ALMOND, irinfind (Lat. amygdala, Gk. aptly daa, amygdald), Amygdalus. A genus of the natural order Rosacete, consisting of trees and shrubs. The almond tree (Amygdalus corn munis) grows from twenty to thirty feet high, closely resembles the peach in general appear ance and bloom, and furnishes the almond nuts of commerce. It is native to the Mediterranean basin and southwestern Asia, and has been in cultivation from remote times. The fruit is a drupe with a thin, hard covering, which splits open when ripe. Almonds are of two kinds— bitter and sweet. The bitter almond is culti vated to a limited extent in Mediterranean countries, and the nuts are used in the manufac ture of flavoring extracts and of prussic acid. The sweet, or edible, almond is grown on a com mercial scale in the south of Europe, in Cali fornia, and in some other countries of similar climate. The nuts contain a large quantity of a bland, fixed oil; they have an agreeable flavor, and are used for desserts, in confectionery, and medicinally in an emulsion which forms a pleas ant, cooling, diluent drink. There are two classes of sweet almonds—the hard shell and the soft shell almond. The latter only is important com mercially. Of foreign varieties, the long almond of Malaga, known as the Jordan almond, and the broad almond of Valencia, are most valued in the trade. In California, success in almond growing came only with the improvement of selected seedlings of local origin. Ne Plus Ultra, Nonpareil. IXL, and Languedoc are the best known of these. In 1897, California produced 218 carloads of nuts. In addition to the home production. the United States imports, annually, about a million dollars' worth of nuts. In Syria and northern Africa, almonds are grown on dry and stony soils. They are believed to withstand
drought better than any other fruit. In Califor nia, good-paying crops are secured only on fertile, well-drained soils, preferably warm loans; and in the arid regions water for irrigation must be abundant.
The almond is propagated mainly by budding on seedling bitter almond stocks. Trees come into bearing in from two to four years from budding, and reach mature fruitage in from seven to ten years. On strong land the trees are set at least twenty-four feet. apart. each way. The tree is shaped during the first three years growth, after which little pruning is required. Varieties should be mixed in orchard planting, to insure cross-pollination.
The almond is also widely grown as an orna mental in localities where it seldom if ever pro duces fruit. II. is a favorite flowering shrub in England, northern Europe, and parts of the eastern and southern United States. It is one of the earliest fruits to bloom. The peaeh-like blossoms appear before the leaves, and are very ornamental.
The dwarf almond (Amyydalus Ilona) is a low shrub, seldom more than two or three feet in height. It is common in south of Russia, and is frequently planted as an ornamental shrub. Another species (dm yydalus andersonii) —as yet of no agricultural impo•tance—is found among the rocky hills of southern California, about the Colorado desert. It is a bushy shrub, barely six feet high. The fruit is a small, vel vety drupe, little more than half an inch long. Other species not well known but similar to these are found in the east. Fossil forms of the almond are known in the Miocene Tertiary beds of Oenin gen, Germany. See Plate of ACANTHUS.