LUTHER BURBANK 



prove of value as an acquisition for the garden 

 and dooryard. Even though a peach that bears 

 an edible seed has no greatly added commercial 

 value, owing to the small size of the seed, such a 

 fruit with large seed of thinner shell, and with 

 peach flavor, should certainly be appreciated. 

 IMPROVING THE ALMOND 



All this has to do with the production of a 

 compound fruit in which the almond seed is only 

 an accessory. It remains to say a few words about 

 the almond itself as a commercial nut. 



The importance of the subject will be obvious 

 when we record that in a recent year more than 

 three thousand tons of almonds were produced in 

 California alone. When it is further recalled that 

 numberless unsuccessful attempts have been made 

 to establish almond orchards in various warmer 

 regions of the United States, and that the failure 

 of these orchards has been due almost exclusively 

 to a single remedial defect, the importance of the 

 almond from the standpoint of the plant developer 

 will be more clearly understood. 



The one great defect of most varieties of 

 almond is that they bloom so early that their blos- 

 soms are likely to be destroyed by frost. A second 

 minor defect is that many of the varieties of 

 almond do not bear well unless they are cross- 

 fertilized with pollen from other varieties. 



[88] 



