PLANTS CULTIVATED FOR THEIR FRUITS. 219 



The almond grows apparently wild or half wild in 

 the warm, dry regions of the Mediterranean basin and 

 of western temperate Asia. As the nuts from cultivated 

 trees naturalize the species very easily, w^e must have 

 recourse to v^arious indications to discern its ancient 

 home. 



We may first discard the notion of its origin in 

 Eastern Asia. Japanese floras make no mention of the 

 almond. That which M. de Bonge saw cultivated in 

 the north of China was the Persica Davidiana} Dr. 

 Bretschneider,^ in his classical work, tells us that he has 

 never seen the almond cultivated in China, and that the 

 compilation entitled Pent-sao, published in the tenth or 

 eleventh century of our era, describes it as a tree of the 

 country of the Maliometans, which signifies the north- 

 west of India, or Persia. 



Anglo-Indian botanists ^ say that the almond is culti- 

 vated in the cool parts of India, but some add that it 

 does not thrive, and that many almonds are brought 

 from Persia.* No Sanskrit name is known, nor even 

 any in the languages derived from Sanskrit. Evidently 

 the north-west of India is not the original home of the 

 species. 



On the other hand, there are many localities in the 

 region extending from Mesopotamia and Turkestan to 

 Algeria, where excellent botanists have found the almond 

 tree quite wild. Boissier ^ has seen specimens gathered 

 in rocky ground in Mesopotamia, Aderbijan, Turkestan, 

 Kurdistan, and in the forests of the Anti-Lebanon. 

 Karl Koch ^ has not found it wild to the south of the 

 Caucasus, nor Tchibatcheff in Asia Minor. Cosson "' found 

 natural woods of almond trees near Saida in Aliieria. It 



o 



* Bretschneifler, Early European Researches, p, 149. 



^ Bretsclineider, Study and ValiiCy etc., p. 10] and Early Europ, 

 Besear.^ p. 140. 



' Brandis, Forest Flora; Sir J. Hoolrer, Fl. of Brit. Tnd., iii. p. 318. 



* Roxburgh, Fl. Ind., edit. 2, vol. ii. p. 500 ; Eoyle, 111. Rimal.^ p. 204. 

 ' Boissier, Fl. Orien., iii. p. 641. 



* K. Koch, Dendrologie, i. p. 80; Tchihatcheff, Asie Ulijieure Bota. 

 niqne, i. p. 108. 



' Ann. des Sc. Nat, 3rd scries, vol. xix. j). 108. 



