Why is what a disadvantage
A. early colonial days is the best answer (though this also means that it was before the Civil War - a long while before.)
Apology: a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification.
So fresh apple to rot is a comparasion of perishing
Based on that the use of foreboding in this sentence is used as a noun, the definition of foreboding would be:
A feeling or sense that something bad is going to happen.