( 117 ) 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



OF THE ALMOND. 



Different Sorts of Almonds; their Propagation^ and the 3Ie- 

 thfsd of Pruning them.*..HQxv to keep them during Winter, 



The Almond belongs to the twelfth class of Linnaeus, 

 Icosandria Monogynia, being joined with the Peach, and was 

 introduced here in 1570. 



Almonds are beautiful trees for planting in shrubberies 

 and plantations, and deserve a place in every pleasure ground, 

 on account of their coming so early into bloom, and for the 

 use of their kernels. 



The following are the Sorts propagated in this country for Orna^ 

 ment and Use, viz. 



The Tender-shelled Almond, the Sweet Almond, the 

 Common or Bitter Almond, the Sweet Jordan Almond, the 

 Hard-shelled Almond, the Dwarf, and the Double-flowering 

 Almonds. The last two, being beautiful early flowering shrubs, 

 are planted for ornament only. 



Almonds are propagated by budding them upon plum, 

 almond, or peach stocks. The next spring you may train them 

 for standards, or let them grow for half standards ; but the 

 common way is, to bud them as high as you wish the stem to 

 be ; and the second year after they may be planted out for 

 good. If you are to transplant them into a dry soil, let it be 

 done in October, when the leaves begin to decay ; but if into 

 wet ground, the month of February is the proper season. Al- 

 monds budded on plumb stocks thrive best in a wet soil, and on 

 almond and peach stocks in a dry. 



When the young trees are brought from the nursen^, they 



should never be cut till the young shoots begin to break as 



directed for peaches and nectarines. 



Almonds require nearly the same management in prun- 

 ing as standard apricots. After wet autumns, when the wood 

 is not well ripened, hard winters are apt to kill the shoots j 



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