THE ALMOND ] 309 



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never watered as a detail of its cultivation, except in 



the case of transplanted trees which should be watered 

 frequently in the first summer, until they are properly 

 established. However on irrigated ground the almond 

 grows with greater vigour, is more productive and 

 produces finer almonds, but becomes more liable to 

 certain diseases. 



The almond can be transplanted with perfect safety 

 until it has commenced to bear fruit', the risk increasing 

 with the size of the tree. If the stem is more than 5 c.m. 

 in diameter at the base, the operation becomes difficult 

 and the tree will require three or four years to recover. 

 Transplanting is done late in November or in December, 

 and can neither be postponed nor anticipated without 

 much risk. In the case of peaches arid plums grafted 

 on almond stock, on which the graft is known to exercise 

 a retarding influence, transplanting may be delayed for 

 some time but not later than the end of January. 



In good soils with a deep and open subsoil where 

 the almond is expected to attain full size, the distance 

 from one tree to another should not be less than 6 metres, 

 and 7 or 8 metres from one row to another. On poorer 

 soils a 'distance of 5 metres is sufficient between trees in 

 the same row, and 6 metres from one row to another. 

 In old quarries the almond like the fig-tree, is planted or 

 sown along the cut surface of the rock, and its roots 

 penetrate deeply along the surface of the rock and among 

 the stones and rubbish of which the subsoil is made, and 

 therefore do not interfere at all with the cultivation of 

 field crops. However on any land of sufficient depth, 

 the presence of almond trees offers no obstacle to the 

 growth of field crops, as the almond never throws a thick 

 shade, although it is already in full foliage early in spring, 

 and its roots are spread in the deep layers of the soil and 

 in the subsoil. 



The almond tree is allowed to assume its natural 

 hemispherical or dome-shaped form, and pruning is 



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