116 TREATISE ON FRUIT TREES. 



The outer ones are small & somewhat cartilaginous; the inner ones are large, white, and 

 membranous. The vegetative buds contain leaves that are folded in half before they 

 develop & are held against each other side by side. Each of the fruiting buds contains a 

 flower. 



The flower of the almond tree is made up of: 1°. a concave cup-like calyx divided 

 at the edge into five sections hollowed out spoon-like & culminating in a point. The side 

 of the calyx exposed to the sun & the outsides of the sections are tinged with red. The 

 inside of the calyx is bright yellow, & its points are bent outward. 2°. five petals like a 

 rose are attached by a small unguis to the inside of the calyx between the notches formed 

 by its indentations. They are six to eight lignes long & four to six lignes wide, depending 

 on the variety of the almond tree, ending in a point toward the calyx. The other end is 

 broad with a heart-shaped cleft. When they emerge from the calyx, the tips are strongly 

 tinged with red on the outside. But after the flower opens, the red washes out, it largely 

 clears up, & usually only a faint trace remains. The rest of the petal is white. A line or 

 vein runs along it lengthwise & in this way divides it into two equal sections. 3°. from 

 twenty to thirty stamens are attached to the inside margin of the tube of the calyx, 

 between the membranes that form them & the bright yellow membrane covering the 

 interior. The latter is irregularly pleated with elevations that form the roots, or bases of 

 the filaments. The stamens are grouped in fours or fives between each section of the 

 calyx. They're very uneven in length; some are more than six lignes, others are barely 

 two. The filaments are bright red at the end attached to the calyx, which makes the whole 

 bottom of the flower appear to take on that color. The other end is white, 



