ALMOND. 15 



ter, resembling, in short, the inferior kind of peaches. This 

 variety requires, to ripen perfectly, a Southern latitude. 



7. The Bitter Almond. This species is distinguished for 

 its bitter kernel. It has two varieties, one with a hard and 

 one with a brittle shell. The leaves have a darker green 

 than most of the sweet-fruited discover, and are also longer ; 

 the blossoms are also large, and pale in color. 



The kernel of the sweet almond has its familiar uses, in 

 the lady's boudoir, in the hands of the confectioner, and the 

 simple house cook. The bitter almond plays a part almost 

 as varied and busy, for besides lending aid to the cook 

 and confectioner, it also is an auxiliary of medicine, and, 

 gliding into the chemist's crucible, yields him one of the most 

 virulent of all poisons, prussic aoid. Both the sweet and 

 bitter almond afford an oil. Let us now proceed to see in 

 how many good things this valuable nut is found as a very 

 principal help and ingredient ; observing beforehand, that 

 the soft-shell sweet almond, or ladies' almond, is the favorite 

 nut for the table, and for fancy dishes for dessert. It is also 

 better economy to buy these when to be used for the last- 

 mentioned purposes, a pound of this variety yielding about 

 half a pound when shelled; of course the thicker-shelled 

 yield less. 



ALMOND BLANCMANGE. 



Take two ounces of isinglass and one quart of new milk, 

 blanch one half-pound of almonds, and pound them very 

 fine in a mortar, with a little rose-water, and stir them in 

 carefully. Strain it, and sweeten it to your taste. Let it be 

 milk-warm when you put it into your mould. 



ALMOND CANDY. 



Take two quarts of West India molasses, and stir into it 

 one pound of brown sugar ; put this molasses thus prepared 



