John Abercrombie

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In Culture, keep the standards to clean single stems, and let the heads branch out in their own way, only reforming casual long ramblers, or low stragglers;—And in the hedge plants, trim up only low straggling branches, and let them branch out above at sides and top. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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 ”

“ But the other larger sorts, being improved varieties, are cultivated more abundantly in gardens and orchards, but the Filbert most of all, for the goodness of its kernel; though the large Cluster and Barcelona Nuts are also well worth cultivating, and the Cob and Long Nut as singular varieties: but where there is good scope of ground it is worth attention to cultivate some of each sort in gardens, orchards, and fields, &c. as they will succeed almost any where. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”