DECIDUOUS FRUITS 191 



spond in quantity and quality of fruit to the care which they 

 receive. 



It is interesting to note that the famous cherries of Japan 

 have been developed for flowers, and not for fruit. Prunus 

 serrulata and P. Lannesiana, the Japanese cherries, bear 

 fruits about as large as a small pea, but the trees are of such 

 striking appearance when in blossom that cherry flowering 

 time is, in Japan, a time of especial festivity. "The sunshine 

 that attends cherry blooming time in April," says one author, 

 "the magnificence of the flower-laden boughs and the pic- 

 turesque flutter of the falling petals inspired an ancient poet 

 to liken the cherry to the 'soul of Yamato' (Japan), and it 

 has ever since been thus regarded." 



NUTS 



283. The almond. References to the almond in Biblical 

 literature show that it has been known to mankind for many 

 centuries. At present, wild forms are found in the Mediter- 

 ranean region. Edible varieties, probably developed from the 

 native wild forms, were early distributed over many parts of 

 Asia, Europe, and Africa. They are now grown in large 

 quantities in Spain, France, Italy, Palestine, and in certain 

 tropical islands. Various kinds of almonds were introduced 

 into the United States by the Department of Agriculture and 

 by nursery firms. Tests disclosed the fact that the almond 

 could be grown successfully only in a few sections. Commer- 

 cial plantings are now found mainly in the valleys and foot- 

 hills of California, where the warm dry climate is especially 

 favorable to its production. Fully 80,000 acres have been 

 planted, some of which have not yet come into bearing. The 

 annual crop averages about 8,000,000 pounds. A few com- 

 mercial orchards of almonds are located in Washington, Utah, 

 Nevada, and Arizona, but in these states frosts in spring and 

 freezing in winter make the almond an uncertain and un- 

 profitable crop. 



