332 



HISTORY OF Till': VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



ill January, and gives its fruit in April. It does 

 not appear that the ahnond tree, (wliich is now 

 abundantly cultivated for its fruit in Italy, Spain, 

 and the soutli of France) was so early introduced 

 into the first of these countries as the peach, or 

 that its native region was so well known, "Greek 

 nuts" being the name given to almonds at Rome 

 in the time of Cato. 



The fi-uit of the almond is not so attractive as 

 that of the peach; because, instead of presenting 

 the same delicious pulp as that, the pericarp of 

 the almond shrivels as the fruit ripens; and when 

 the ripening is completed, has become a horny 

 kind of husk, which opens of its own accord. 

 The kernel of some varieties of the almond, is 

 not defended by so tough a shell as that of the 

 peach and nectarine; for it is often so tender that 

 the nuts break when shaken together. 



In the south of Europe, where the almond is 

 cultivated with as mueh care as the peach is in 

 this country, its varieties are carefully distin- 

 guished. The bitter and the sweet are perman- 

 ently distinct varieties; and after this leading 

 character is observed, the variety is further dis- 

 tinguished by the form and degree of hardness 

 of the shell. For instance, the French have, 

 "amandier a coque dure" — "amandior a coque 

 demi-dure" — "amandier a coque tendre." 



In England, almond trees are chiefly culti- 

 vated for the beauty of their early flowers; and 

 for this reason, the common kind, and the double- 

 flowering dwarfs, are preferred. Tliere is some- 

 thing very charming in the peculiarity which 

 belongs to this tree, of blossoming on the bare 

 branches : 



" Tlio hope, in dreams, of .1 happier hour, 



Tliat alights on misery's brow, 

 Springs oat of the silvery almond-flower, 



Tliat blooms on a leafless bough." 



One of the most beautiful tales of the Greek 

 mythology (that of the Loves of Phylis and De- 

 mophoon) is founded on this property of the 

 almond tree. 



Tlie almond is raised from seed like the peach, 

 for varieties or for stocks; and by budding on 

 its own or on plum stocks, for continuing varie- 

 ties. The fruit is produced chiefly on the young 

 wood of the previous year, and in part on small 

 spurs of two or three years' growth. 



Almond trees ripen their fruit in England, 

 though the produce is very inferior to that which 

 is imported. The flowers of the productive 

 almond, both the sweet and the bitter, are much 

 less showy than those of the improductive. 

 Like most of the other nut-bearing trees, the 

 almond yields an oil. Between the expressed 

 oil of bitter, and that of sweet almonds, there is 

 little difference; but the bitter almond contains 

 an essential oil, while the sweet almond has 

 none. Owing to the prussic acid which it con- 



tains, this essential oil is found, by experiment, 

 to be exceedingly poisonous; and therefore the use 

 of bitter almonds should be carefully avoided in 

 every instance where there is a chance that the 

 essential oil may be separated in the stomach. 

 So very violent is the poison of this oil, that in- 

 stances are recorded of persons dying in conse- 

 quence of drinking even a very small portion of 

 spirits flavoured by it; and, in its concentrated 

 state, it is probably not exceeded, in its hurtful 

 effects, even by the essential oil of tobacco itself, 

 or by any of the narcotic vegetable poisons. 



According to Haller, bitter almonds are a poi- 

 son to birds and quadrupeds. 



Almond oil (the expressed oil) is principally 

 obtained from the almonds of Valentia and Bar- 

 baiy; the Syrian almonds, usually called Jordan 

 almonds, being preferred for the table. 



The Large Fruited Ahnond (var. macrocarpa) 

 is one of the most beautiful varieties of the 

 almond. The flowers are twice as large as those 

 of the common sort, and remain longer in per- 

 fection: the fruit also is larger. There is a spe- 

 cimen in the garden of the Horticultural Society, 

 which has been figured and described by Mr 

 Lindley in the Botanical Register; who remarks, 

 that tliis almond is "increased by budding upon 

 plums and other drupaceous plants." 



About four hundred and fiftj^tons of almonds 

 are annually imported into Great Britain, pay- 

 ing a duty of i;i8,000. 



Prunus. This genus comprehends the apricot, 

 the plum, the cherry, the sloe, the laurel, and 

 several other ornamental shrubs. The designa- 

 tion /)rM»iw, is of Greek origin, but its deriva- 

 tion or particular meaning is unknown. This 

 family are characterised by all the species possess- 

 ing, in greater or less degree, a portion of prussie 

 acid. In fact, many of the species are decidedly 

 poisonous; and though the fruit of some of them 

 is agreeable to the taste, and safe enough when 

 taken in limited quantities, there is none of the 

 family that can be indulged in to excess with 

 impunity. Columella says that the Persians 

 sent the peach to Egypt to poison the inhabi- 

 tants; and a species of apricot is called by the 

 people of Barbary, "matza Franca," or the killer 

 of Christians. All these evil qualities are, how- 

 ever, destroyed by cultivation; for it is the pri- 

 vilege of man not only to distinguish between 

 the good and evil properties of vegetables, but 

 to eradicate the evil, in many cases, by his skill 

 and industry. 



The Apricot, (prunus Armeniaca.) The apri- 

 cot is a low tree of rather crooked growth, with 

 subcordate leaves and sessile flowers. The fruit 

 is round, about the size of the peach, and re- 

 sembling it in delicacy of flavour. 



The apricot is very widely difl^used in Asia, 

 and grows upon tlie slopes of the barren moun- 

 tains westward of China. Many species of it 



