82 



FLORA AND SYLVA. 



THE ALMOND. 



Foremost among the hardiest of early- 

 flowering shrubs are the Almonds, and 

 fewtreesneed so little care in varied soils 

 and aspects. Twenty degrees of frost 

 and a bitter wind cannot destroy their 

 beauty even in full flower, and, indeed, 

 a light frost often deepens the colour of 

 the dainty petals yet without trace of 

 injury. In the south of France the Al- 

 mond is often in full beauty in January, 

 clusters of large old trees lighting up the 

 hillsides ; in Spain and Asia Minor it 

 flowers in February ; with oursel ves most 

 commonly in March, and in Norway not 

 till June. A lover of dry warm soils, its 

 fleshy roots striking deep and enabling 

 it to resist where few trees can grow, it 

 is much used upon the stoney, scorched 

 hillsides of the lower Rhone Valley. 

 Grafted on the Plum as with us, it shows 

 little preference as to soil, but in heavy 

 ground it should be more sheltered than 

 on warmer land. It may be grown as a 

 shrub or to a stem, or the two forms may 

 be grouped in masses, an arrangement 

 which, seen upon rising ground and at 

 a distance, and thrown into relief by a 

 protecting belt of evergreens, shows it 

 to the best advantage. Its growth is free 

 and fairly rapid, but somewhat strag- 

 gling, needing care to keep a good out- 

 line, though trees planted side by side 

 often show a very different habit. The 

 Almond is only grown in English gar- 

 dens for its beauty, though in some 

 years the fruits ripen in many parts of 

 the country, and are little inferior in 

 flavour to those of southern Europe; 

 but the fruit germ is so often killed by 

 spring frost that this only occurs at 



intervals. Though the Almond is al- 

 most entirely free from insect pests its 

 leaves are liable to the attacks of a fun- 

 gus which causes them to curl up and 

 turn a deep red colour. When this 

 happens the leaves should be carefully 

 picked ofT and burned. 



For many hundreds of years the 

 Almond has been cultivated in Europe 

 and parts of Asia, and like many such 

 trees it has been found difficult to fix 

 its native home. Certain kinds grow 

 untended in Asia Minor and Turkestan, 

 and wild trees of the common Almond 

 are found among the mountains of Al- 

 geria. Many named kinds bearing nuts 

 with hard and soft shells are grown in 

 the south of Europe, and are profitable 

 only because of the slight care required. 

 Much of the fruit is used locally, and 

 in a green state is a favourite summer 

 dessert fruit ; only the finest hard- 

 shelled kinds are exported. From the 

 earliest times poetic races have been 

 accustomed to look upon the Almond 

 as sacred, and have explained its early- 

 flowering in various ways ; to this day 

 the peasantry of Provence have a pretty 

 legend ascribing to it a miraculous 

 origin. 



Small plants and cut branches of 

 the Almond are sometimes used for 

 forcing in gentle heat. If cut when 

 showing colour the buds will open in- 

 doors, and their delicate pink petals 

 lasting long in beauty are a great gain at 

 a time when flowers are scarce. Leav- 

 ing out the many fruiting varieties which 

 are without value in English gardens, 

 the following kinds are grown for their 

 beauty as flowering shrubs, and are es- 



