The Almond. 93 



compiled in 1440 by " Geoffrey the Grammarian," viz., 

 "Jardyne almaunde, amigdalum jardinum," literally a 

 cultivated or garden almond.* How much older than 

 1440 " Jardyne " may be, there is at present no evidence 

 to show. In tracing the history of words it is important 

 to remember that all words were spoken before they were 

 written, and that the occurrence of a given word in litera- 

 ture simply proves, at all events as a rule, that the word 

 was already established, and known to people in general. 

 How many words in our own colloquial have yet to be 

 recognized by authors ! The corruption took place 

 before the Elizabethan age, Gerard saying of this variety, 

 that it is " vulgarly called a Jordan almond," " vulgarly" 

 meaning colloquially, as when Scripture is ordered to be 

 read in the "vulgar tongue." The most delicate of all 

 the known varieties is that one called in France La 

 Princesse, the shell of which is so thin that it yields to the 

 weakest fingers. None of these come to England, unless 

 as curiosities. When almonds are shelled before exporta- 

 tion, the trouble and cost of the process is covered by the 

 value of the refuse, which serves excellently for domestic 

 fuel. 



Bitter almonds are the produce of a variety called, 

 because of their flavour, amara. In figure, leaf, and 

 blossom, it does not differ from the sweet, or " dulcis." 

 These are charged with amygdalin, the base of prussic 

 or hydrocyanic acid. Great care has to be exercised 

 in dealing with them, no vegetable poison being more 



* Camden Society's Edit, 1843, ? 2 S7- 



