FRUIT CULTURE IN FRANCE. 
147 
least cold coming after a mild winter, or even the chilly April 
dews, may prove disastrous to the growth of the fruit. 
For trade purposes the fruit of the sweet Almond is divided 
into three classes : — 
1. Amandes durcs (hard Almonds), which can only be broken 
with a hammer. 
2. Amandes demi-dures (semi-hard) or d la Dame, which 
one can crack with the teeth. 
3. Amandes fines or Princesse, which can be crushed in the 
hand. 
The province of Languedoc produces an Almond ^' d la 
Dame " of an elongated shape, which is considered very good by 
the trade. The Herault department is more exposed to the 
frosts, and it is reckoned that 1 hectare of Almond trees 
will produce 1,000 kilos, of hard-shelled Almonds, or 400 kilos, 
only if they are of the thin-shelled sort. 
In the South-east (or Provence), as far as the valleys of 
the Buech and Veynes in the Hautes-Alpes, Almonds are more 
plentiful. In the Lower Alps, the Almond plantations pro- 
duce a much more regular crop, owing to the way in which they 
are sheltered from the north-east wind. The late-flowering 
varieties are also the most grown in these districts. The 
Pailherols plantations (Lower Alps), consisting of 50 hectares of 
Almond trees planted in rows 1 kilometre long, give an annual 
yield of the value of 20,000 francs. A certain proprietor at 
Chateau- Arnoux in this department grows the Princesse variety 
at the rate of 300 kilos, per hectare, and sells at 2 francs 10 cen- 
times the kilo. Against this the hard-shelled Almond produces 
1,000 kilos, per hectare, and is sold at 45 centimes the 
kilo. The soil is a mixture of clay and silica. It is kept 
well tilled, and the pruning of the trees is carefully attended to. 
The railway from Cavaillon to Miramas runs through a still 
more important orchard, 6 kilometres long, at the mouth of 
the Khone. This orchard, although exposed to a variable 
temperature, produces Almonds to the value of 100,000 francs, 
but this maximum is only attained every fifth or sixth year. 
One very bad year yielded only 1,200 francs, the average being 
20,000 francs — that is to say, about 400 francs the hectare. The 
hard-shelled variety is the most grown. 
The district of Aix, in the Bouches-du-Rhone department, 
