168 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGHST. 
Commune, Lind. Guide, 1. Amande a petit fruits douce. Toll. Traite, 103. Amande 
douce, French Catalogues. Gemeine Harts chalige, Doch. Central Obst. Siisse Mandle., 
German Catalogues. Amygdalus communis dulcis, Dec. Prod. II. 531. Kleine Siisse 
Steinmandel, Ditt. Hcindb. III. 426. 
Fruit, If to If inch long, If inch wide and If thick. Skin, pale green, and 
covered with a thick down. Stone, very hard and thick, furrowed like that of 
a Peach. Kernel, sweet, and terminated by a sharp point. It ripens in the 
end of August. The flowers are always produced before the leaves, and are 
very pale, nearly white. 
This variety is very productive, but of inferior quality. It is the most 
common of all the varieties, and is extensively cultivated on the continent as a 
stock on which to bud the other sorts, as well as the different varieties of 
Peaches, Nectarines, and Apricots. I have had trees of this variety bear 
abundantly, and ripen fruit in the climate of Middlesex. 
2. LARGE FRUITED SWEET ALMOND.—H. 
Stnontmes. —Sweet Almond, Fors. Treat. 282. Long Hard-shell, Down. Fr. Amer. 
150. Amandier a gros fruits, Duh. Arb. Fr. I. 122, pi. 2. Amande douce a coque dur, 
Lind. Guide, 1. Grosse Siisse, Doch. Central Obst. Amygdalus macrocarpa, Dec. Prod. 
2, p. 531. 
Fruit, large, about 2 inches long, and If inch broad, terminated at the 
point by a nipple, and marked on one side with a deep suture, and covered 
with a pretty thick down. Stalk, thick and short, placed on one side of the 
base, and inserted in a deep and furrowed cavity. Stone, thick and hard. 
Kernel, large, about If inch long, sweet, and of an excellent flavour. It 
ripens in the beginning of October. 
The tree is very hardy and productive, a strong and vigorous grower. The 
flowers of this variety are also produced before the leaves, and earlier than 
those of the other varieties. They are very large, being fully If inch in 
diameter, of a beautiful rose colour, and on this account it makes a beautiful 
ornamental tree. 
In favourable springs and warm summers I have succeeded, in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of London, in obtaining a pretty good crop of well-ripened fruit from 
standard trees. 
3. PISTACHE.—Duh. 
Identification. —Duh. Arb. Fr. I. 122, Lind. Guide, 2. 
Synonymes. —Pistachia Sweet, Down. Fr. Amer. 151. Pistazien Mandel, Ditt. 
Handb. III. 428. 
• 
Fruit, small, less so than the Sultana, about If inch long, terminating 
in a blunt point, and covered with fine down. The stone terminates in 
a sharp point, and is about the size and shape of a Pistachia, hence the 
name; it is tender, but not so easily broken between the fingers as the 
Tender-shelled. The kernel is sweet and flavoured. It ripens in the end 
of August. 
This of all others is most esteemed in Provence and the southern depart¬ 
ments of France, particularly when it is green, as being then more relishing; 
but in the north, where it does not attain the same degree of perfection, it is 
not so much cultivated, as it requires a very warm climate, even that of Paris 
being insufficient to bring it to full maturity. 
4. SULTANA. 
Synonymes. —Amandier a petit fruit et noyau tendre. Amande Sultane, Duh. Arb. 
fr. I. 121. Amande Sultana, Lind. Guide, 3. Sultana Sweet Almond, Down. Fr. Amer. 
