21 

 APRICOT. ARMENIACA. 



OR, PRJECOCIA MALA. 



Natural order, Pomacea. A genus of the Icosandria Mono- 

 gynia class. 



And Apricots, 



Seed of the sun, from Iran's Land. 



THE name of the Apricot has been thought to be de- 

 rived from Apricus, open and exposed to the sun ; or from 

 pracox, early ripe : but there can be no doubt that the 

 word is a corruption of the Arabic name of the fruit, va- 

 riously written in European characters, barkuk, berkach, 

 or berikach. 



M. L. Legnier has made some remarks on this subject, 

 which appeared in the Revue Encyclopedique, for Novem- 

 ber 1815. Here he says, " I was struck with its mode 

 of growth in Egypt, whither it was anciently brought 

 from latitudes still more southern. In Egypt its leaves 

 have scarcely fallen off before the blossoms appear again. 

 The name of berikokka, first given to it even in Greece, 

 approaches very near to its Arabian name of berkach, or 

 berikach" M. L. Legnier adds, " that the inhabitants of 

 the deserts called Oasis, gather and dry large quantities 

 of apricots, which they bring down to Egypt for sale ; 

 and they are there called michmieh." " The result of 

 every inquiry I made," says this author, " was, that the 

 apricot-tree grows there spontaneously, almost without 

 cultivation : and as it is not known to grow in the natu- 

 ral state in any part of Armenia, we may very justly con- 

 clude that it is an Arabian fruit." 



