FRUIT GARDEN. 245 



tachio, the cornichon, and the sultana. Of these, 

 the last and the sweet almond of Du Hamel and 

 Forsyth are the sorts most esteemed. 



Like the apple, &c., the almond-tree is propaga- 

 ted by seeds when new varieties are sought for, and 

 by buds when old ones are to be continued. Graft- 

 ing is rarely practised, and never with good effect, 

 from the loss of gum inseparable from the wound 

 it inflicts. Whence it follows that, in moist soils, 

 the plum stock, and in dry soils, that of the peach 

 or of the bitter almond, are employed as stocks. 



The best time for sowing is in the spring; and 

 the seeds selected should be those which have been 

 taken from ripe fruit, and carefully buried in some 

 dry and cool place, to prevent evaporation. When 

 put out in the nursery they should be placed with 

 the sharp ends downward, in rows two and a half 

 feet apart, and kept free from weeds. As soon as 

 the young plants show themselves, cover them du- 

 ring the hot weather with straw, and, when four or 

 five feet high, inoculate ; when they are three 

 years old, transplant them into the fruit garden or 

 the shrubbery, as you may think best. In either 

 place, annually labouring the earth around the roots 

 will be useful. 



The cultivation of this tree, under circumstances 

 favourable to it, is very profitable ;* but it must not 

 be dissembled, that in our climate, whether northern 

 or southern, it does not succeed. In the former, 

 the early production of its blossoms (which always 

 precede the leaves)f greatly expose it to frosts, the 

 slightest of which are sufficient to destroy it ; and 

 in the latter, from causes not sufficiently explored, 

 " the fruit falls," as we are informed by Bosc, " be- 



* ' The profits of this culture in the south of France are not 

 so great, but more certain than those arising from the culture 

 of the olive." Bosc. 



t There is but one exception to this, the sultana, a sub-vari- 

 ety of the tender shell. 



