THE
ALMOND TREE.
THE Almond is eminent both as a fruit tree, and for ornamenting the shrubbery, &c. early in spring, when in full bloom; and is the original of the ancient genus Amygdalus, which, by the botanic characters of the flowers, comprehends also the Peach and Nectarine, as species and varieties of the same family or genus; all of which belong also to the class and order, Icosandria monogynia, i. e. flowers containing twenty or more stamina and one style.
The botanists admit but of one real species of the common Almond Tree, which they term
Amygdalus communis, common Almond; and is botanically described, Amygdalus with spear-shaped sawed leaves, having glands at the base: and with flowers mostly in pairs, sitting close to the branches, succeeded by large oval, downy, tough fruit, containing eatable kernels, comprehending several eminent varieties, distinguished by the following names and properties, viz.
1 Common Almond with a bitter kernel.
2 Sweet-kernelled Almond.
3 Sweet Jordan Almond, large and superior in goodness.
4 Tender-shelled Almond.
5 Hard-shelled Almond.
The fruit, in general, of the Almond tree is valued only for the kernel inclosed in its centre in a stone or nut, it being the only edible part; and is by many greatly esteemed as a choice desert fruit to eat, as well as for various domestic purposes.
Considered as a fruit tree, the Almond, in all its varieties, deserves a place in almost every garden, to encrease the variety of eatable fruits, especially as standard and half standard trees, in which they will also adorn the premises very conspicuously in spring, during their general bloom, and supply us with annual crops of fruit without trouble; ripening in September.
The trees generally assume but a moderate growth, obtaining from fifteen to twenty feet stature, dividing regularly into many branches, and emitting numerous straight shoots annually; the whole forming a large full head, adorned with long spear-shaped leaves, and paler red flowers, having five petals, producing flowers and fruit, mostly on young wood of a year or two old, immediately from the eyes of the shoot.
They flower early in Spring, before the leaves; arising in a vast profusion all along the young branches at almost every eye, succeeded by large oval downy fruit, consisting of a thick tough pulp, including an oblong nut or stone, containing one kernel, which is the Almond, and the only esculent part, as before observed; the whole arriving to maturity in September; the outer tough cover splits open, and discharges the stone, with the kernel therein, which is fit both for immediate eating, and to be kept for future use.
The trees are all hardy enough to succeed in any common soil of our gardens, in almost any situation and exposure; and in favourable springs, when their early blossom is not destroyed by frost, they generally produce abundant crops of fruit. However, when designed as fruit trees, they should generally be indulged with a sheltered sunny situation.
They are employed principally as standards and half standards, trained with straight Angle stems, six or seven feet feet high for full standards, and four or five for half-standards, branching out at these respective heights, all around into regular heads, planted at twenty or thirty feet distance, and suffered to extend every way nearly according to their natural order of growth; though, for variety sometimes a few trees are cultivated, as dwarfs, for walls and espaliers, and trained in the order of wall trees, &c. nearly as directed for Peaches and Nectarines, and in which they often furnish larger and forwarder fruit than on standards.
Observing, that as this tree bears principally on the young wood, we, in performing the occasional prunings, must carefully preserve a general supply of each year's shoots as succession bearers; as in peaches, &c.
The Method of Propagating them, both as Standards and Dwarfs.
The method of propagating Almond Trees, is both by sowing the stones of the fruit, and by inoculating buds of the approved sorts upon stocks of the Plum, Peach, or Almond; but as the seedlings generally vary to different sorts, the budding or inoculation is the only method by which we can continue the varieties permanent with certainty; and they also sooner attain a fruitful state.
Take, however, both the methods of raising them, as follow:
By Seed.Procure a quantity of the stones of the best Almonds that are well ripened in Autumn, and either proceed to sow them in October or November, if quite dry ground, or preserve them in sand, in the dry, till February, preparing for their reception a spot of any good light ground, and drill in the stones two inches deep, in rows a foot asunder; and when the young plants are a year or two old, plant them out in Autumn or Spring, with the spade or dibble, in nursery lines, a yard distance, and half that distance in each row. Train those designed for standards, with tall single stems, from five to seven or eight feet high, by pruning off all side shoots to the height intended; then just top them with your knife at the proper height, either as full or half standards, to force out a set of branches more regularly in the part required to give the head its first regular form; afterwards let them branch out in their own way, and form a full head. But if any are intended to form dwarfs for walls, &c they may be topped in their minor growth within a foot of the ground, to obtain branches below to cover the wall and espalier regularly from the bottom, and trained as hereafter directed.
But when any of these seedling Almonds are intended as stocks in which to bud any of the approved varieties, they must not be topped or headed, but trained straight up till after the budding is performed.
