Christine Dunlap, age 13, of Santa Ynez, Calif., for her question:

WHO WAS JOHNNY APPLESEED?

A man named John Chapman, a pioneer who lived from 1774 until 1845, became a legendary part of American history. He was a religious enthusiast, military hero, plant nurseryman and herb doctor and became known as Johnny Appleseed along the Ohio River because of the ardent way he sold appleseeds and apple tree sprouts. He would accept any object or any amount of money in payment.

During the War of 1812 Chapman served as a frontier messenger. He became an herb doctor and botanist and was looked upon as an American version of a Hebrew prophet. The apple trees that came from the seeds and sprouts he sold helped to make many of the farming areas of northern Ohio and Indiana more prosperous than they had been before he made his visits.