ALLIUM 



17. Bolanderi, Wats. Fls. rose, few, the segments ser- 

 rulate: scape 4-10 in. Calif. 



18. unifolium, Kellogg. Lvs. several, narrow and flat: 

 scape stout, 1-2 ft. : ils. rose, 10-30, the segments ovate- 

 lanceolate, exceeding stamens and style. Calif. 



DD. Ovarii tlistinefhj 6-crested; fls. uxnallij rose-colored. 

 E. tienpe iixnall!/ more than 6 in. high {in the wild). 



19. stellatum, Praser. Bulb-coats reddish : scape 6-18 

 in.; pt-dii-els '.^--'jin. long; stamens and styles exserted. 

 W. Anier. B.Jl. 1576. 



20. Sdnbomii, Wood. Bulb-scales white: scape 12-24 

 in.: pedicels shorter; umbel densely many-fld.; stamens 

 and styles exserted. Calif. 



21. attenuildlium, Kellogg. Lvs. channelled: scape 

 slender, 6-15 in., leafy below; umbel dense ; fls. nearly 

 white. W.Amer. 



EE. Stupe iLiually less than in. high (in the wild). 



22. serratum, Wats. Lvs. very narrow : filaments 

 broadened at the base. W. Amer. 



2;!. Bidwelliae, Wats. Scape 2-3 in.: umbel few-fld., 

 the pedicels Join. long : filaments filiform. Calif. 

 cc. Lf. solifarij, linear or filifoim: scape SS in. high: 

 capsule G-crested. 



24. fimbriitum, Wats. Lf. filiform and revolute : 

 scape a in. : fls. deep rose , stigma 3-cleft. S. Calif. 



AA. Bidhs mostly solitary : scape stont^ S-wingcd : 



lvs. S, broad. 



B. Stamens not exserted. 



25. falcifdlium. Hook. & Am. Fls. rose, the segments 

 minutely glandular-serrate and twice longer than sta- 

 mens : scape 2-3 in. W. Amer. 



26. anceps, Kellosg. Fls. white, with purplish veins, 

 the segment!? little longer than s'amens. Calif., Or. 



BB. .Stani: IIS i.r>ii ried. 



27. platyoaille, Wats. Fls. rose, the segments long- 

 acuminate: scape 3-5 iu. Calif. B.M. 0227, as-1. axceps. 



L. H. B. 



ALLOPLfiCTUS (dirersely plaited; referring to ap- 

 pearance of the calyx). Gesnerdeea\ Tender tropical 

 evergreen shrubby plants, with tubular yellowish axillary 

 fls., borne singly, to be grown in hothouses and given 

 the treatment required by Gesneras. 



A.rcpens, Hook. Trailing by means of roots thrown out be- 

 tween the pairs of lvs.: lvs. ovat.', '■n;u-^.ly s.Tiate. hairy or 

 smootli: calyx pale greeu. bloti-lu'ii with juiriili <ni<illayellow, 

 tinged red. gaping; tube swollen at t li-' Im^.' . I n n 1 m, t t'. .ur spread- 

 ing segments, the uppermost bciiii^ I vvi ur. K Iiiil, B.M.4250. 



—A.sparsiflonis.'ilaH. Erect: h s. cvat.- ciMmh^', acute entire; 

 petiole and nerves beneath often red : calyx of ft cordate or tri- 

 angular dark blood or purple sepals, forming a striking contrast 

 to the yellow club-shaped densely hairy coroUa: limb of corolla 

 of .1 equal segments. Braz. B. 51. 4216, erroneously as A. 



Allspice. The dry ben-y of the I'ini. 1,1.. , P^„:.-„t,, 

 officinalis, Lindl.),an evergreen tree ..t iln- .l/.o/.i. . .r . 

 The tree grows in the W. Indies. Janiai.-a \ i.-l.ls inu.h 

 of the product. The fresh berry is about the size of a 

 pea. It is borne in clusters. The word allspice is also 

 applied to various plants with aromatic fragrance, as 

 Calycanthus. 



