28 HISTOUY OF FRUITS. 



almonds are good to be eaten in consumptive cases, if 

 thoroughly chewed, as they supply many of the good of- 

 fices of milk, when the stomach will not bear that fluid, 

 and serve at once as a medicine and a food. 



The oil of almonds is principally drawn from the Valen- 

 tian and Barbary almonds, and is well known for its me- 

 dicinal qualities. The bitter almond contains a great deal 

 of oil ; more salt than the sweet almond ; and but little 

 phlegm : it is for that reason, that the oil of the bitter 

 almond will keep a longer time without growing musty, 

 than the oil of sweet almonds. 



Hoffman tells us that a family of ten persons, who had 

 taken two ounces of arsenic by mistake in some water- 

 gruel, were relieved and recovered from danger by the oil 

 of almonds and milk which he administered. The same 

 author says, " oil of sweet almonds taken to the quantity 

 of some spoonfuls, in a little broth, is a most effectual 

 medicine in all pains and spasms ; even in such spasms as 

 shake the most remote part of the body : for this reason, 

 it is very properly prescribed in convulsive coughs, &c." 



On triturating the almond with water, it unites with 

 the fluid, into an emulsion or milky liquor. It is also 

 useful for uniting substances with water, which of them- 

 selves are not miscible with it. 



Bitter almonds were considered by the ancients as of 

 use to prevent or relieve intoxication. Plutarch relates 

 that Drusus's physician, who was a great drinker, took at 

 every cup five bitter almonds, to allay the heat and fumes 

 of the wine, and that though he became the greatest drinker 

 of the age, he was never intoxicated. The bitter almonds 

 are held aperient, detersive, and diuretic ; they are there- 

 fore recommended in obstructions of the liver, spleen, &c. 

 Pliny states, that a decoction of the roots of the bitter al- 

 mond-tree supples the skin, prevents wrinkles, and gives a 

 fresh, cheerful colour to the countenance ; and that bitter 



