48 A TREATISE ON NUT CULTURE. 



Almond. It will thrive and bear fairly good crops on a poor, dry soil, but 

 when given a rich loam and a liberal supply of water, on a well drained soil, it 

 will give much better results. The European varieties are being superseded by 

 native seedlings, which seem to have more vigor and productiveness. 



In California the higher lands in the coast valleys and foothill regions are 

 recommended as the best locations. They should not be planted where 

 there is danger of late frosts in the Spring, as the trees bloom very early and 

 the fruit buds are liable to injury, for which reason they do not succeed in the 

 Peach growing districts of the Atlantic States. The important features of the 

 nut are to hull easily, have clean, thin, soft shells and a smooth bright kernel. 



They are used largely in confectionery, cooking, perfumery and medicine. 

 The sweet variety forms a nutritious article of food. Of this variety there 

 are three distinct types: The paper shell, soft shell and hard shell, the paper 

 shell commanding best prices in market, the best varieties being sold to con- 

 fectioners, the bitter variety being used in perfumery and flavoring. 



Propagation of the Almond is mainly by Shield budding, as practiced 

 with the Peach, on bitter Almond seedlings or Peach seedlings. Trees should 

 be set in orchard at one year from bud and from sixteen to twenty-four feet 

 apart, according to strength of ground, though probably the latter distance 

 would generally be found best. At time of planting, the trees should be pruned 

 to single stem and top taken off as with Peaches, though in after growth the 

 branches should not be shortened in, as with the Peach, for the fruit is gen- 

 erally produced on the long slender branches or short fruit spurs in the centre 

 of the tree. And after the tree comes to bearing very little pruning is 

 necessary. 



The Orchard should be thoroughly cultivated, but as the feeders run very 

 close to surface of the ground, the culture should be shallow near to the trees 

 to avoid injury to the roots. 



The Almond comes to bearing at about three years from bud and increases 

 with age until eight or ten years; an average of twenty to thirty pounds per 

 tree is considered a good yield. The process of gathering and preparing the 

 nuts for market is very simple. When the hulls are partly opened, disclosing 

 the nuts, a large canvas is spread under the tree and the branches are whipped 

 with poles until the nuts are shaken off. They are then run through a hulling 

 machine and afterwards separated from the hulls by hand. The nuts are then 

 bleached by sulphur fumes, to give them an attractive appearance. The longer 

 they remain in the bleaching process the whiter they become. 



The cost of gathering, hulling and bleaching Almonds amounts to about 

 two cents per pound. The nuts sell at five to fifteen cents per pound, accord- 

 ing to the variety. Some varieties, however, burst their hulls so nearly at one 

 time as to need no bleaching, as they are not discolored by unequal exposure 

 to the weather. 



