ANIVGDALUS, in botany, a genus of the Polyandria Monogynia class and or der ; its characters are, that the calyx is a perianthium, one-leaved, tubulous, in ferior, quinquefid, deciduous, divisions spreading and obtuse ; time corolla of five petals, oblong-ovate, obtuse, concave, in serted into the calyx ; the stamina have filamenti about 30, filiform, erect, shorter by half than the corolla, inserted into the 'calyx; anthers simple ; the pistillum has a roundish, villose germ, simple style, of the length of the stamens, and headed stigma ; the pericarpium is a roundish, villose, large drupe, .with a longitudinal furrow; the seed if a nut, com pressed, acute, with prominent sutures on each side, reticulated with furrows, and dotted with small holes. The nut of the almond -is covered with a dry skin.; that of the peach with a small pulp. There are seven species, of which we shall no tice, I. A persica, with all the serratures of the leaves acute, and the flowers ses sile and solitary. There are two varie ties, viz, the peach-tree, with downyfruit, and the nectarine, with smooth fruit. 2. A. communis, the almond tree, with the lower serratures of the leaves glandulous, and the flowers sessile and in couplets. The common almond has leaves which re semble those of the peach, but the lower serratures are glandular ; they proceed from buds, both above' and below the flowers, and not, as in the peach, from the ends of the shoots above and not be low the flowers. The form of the flower is not very different ; but du come out in pairs, and vary mort- el r colour from the fine blush of .
blossom to a snowy whiteness. 't ;Lief obvious distinction is in the file:, is flatter, with a coriaceous cover.ny. in stead of the rich pulp of the pea...h nectarine, opening spontaneously the kernel is ripe. The shell is ie;t so hard as in the first species, and is some times tenderand very brittle ; itis flatter, smoother, and the furrows or looks are more superficial. This tree is a great object in some parts of Italy, and in the south of France ; and there are large plantations of it in Provence and Dau phine. It is common in China, and most of the eastern countries ; and also in Bar bary, where it is a native. In the time of Cato it seems not to have been cultivated in Italy ; for he calls the fruit nuces Gra: cw, or Greek nuts. With us itis valuable as an ornamental tree in clumps, shrub beries, &c. within view of the mansion ; for it displays its delicate red-purple bloom in the month of March, when few other trees have either leaves or flowers. An almond tree, covered with its beauti ful blossoms, is one of the most elegant objects in nature. In a forward spring they often appear in February ; but in this case the frost generally destroys them, and little or no fruit ; but when they flower in March, they seldom fail to bear plenty of fruit, very sweet, and fit for the table when green ; but they will riot keep long. The amygdalus, or almond-tree is cultivated both for the ad vantage of the fruit, and as being highly ornamental in shrubberies, plantations, and other descriptions of pleasure ground, from its coming into bloom early in the spring. It is, however lc so important in the former than the latter point of view, as the fruit is often liable to miscarry in this climate. All tke species and varie ties of this tree arc deciduous, and of a hardy nature, thriving well in most com mon garden soils. Those of the tree kind frequently rise to fifteen or twenty feet in height, dividing into many spreading branches, which ultimately form beauti ful heads, that are generally well adorned in the beginning of March with immune table flowers, which continue in full bloom for a fortnigkt or three weeks, and are followed by the leaves, which_ are long and narrow, and the fruit takes its growth. This is (low ny, rather large, and of an oval form ; consisting of a thick, tough, leathery substance, that embraces an oblong nut or stone, in which the ker nel or almond is inclosed, which is the only part of the fruit that is capable of being made use of. The dwarf, shrubby
sorts of this tree do not, however, in ge neral exceed three or four feet in height, having slender stems, which send forth a great number of small branches near to the ground; and in the single-flowered kind various suckers are frequently sent up from the root. And in both the double and single-flowered almond-tree, all the young branches st e thickly beset with flowers in the spring, which, from their having a fine pale red colour, and continuing some time in blow, are highly The single sort have their flowers coming out about the end of March, and the double kind in the beginning of April, each re maining about a fortnight in blow. The sorts chiefly cultivated for use in this country are, .according to Mr. Forsyth, the tender-shelled almond, the sweet al mond, the common or hitter almond, the sweet Jordan almond, and the hard-shell ed almond. Those propagated only for ornament are, the dwarf and the double flowering almonds.—Amygdalus Persica, or peach-tree. Its native country is not known. it came to the Romans from Persia, as its Latin name, magus Persica, indicates: and it has been cultivated from time immemorial in most parts of Asia ; it has been adopted by almost every ma Lion of Europe, and now flourishes abun dantly in America, where it has been in troduced by the Europeahs. Of this tree we have only on6 distinct species ; but there are a great many varieties, and by producing them from the seed or kernel, they may be almost indefinitely increased. But though they are capable of being greatly augmented in this manner, it is probable that but very few possess the necessary qualities, as nursery-men sel dom cultivate more than twenty or thirty sorts. As in the cold% atio n of this sort of tree much expense is constantly re quired in walls or other suitable buildings, none but such as produce fine fruit should be attended to. This sort of trees will grow to a considerable height as stan dards ; but, in order to produce and ripen fruit, requires the shelter of warm walls. They flower early in the spring in com mon, the flowers appearing before the leaves, mostly on the shoots of the pre ceding year, and either singly or in pairs along their sides. They are formed each (Alive small petals, with many stamina in the middle, and a small round germen, that becomes the peach. The fruit is dis tinguished into two sorts, the peach and pavie, from the circumstance of the flesh or pulp quitting or adhering to the stone, as in the former it easily separates, while in the latter it adheres firmly. There are various sorts of peaches that may be cultivated ; but for small gardens Mr. Forsyth recommends the following as the most suitable : the early avant, small mignonne, the Anne peach, royal George, royal Kensington, noblesse, early Newing ton, Galland, early purple, chancellor, ni vette, the Catharine, the late Newington, Amygdalus nucipersica, or the nectarine tree. lids is now generally- considered as a variety of the peach ; but the two trees cannot by any circumstances in their growth, wood, leaves, or flowers, be dis tinguished from each other with any de gree of certainty. The fruits are, how ever, readily discriminated in all their different stages of growth, that of the nectarine having a smooth, firm cuticle, or rind, while in the peach it is covered with a soft, downy substance. Besides, the pulp or flesh of the former is much more firm than that of the latter. There are many varieties of the nectarine that may be cultivated; but those that chiefly deserve attention arc, the Fairchild's, the violet, the elrouge, the Newington, the Roman, the temple, and the vermash. The white nectarine may also be cultiva ted, both for the goodness of its fruit, and as being a curious variety.