Why do we say "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree"?

Meaning:

Children take after their parents

Background:

The first recorded use in the USA was by Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1839. Emerson's original profession was as a Unitarian minister, but he left the ministry to pursue a career in writing and public speaking and became one of America's best known 19th century figures.

Versions of this proverb can also be found earlier in works written in German and Russian; with some sources saying the expression originates in Asia.

This expression has tends to have a negative connotation these days. Similar expressions with a more positive bent are a chip off the old block; and like father, like son (like mother, like daughter).

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