By Budding or Inoculation.The propagation of Almonds by budding is effected by introducing buds of the approved varieties into Plum, Peach, or Almond stocks, raised from the stones of the fruit, as directed above in raising the seedling Almonds, and planted out in nurfery-rows a yard asunder, in order to be trained to the proper sizes for the reception of the buds.
If for standards, may either use low stocks of two or three feet in height, in order for the bud to be inserted near the ground, and the first shoot trained up for a stem; or the srocks may be previously run up to stems the proper height, from five to fix or seven feet, to receive the bud near the top, at the height proper to form the first branches of the head—But
When designed as wall or espalier trees, stocks of two or three feet stems are sufficient, as the budding must be performed within half a foot of the ground.
Thus, the stocks being ready, the budding is performed in July, in the usual method (see Budding) and in the Spring following the buds shoot forth, each one strong shoot attaining two or three feet in length by Autumn, and commences the new tree.
Then the first shoot from the budding is to be managed, as the case requires, to give the trees their first proper form. If such standards that are budded low in the stock, the first shoot must be run straight up to form a stem of proper height; but if the standards are budded at top of the stock, and this forms the stem, the said first shoots should, generally, either the same Summer in June, or in March following, be headed down to six or eight inches; as also those of the dwarf trees, to force out from the lower eyes a supply of three four or more new shoots near the top of the stem, to commence the head in its first regular formation. After this, generally permit the standards to branch in their natural way; and let the dwarfs have their branches trained horizontally to stakes, while in the nursery, afterwards to the wall or efpalier.
The trees thus raised, should, when from one or two to five or fix years old, have their final transplantation into the garden or orchard, &c.
Planting, and general Culture.
As to planting, the proper seafon for this is any time from the end of October till March, in open weather; having the trees dug up carefully in the nursery with all the roots possible, and of which prune off only broken parts, and any ill-placed rambling shoots of the head; then opening capacious pits for their reception, twenty or thirty feet distance for the standards, and fifteen or eighteen for the wall and espalier trees, plant them with due care, and a pot of water given to each tree will settle the earth properly, and promote their rooting. See Planting.
Then with respect to the general culture in the Garden, &c. observe as follows:
First, in regard to the standards; they having had their first shoots shortened in the nursery as directed, and thereby obtained several well-placed branches near the top of the stem, to adorn the head with a regular shape, should now suffer the whole to branch out freely every way, and only just reform with your knife any very irregular-placed branch, and long rambler, or thin out occasional crowded wood, leaving always the general supply of regular branches entire, and suffered to shoot according to nature.
Next, with regard to the wall and espalier Almonds; they having their first shoots from the budding headed down in the Spring, as already directed, and having obtained three, four, or more regular branches near the bottom, train them horizontally to the wall, equally to the right and left, at full length all Summer; and in Winter or Spring following may prune them to ten or twelve inches, to promote a farther necessary supply of six, eight, or more, regular branches below, training them as above, after which they need not be pruned so short, but continue encreasing the number of horizontals every year, trained five or six inches distance, till they cover the assigned space of walling and espalier in a regular expansion.
And, as the trees thus trained will throw out numerous useless shoots every Summer, they will accordingly require a general pruning and training every Summer and Winter, in common with other wall and espalier trees; in order, both to retrench close the superfluous young wood, all fore-right, and other irregular shoots of each year, that cannot be trained in. Therefore, going over the trees timeously every Summer, rub or prune off close all the above evidently useless growths; selecting at the same time a sufficient general supply of the regular side shoots for succession bearers, and trained at full length till Winter: Then in Winter pruning, chusing a full supply of the best situated of the last Summer shoots in every part, let all the others that are not wanted be cut away quite close: likewise, at this pruning, cut out part of all the old horizontals or former bearers, down to the best placed young moots they support; and the general supply of young wood, now retained at four or five inches distance, should generally in this, the Winter pruning, be mostly shortened, more or less; the smaller shoots to eight or ten inches, and the stronger ones to twelve, fifteen or eighteen inches, or two feet long, or more, according to their strength, to promote their producing more certainly a requisite supply of lateral shoots next Summer from the lower eyes, properly situated to train in for succession bearers, as in the Apricot, Peach, and other trees, that bear principally on the young wood. (See peaches, &c.)
Then, as soon as ever a tree is thus Winter-pruned, let the whole be directly nailed regularly to the wall, or tied to the espalier, ranging the branches horizontally, and equally to both sides, as before, four, five, or fix inches asunder, no where crossing, but all laid parallel or beside one another, at these distances, and fastened along as strait and neat as possible.