432 THE APRICOT. 



blossoms of this variety expand at the same time with the leaves, and 

 are more deeply tinged with red than the foregoing. Several varieties 

 are made of this in France, but they are (as quoted above) all essentially 

 the same. 



Fruit two inches long, oval, compressed. The nut is more than an 

 inch long, oval, pointed, one-sided, with a light-colored, porous, very 

 tender shell. The kernel sweet and rich. 



On the plum stock, in a favorable aspect, this Almond succeeds, with 

 a little care, in the Middle States. 



SULTANA SWEET ALMOND. 



Amande Sultane. Amandier Sultane. 



Sultan. 



A tender-shelled Almond of excellent quality, with smaller fruit and 

 narrower kernel than the Soft-Shell Almond, but of equally excellent 

 flavor, and which is preferred by many. It is thought by Poiteau to 

 be scarcely different from the Soft-Shell or Ladies' Almond. 



THE LONG HARD-SHELL ALMOND. 

 Amandier a gros fruit. Amandier a gros fruit dur. 



A variety with handsome, large, pale rose-colored flowers, opening 

 before the leaves, and large and long fruit, a third longer than other va- 

 rieties. The stone is about as large as the soft-shell variety, but the 

 kernel is larger and plumper. This is a good hardy sort, and it is very 

 ornamental when in blossom. Ripens about the last of September. 



ORNAMENTAL VARIETIES. The Dwarf Double Flowering Almond 

 (Amygdalus pumila. Lin. Prunus sinensis of some) is a beautiful, 

 well-known low shrub, extremely ornamental in spring, being covered 

 with a profusion of small pink blossoms, very double. There is also 

 a Double White, similar in habit of growth. 



The Large Double Flowering Almond (A. d grand fleur^ JV. Duh.) 

 (A. communis plena) is a beautiful French variety, with large nearly 

 white flowers, two inches in diameter. It also bears a good small hard- 

 shell Almond. 



CHAPTER XL 



THE APRICOT. 



Armeniaca tiulgaris, Dec. Rosacea, of botanists. 



Abricoti&r, of the French ; Aprikosenbaum, German ; Albercoco, Italian ; 

 Albaricoque, Spanish. 



THE Apricot is one of the most beautiful of stone fruit-trees, easily 

 known by its glossy heart-shaped foliage, large white blossoms, and 

 smooth-skinned golden or ruddy fruit. In the fruit-garden it is a' 



