QUALITIES. The _sweet almond_ is inodorous, and has a sweet, bland taste; the _bitter almond_,[368] when triturated with water, has the odour of the peach, and a pleasant bitter flavour. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Boullay has lately confirmed the analogy which Proust had stated to exist between the emulsion of sweet almonds and human milk, viz. the former consists of sweet oil 54, albumen 24, sugar 6, gum 3, with traces of acetic acid; the indigestible property of the almond depends upon its albuminous matter. The _bitter almond_, in addition to those constituents, contains hydro-cyanic acid, (Prussic acid,) in union with a peculiar volatile oil, upon which its narcotic properties depend; but this deleterious element is so modified by the natural state of combination in which it exists with sweet oil and albumen, that they may be eaten without inconvenience. The bitter almond has long been regarded as an antidote to drunkenness; Plutarch states it as a fact on the authority of his physician Claudius. Other bitters were however supposed to possess similar powers in this respect, hence the _Poculum Absinthiatum_ to which we have before alluded. See page 79. Both sorts of almonds yield by expression a large quantity of fixed oil, which is perfectly mild. See _Oleum Amygdal_. The water distilled from the bitter almond, when strongly impregnated, has been found to exert a deleterious action on the human body, and to prove fatal to many animals. SOLUBILITY. By trituration with water a milky mixture is produced, (_an emulsion_), for which purpose the sweet almonds should be previously freed from their cuticle, (_blanched_), and this ought to be performed by infusing them in tepid water; for when hot it separates a portion of their oil, as is evident from their being thus rendered yellow, and the emulsion is therefore more liable to ferment, and be decomposed. ℥ij of almonds saturate about f℥vj of water; since however this extemporaneous preparation is tedious and inconvenient, the London Pharmacopœia very judiciously directs a confection to be ready prepared, ʒj of which, when triturated with f℥j of water, immediately forms an elegant emulsion. See _Mistura Amygdal_. Almonds form a useful intermedium for suspending in water many substances which are of themselves not miscible with it, as camphor, and several of the gum-resins; they also assist in the pulverization of refractory substances, as Ipecacuan, &c. OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Confectio Amygdalarum._ L. _Emulsio Camphoræ_ (=M.=) E. _Emulsio Acaciæ Arab:_ E. D. AMYGDALÆ PLACENTA. _Almond Cake_ is the substance left after the expression of the oil, which when ground forms ALMOND POWDER, so generally used for washing the hands.[369] OIL OF BITTER ALMONDS. For obtaining this oil, the expressed cake is submitted to distillation, when a highly volatile, pungent, oil passes over. See _Oleum Amygdalæ Amaræ_. AMYLUM. L.E.D. _Starch._ (Triticum Hybernum _Amylum._[370])