstones as big as plums...and theres even a drought, sure to crisp the cherries. Those poor pippinsLuckily Delicious (the nonedible apple of Daddys eye) is strong -- as young uns raised on apples are -- and wont let anything stop her fathers darling saps from tasting the sweet Oregon soil. Heres a hilarious tall tale -- from the team that brought you Fannie in the Kitchen -- thats loosely based on the life of a real fruiting pioneer. Apple Facts More than 7,500 varieties of apples are grown throughout the world. About 2,500 varieties grow in the United States. The apple variety Delicious is the most widely grown in the United States. Apples are part of the rose family. The science of fruit growing is called pomology. Fresh apples float. Thats because 25 percent of their volume is air. Cut an apple in half, across the core, and youll see a star shape. It takes apple trees four to five years to produce their first fruit. It takes about thirty-six apples to make one gallon of apple cider.