=Bitter Almond=, _Amygdalus communis amara_.--The varieties of this group are not specifically distinct, and some have soft, thin shells, while others are thick and hard; but the kernels are very bitter, hence the name. But in the countries where these almonds are most extensively cultivated, as in the South of France, Austria, Spain and Greece, the trees are generally raised from the nut, and, as might be expected, the crop produced under such conditions is exceedingly variable, the nuts being large or small, and the shells of various degrees of hardness, with an occasional tree producing both bitter and sweet kerneled nuts. These wilding trees are, in the main, more hardy than the improved varieties, hence are largely employed as stocks for the better sorts, as well as for the plum and apricot. It is also claimed that, as a rule, the bitter almond trees bloom later in the spring than those of the other two groups, and for this reason are not so liable to be injured by spring frosts. The trees are hardy in all of our most favorable peach-growing regions of the Middle and Northern States, but some of the varieties ripen rather too late for localities north of the latitude of New York city. All this, however, and other obstacles, will soon disappear, whenever the time arrives for our horticulturists to take up almond culture and pursue it with half the zeal they have the cultivation of the peach and many other kinds of fruits. =Hard-Shelled Almond=, _A. c. dulcis_, or sweet-kerneled almond.--The varieties of this group, as a whole, differ from those of the next only in the firmness of their shells, which are moderately firm, with a slightly rough and deeply pitted surface, as shown in Fig. 7. Varieties of this group are fully as large as, and perhaps a little longer than the thin-shelled, and the kernels are fully as valuable when removed and sold as shelled almonds. It may require a little more labor to crack and remove the kernels for market, but the difference is scarcely worth taking into consideration by the grower. The common sweet, hard-shelled almond thrives in peach-growing regions as far north as Central New York, and I well remember of seeing trees loaded with these nuts, in my boyhood days, in the western part of the State. The late Patrick Barry, in the Fruit Garden, when referring to this nut, says: "This is a hardy and productive tree, succeeding well in the climate of Western New York, and still farther north. Nut very large, with a hard shell and a large sweet kernel; ripe here (Rochester) about the first of October. The tree is very vigorous, has smooth, glaucous leaves, and when in bloom in the spring is more brilliant and showy than any other fruit tree." [Illustration: FIG. 7. HARD-SHELLED ALMOND.]