AMY 



AMY 



ornamental in shrubberies, plantations, 

 and other descriptions of pleasure ground, 

 from its coming 1 into bloom early in the 

 spring-. It is, however less important in 

 the former than the latter point of view, 

 as the fruit is often liable to miscarry in 

 this climate. All the species and varie- 

 ties of this tree are deciduous, and of a 

 hardy nature, thriving- well in most com- 

 mon garden soils. Those of the tree kind 

 frequently rise to fifteen or twenty feet in 

 height, dividing into many spreading 

 branches, which ultimately form beauti- 

 ful heads, that are generally well adorned 

 in the beginning of March with innume- 

 rable flowers, which continue in full 

 bloom for a fortnight or three weeks, and 

 are followed by the leaves, which are 

 long and narrow, and the fruit takes its 

 growth. This is downy, rather large, and 

 of an oval form ; consisting of a thick 

 tough, leathery substance, that embraces 

 an oblong nut or stone, in which the ker- 

 nel or almond is inclosed, which is the 

 only part of the fruit that is capable of 

 being made use of. The dwarf, shrubby 

 sorts of this tree do not, however, in ge- 

 neral exceed three or four feet in height, 

 having slender stems, which send forth a 

 great number of small branches near to 

 the ground ; and in the single-flowered 

 kind various suckers are frequently sent up 

 from the root. And in both the double and 

 single-flowered almond tree,all the young 

 branches are thickly beset with flowers in 

 the spring, which, from their having a 

 fine pale red colour, and continuing some 

 time in blow, are highly ornamental. The 

 single sort have their flowers coming out 

 about the end of March, and the double 

 kind in the beginning- of April, each re- 

 maining about a fortnight in blow. The 

 sorts chiefly cultivated for use in this 

 country are, according to Mr. Forsyth, 

 the tender-shelled almond, the sweet al- 

 mond, the common or bitter almond, the 

 sweet Jordan almond, and the hard-shell- 

 ed almond. Those propagated only for 

 ornament are, the dwarf and the double- 

 flowering almonds. Amygdalus Persica, 

 or peach-tree. Its native country is not 

 known. It came to the Romans from 

 Persia, as its Latin name, mains Persica, 

 indicates : and it has been cultivated from 

 time immmemorial in most parts of Asia ; 

 it has been adopted by almost every na- 

 tion of Europe, and now flourishes abun- 

 dantly in America, where it has been in- 

 troduced by the Europeans. Of this tree 

 we have only one distinct species ; but 

 there are a great many varieties, and by 

 producing them from the seed or kernel. 



they may be almost indefinitely increased. 

 But though they are capable of being 

 greatly augmented in this manner, it is 

 probable that but very few possess the 

 necessary qualities, as nursery-men sel- 

 dom cultivate more than twenty or thirty 

 sorts. As in the cultivation of this sort 

 of tree much expense is constantly re- 

 quired in walls or other suitable buildings, 

 none but such as produce fine fruit should 

 be attended to. This sort of trees will 

 grow to a considerable height as stan- 

 dards; but, in order to produce and ripen 

 fruit, requires the shelter of warm walls. 

 They flower early in the spring in com- 

 mon, the flowers appearing before the 

 leaves, mostly on the shoots of the pre- 

 ceding year, and either singly or in pairs 

 along their sides. They are formed each 

 of five small petals, with many stamina in 

 the middle, and a small round germen, 

 that becomes the peach . The fruit is dis- 

 tinguished into two sorts, the peach and 

 pavie, from the circumstance of the flesh 

 or pulp quitting or adhering to the stone, 

 as in the former it easily separates, while 

 in the latter it adheres firmly. There 

 are various sorts of peaches that may be 

 cultivated ; but for small gardens Mr. 

 Forsyth recommends the following as the 

 most suitable : the early avant, small 

 mignonne, the Anne peach, royal George, 

 royal Kensington, noblesse, early Ne wing- 

 ton, Galland, early purple, chancellor, ni- 

 vette, the Catharine, the late Newiagton, 

 Amygdalus nucipersica, or the nectarine 

 tree. This is now generally considered 

 as a variety of the peach ; but the two 

 trees cannot by any circumstances in their 

 growth, wood, leaves, or flowers, be dis- 

 tinguished from each other with any de- 

 gree of certainty. The fruits are, how- 

 ever, readily discriminated in all their 

 different stages of growth, that of the 

 nectarine having a smooth, firm cuticle, 

 or rind, while in the peach it is covered 

 with a soft, downy substance. Besides, 

 the pulp or flesh of the former is much 

 more firm than that of the latter. There 

 are many varieties of the nectarine that 

 may be cultivated ; but those that chiefly 

 deserve attention are, the Fairchild's, the 

 violet, the elrouge, the Newington, the 

 Roman, the temple, and the vermash. 

 The white nectarine may also be cultiva- 

 ted, both for the goodness of its fruit, and 

 as being a curious variety. 



AMYRIS, .a genus of the Octandria 

 Monoginia class and order ; its charac- 

 ters are, that the calyx is a perianthium, 

 one-leafed, four-toothed, acute, erect, 

 small, and permanent ; the corolla con- 



