29 



M. L. Legnier has made some remarks on 

 this subject, which appeared in the French 

 Encyclopedic, for November, 1815. Here he 

 says, " I was struck with its mode of growth 

 in Egypt, where it was anciently brought from 

 latitudes still more southern. In Egyot it', 

 leaves have scarcely fallen off before tiA 

 soms appear again. The name of berikoi 

 first given to it even in Greece, apprj .lies 

 very near to its Arabian name of I kach, 

 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 michmich." " The result of 

 every inquiry I made/' says this author, " was, 

 that the apricot-tree grows there spontane- 

 ously, almost without cultivation; and as it is 

 not known to grow in the natural state in any 

 part of Armenia, we may very justly conclude 

 that it is an Arabian fruit." 



The apricot-tree was first brought to Eng- 

 land from Italy, in the year 1524, by Woolf, 

 gardener of Henry the Eighth, who it ap- 

 pears introduced several valuable fruits about 

 the same period. (Gough's British Topo- 

 graphy, vol. i. page 133.) 



We have now considerable varieties of 

 this agreeable fruit, many of which, by their 



