4 BULLETIN 1282, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
tree and along the branches (fig. 4); they should all ripen at the 
same time; should, when ripening, remain attached to the tree with 
sufficient tenacity to prevent dropping during ordinary winds, but 
not be so firmly attached as to make harvesting difficult ; dehiscence 
of the hulls should be complete enough to make hulling easy, and 
there should be no “sticktights.” The nuts, like the tree, should 
also be reasonably resistant to insect attacks and diseases. = 
The requirements of the dealer and consumer are as follows: The 
nuts should be attractive and uniform in appearance, good keepers, 
with a bright-colored,? soft, smooth, well-sealed shell, easy to crack, 
and yet free from a spongy or crumbly outer surface. The kernels 
should be single, large, attractive in shape, free from pubescence, 

Fig. 2.—A Reams almond tree, showing a spreading type of growth 
with a good flavor, and preferably with sufficient oil content to 
satisfy all branches of the confectionery trade. 
When the necessity of taking all of these requirements into ac- 
count is realized, it 1s not difficult to see why most of the varieties 
grown in California, whether native in origin or imported, have 
proved unsatisfactory. In many instances varieties have been widely 
advertised and extensively planted because they possessed one or at 
most a few of the desirable qualities, such as a heavy bearing tend- 
ency, a thin shell, or an attractive appearance. The fact that they 
possessed defects so marked as to render them practically worthless 
was overlooked. More inferior varieties are grown in California to- 
day than ever before (over half the total production is from trees of 
34 good color is usually obtained by proper bleaching. 

