138 ROSACE/E 



or seed. Plums, Cherries, Apricots, Almonds, Peaches, and 

 Nectarines belong to this tribe, as do also the coiiunoii Laurel, or 

 Cherry-l^aurel, as it is best to call it, and the Portugal Laurel. 

 Our cultixated Plums are varieties of I'n'uuis du//us/ua, llie fruit 

 of which has a waxy bloom. Cherries are the fruit of various 

 species of a sub-genus Crras/ts, said to be named from a city of 

 Pontus, whence the Roman general LucuUus introduced a 

 superior kind, 67 l;.c. They have a pqjished epicarp, as have 

 also the evergreen Cherry-Laurel (/'. Lanro-cerasits) and Portugal 

 Laurel [P. lusilanica). The crushed leaves of the Cherry-Laurel 

 give off a vapour containing prassic acid; and are therefore used 

 by entomologists for killing insects. P. Armeniaca., with woolly 

 epicarp and smooth stone, is the Apricot ; ^Imvgdalus pirsiia, 

 with a wrinkled stone and a woolly epicarp, the Peach, of which 

 the Nectarine is a smooth variety ; and A. cominihiis, with woolly 

 skin, stringy flesh, and a punctured surface to the stone, the 

 Alniond. 'I'his species is wild from Afghanistan to the Barbary 

 States, and is extensively cultivated in the South of Europie. 

 There are two varieties, one yielding the sweet, the other the 

 bitter Almond. Jordan Almonds, which are considered the best 

 sweet almonds, are brought from Malaga ; bitter almonds from 

 Mogador. Many fatal cases are recorded of poisoning by the Oil 

 of Bitter Almonds. The Spirea; are herbs or shrubs, the fruit of 

 which consists of a ring of follicles. Several species of Spinpii are 

 ornamental garden plants. The Ri'ibcte are mostly shrubs, and 

 their fruits, which include the welbknown Raspberry and Black- 

 berry, are et.erios of drupels. The shoots of the brambles are 

 astringent. The Po/ent'i/kie, which include the Strawberry {F?'agd- 

 lia), are mostly herbs, and their fruits are eta:rios of achenes, the 

 i-seeded carpels being dry and indehiscent, though borne in the 

 Strawberry on a fleshy outgrowth from the receptacle. Some 

 members of this tribe are astringent and ionic. The PoUriae are 

 herbs, often without petals, and sometimes wind-pollinated, 

 which liave their i — 3 achenes enclosed within the cal3'x-tube. 

 The RbseiB are shrubs with a characteristic form of etaerio of 

 achenes, the numerous carpels being enclosed in a fleshy calyx- 

 tube. Rose-water and Attar of Roses are made from the petals 

 o'i Rosa ce.ntifblia and R. daniasiiiia, 100,000 Roses, the produce 

 of 10,000 bushes, being said to yield only nine drams of Attar. 

 This costly perfume is largely adulterated with " Oil of Gera- 

 nium," the produce of a fragrant grass. A conserve used in 

 medicine is prepared from the pulp of the fruit of the Rose, or 

 " hip " as it is called. Lastly, the Pbinecc are trees or shrubs with 

 the characteristic fruit known as a pome, in which the 1—5 



