ming in the
spring. In other words, the first warm weather in the late winter will
bring the trees into bloom because of the fact that they have completed
their normal rest period. This same condition has been found to be true
of certain varieties of peaches which can be grown in the South but do
not do well when planted in the North. It is for this reason primarily,
in our judgment, that almonds do not produce under eastern conditions.
There are other factors, such as extreme humidity, which may have a
bearing, and undoubtedly would in the maturing of these nuts, but this
should not prevent them bearing provided they could escape the adverse
weather of late winter and early spring.

A mistaken notion has been given considerable credence that the almond
is much more tender to frost or cold than the peach. Our experience,
where the two have been grown side by side under identical conditions,
is that the almond will stand fully as much cold as the peach and in
some cases even more. The reason why almond crops are lost oftentimes
when peach crops are not is due to their earlier blossoming and
consequent subjection to the more severe weather of early spring which
the peaches avoid.

It is evident, therefore, that the principal problem in producing
almonds in regions of long winters, as compared with those localities
where almonds can be produced, is to secure an almond which naturally
has a long resting period, resulting in late blossoming, and yet one
which will mature its fruit reasonably early. An almond tree beginning
to blossom about the first of February will usually ripen its crop
between the first and middle of August, though sometimes later. Those
beginning to blossom about the first of March or later ripen their crops
during September usually and often extend into October.

The question of soils and stocks is too broad to discuss here, except to
dismiss it with the statement that the soils that will successfully
produce peaches should also prove reasonably satisfactory for almonds
through the use of peach rootstocks. These are commonly and successfully
used in commercial almond orchards in the West.

Whether it will ever be possible to produce commercial almonds will
depend upon whether an almond can be bred which will fulfill the
requirements of late blossoming and early ripening and at the same time
answer the requirements of a commercial nut. We should judge that it is
possible, although we believe it is a