Almond, a name given to the tree and fruit of Prii- 

 iius Amygdalus, Baill. (Amygdalus communis, Linn.), 

 of the Jiosdcew. It is also applied to certain dwarf orna- 

 mental trees or bushes, as Flowering Almond (see Pru- 

 II us). The Almond has been cultivated from time im- 

 memorial. It is thought to be native to the Mediterranean 

 basin. Some enquirers have supposed it to be the original 

 of the peach, but this idea is evidently untenable. The 

 flowers are peach-like and hiin.lsome (Fi.-. f.3). The 

 Almond nut of commerce is tin- j.it or st..ii,- of a peaHi- 

 like fruit (Fig. 64). The fleshy |.a. t. wl.i, h is so thick 

 and edible in the peach, is thin an.l liar.l. an.l it splits at 



Almonds,- the liitter and the sweet. The former has a 

 bitter kernel, which is used in the manufacture of flavor- 

 ing extracts and prnssic acid. It is grown mostly in 

 Mediterranean countries. Of the sweet or edible Al- 



ALMOND 45 



monds, there are two classes.— the hard-shell and the 

 soft-shell. The former is of little value, and is not grown 

 to any extent. The soft-shell type produces the edible 

 Almonds of commerce. Some of the thinnest-shelled 

 forms are known as Paper-shells. It was once thought 

 that aIm..ti.l-._,'roM-iTiL' could be successfully practiced in 

 the p.-:,. .,_'.... - ; -.■■•tions of 

 the i;..- . - of late Uf 



spriiiu' I .iiliflicul- A />/ 



ties,ha\ . . Ill , ,1 i^M , Hurt to be 'AL"/ 



abandoned commercially. Indi- .y 



vidual Almond trees are occa- '/ 



sionally seen, and they fre- / 



quently bear profusely. They 

 are nearly as hardy as the peach. 

 The commercial cultivation of 

 the Almond is confined to west- 

 ern America, and the remainder 

 of this account is, therefore, 

 written from the Californian 

 standpoint. L. H. B. lyj/ 



Almond-growing in California \t^/ 

 has received the attention of ^ 

 horticulturists for nearly half a ^ 

 century, and during the whole 

 of its course the industry has 63. Flower of . 

 been marked by vicissitudes Almond (X >■>>. 



which, 11 1.111-1 111' aili,illl,-i|,:,n- 



not \.-i . . I M-s of difficulty are now 

 clearly.: i.d the effort from its be- 

 ginning', ami I 1. -. i:^.. may enable planters to 



avoid, in the I'linii .., . rcr- « lii..li hare led to much dis- 

 appointment an.l l..~--ili.- v.--iit:..s.,f wliicli si ill encum- 

 ber the ground, tlcu-h .-l. anni.' i- ).!■ -.liii.; rapidly. 



ThusfartheAlni..n.l tr.-.- has y,,.|.l...l in,.r.. lir. ■«■.....! than 

 any other single frnn ir... whi.li lia^ l..aai ]ai-i.'.iv jilanted 

 in California, an.i . . i i.l.i'ii ■ i ._■■ In ~ i- .'i, 'inii .;, m i lie hope 

 of better result-. i-' i,-.ii0.000 



trees included i-i --.>rs, of 



which number ail- i; l .m- : :, ' .! - ha.i allain.-.i i ..'a lillg age 



at that dalte. Th.. |,i...iii.t ..f lsy7was 218 carloads, and 

 the competition in th.- .a-i. rii markets with imported 

 Almonds was s.. L'li. \ ..ii- that prices fell below what is 

 considered a pn.tital 1.- r.tnrn. In 1898, because of un- 

 timely frosts, the product tell to 25 carloads, which is 

 counted about equal to tlie local consumption of the Pa- 

 cific coast. At the present time. 1899, planting has prac- 

 tically ceased, and a considerable acreage of thrifty trees 

 of bearing age is being cleared for other purposes, be- 

 cause growers in certain places are out of patience with 

 the Almond. In spite of these facts, the Almond will re- 

 main an important California product, through the satis- 

 factory performance of trees enjoying favorable envi- 

 ronment. 



The two chief sources of failure with the Almond are 

 the sterilitj' of many varieties without cross-pollination, 

 and the extreme propensity of the tree for early bloom- 

 in^', with tin- cii-i .|ii. 'it .!. -tiuction of the bloom or the 

 yLiiiiL.' fruit I.y t, . i>, la-;-, ■ . ,y little below the freezing 



iii-i.'ii.-aih , aa.; . , , a, , ..■ they been shown to be 



iudcpcudcnt t:,icui:- .aai liuiii of them demanding the 

 closest attention from planters. At first it was thought 

 that the wide planting of self-sterile varieties by them- 

 selves was the cause of disappointment, because, after 

 years of chopping-out or grafting-over old, unproductive 

 trees to the Prune d'Agen, for which it is an excellent 

 stock, it w as observed, by chance, that the Languedoc va- 

 riety adiacent to Drake's seedling, of local origin, was 

 heavily laden with nuts vh, n it w.is sti ule without such 

 associ itn.n \tt. nti .n w .- th. ti .lit. . t. .1 t . tli.-- growth 

 of sp, .Ihii,'- ml ii.i.. It t -...lliii-- . 1 tl c bitter 

 Alin..ii.l ..'1..M1 U \ 1 II .t.l . \liil 11. 1 1 h satis- 

 fact.>i\ 1. um^'hilii III 1 -11 h iiikiii_- .iiiti u toward 



of new, sell cted California stedlings was seized upon as 

 a panacea for the previously experienced troubles with 

 the Almond. These new varieties were conceived to be 

 not only self -fertile but hardy, and large plantations were 

 made without due regard to the frosty character of the 

 locations. Low valley lands of great area, and some ex- 

 tent of high plateaux, were jilanted. Fine, larae trees 

 grew only to lose their crops year after year by frosts 



