138 ROSACEA 



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

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

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

 Our cultivated Plums are varieties of Primus domestica, the fruii 

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

 species of a sub-genus Cerasus, said to be named from a city of 

 Pontus, whence the Roman general Lucullus introduced a 

 superior kind, 67 B.C. They have a polished epicarp, as have 

 also the evergreen Cherry-Laurel (P. Lauro-cerasus) and Portugal 

 Laurel (P. lusitdnica). The crushed leaves of the Cherry-Laurel 

 give off a vapour containing prussic acid, and are therefore used 

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

 epicarp and smooth stone, is the Apricot ; Amjgdalus persica, 

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

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

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

 Almond. This species is wild from Afghanistan to the Barbary 

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

 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 Spirece are herbs or shrubs, the fruit of 

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

 ornamental garden plants. The Rubece are mostly shrubs, and 

 their fruits, which include the well-known Raspberry and Black- 

 berry, are etaerios of drupels. The shoots of the brambles are 

 astringent. The Potentillece, which include the Strawberry (Fragd- 

 ria), are mostly herbs, and their fruits are etaerios 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 tonic. The Poteriece are 

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

 which have their 1 — 3 achenes enclosed within the calyx-tube. 

 The Rosea 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 

 of Rosa centifblia and R. damascena, 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 Pbmece are trees or shrubs with 

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



