24G ROSACE.E. 



along its edge for more than a third of its length from the apex ; hence 

 the raphe passes downwards to the rounded end of the seed, where a 

 scar marks the chalaza. From this, a dozen or more ramifying veins 

 run up the brown skin towards the pointed end. After an almond has 

 been macerated in warm water, the skin is easily removed, bringing 

 with it the closely attached translucent inner membrane or endopleura. 

 As the seed is without albumen, the whole mass within the testa con- 

 sists of embryo. This is formed of a pair of plano-convex cotyledons, 

 within which lie the flat leafy plumule and thick radicle, the latter 

 slightly projecting from the pointed or basal end of the seed. 



Almonds have a bland, sweet, nutty flavour. When triturated 

 with water, they afford a pure white, milk-like emulsion of agreeable 

 taste. 



Varieties — The different sorts of almond vary in form and size, and 

 more particularly in the firmness of the shell. This in some varieties 

 is tender and easily broken in the hand, in others so hard as to require 

 a hammer to fracture it. The form and size of the kernel likewise 

 exhibit some variation. The most esteemed are those of Malaga, known 

 in trade as Jordan Almonds. They are usually imported without the 

 shell, and differ from all other sorts in their oblong form and large 

 size. The other kinds of sweet almonds known in the London mar- 

 ket are distinguished in the order of value as Valencia, Sicily, and 

 Barbary} 



Microscopic Structure— Three different parts are to be distin- 

 guished in the brown coat of an almond. First, a layer of very large 

 (as much as ^ mm. in diameter) irregular cells, to which the scurfy 

 surface is due. If these brittle cells are boiled with caustic soda, they 

 make a brilliant object for microscopic examination in polarized light. 

 The two inner layers of the skin are made up of much smaller cells, 

 traversed by small fibro- vascular bundles. The brown coat assumes a 

 bluish hue on addition of perchloride of iron, owing to the presence of 

 tannic matter. 



The cotyledons consist of thin-walled parenchyme, fibro-vascular 

 bundles being not decidedly developed. This tissue is loaded with 

 granular albuminous matter, some of which exhibits a crystalloid 

 aspect, as may be ascertained in polarized light. Starch is altogether 

 wanting in almonds. 



Chemical Composition— The sweet almond contains fixed oil 

 extractable by boiling ether to the extent of 50 to 55 per cent. A 

 produce of 50 per cent, by the hydraulic press is by no means 

 uncommon. 



The oil (Oleum Amygdake) is a thin, light yellow fluid, of sp. gr. 

 0-92, which does not solidify till cooled to between —10 and —20° C. 

 When fresh, it has a mild nutty taste, but soon becomes rancid by 

 exposure to the air ; it is not, however, one of the drying oils. It con- 

 sists almost wholly of the glycerin compound of Oleic Acid, C^®H**0'. 



Almonds easily yield to cold water a sugar tasting like honey, which 

 reduces alkaline cupric tartrate even in the cold, and is therefore in 

 part grape-sugar. Pelouze however (1855) obtained from almonds 10 



1 To be consulted for further information: Mandorlo in Sictlia, Palermo, 1874 (444 



Biauca, G. Manual e delta Cultivaaone del pages). 



