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ALMOND. — According to an ancient tradition mentioned by 

 Servius, the origin of the Almond-tree is to be traced to Phylhs, a 

 beautiful Thracian queen, who became enamoured of Demophoon, 

 the son of Theseus and Phaedra, and was wedded to him. Demo- 

 phoon, who, whilst returning from the Trojan war, had been cast 

 by a storm on the coast of Thrace soon after his marriage with the 

 Queen, was recalled to Athens by his father's death. He promised 

 faithfully to return to his royal bride at the expiration of a month, 

 but failed to do so, and Phyllis, distracted at his continued absence, 

 after several futile visits to the sea-shore, expired of grief, and was 

 transformed into an Almond-tree, which is called Phylla by the 

 Greeks. Some time after this metamorphosis the truant consort 

 returned, and upon hearing of the untimely fate of Phyllis, he ran 

 and clasped the tree in remorseful embrace. Loving even in death, 

 his beautiful queen seems to have acknowledged his repentance, 

 for the Almond-tree into which she had been transformed, although 

 at that time stripped of its leaves, suddenly shot forth and 

 blossomed, as if eager to show how unchangeable was poor 

 Phyllis's love. A second account of the origin of the Almond- 

 tree states that it sprang from the blood of the monster Agdistis, 

 the offspring of Jupiter. This fable further narrates that the 

 daughter of the river Sangarius fell in love with the beautiful tree, 



and after gathering its fruit, gave birth to a son named Atys. 



A third account relates how lo, daughter of King Midas, was for- 

 saken by Atys, whom she loved ; and how Agdistis, on the death 

 of Atys, mutilated his body, from which sprang the bitter Almond- 

 tree, the emblem of grief. Virgil made the flowering of the 



Almond a presage of the crop of Wheat. 



" With many a bud if flowering Almonds bloom, 

 And arch their gay festoons that breathe perfume, 

 So shall thy harvest like profusion yield, 

 And cloudless suns mature the fertile field." 



The Hebrew word Shakad, from which the Almond derives its 

 name, means to make haste, or to awake early, given to the tree 

 on account of its hasty growth and early maturity. Aaron's rod, 

 which budded and brought forth fruit in the Tabernacle during one 

 day, was of an Almond-tree : "It budded and brought forth 

 buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded Almonds." (Numbers 

 xvii., 8). Among the Hebrews, the Almond-tree was regarded as 

 the symbol of haste and vigilance, because of the suddenness of its 

 blossoming, which announced the Spring. The Mahommedans con- 

 sider its flowers typical of hope, because they bloom on the bare 



branches. Romanists assign the blossoming Almond-tree to the 



Madonna, as Queen of Heaven. In Tuscany, and other coun- 

 tries, a branch of the Almond-tree is employed to discover 

 hidden treasures. It is carried to the place where the treasure is 

 supposed to be concealed, and, according to popular superstition, 

 its point will turn towards the exact spot. In the nuptial ce- 



