JAXUARY 1 TO MARCH 31, 1020. 25 



49325 to 49334— ContiniKHl. 



tie, Altii Vera Paz. This variety of tiie coniinon Guatemalan tree 

 dahlia is in cultivation at Antigua as well as in Alta Vera Paz, but 

 it appears never to occur wild. Like the double lilac variety it has 

 coarser leaves than the typical Dahlia muxonii, and its flowers are 

 very douhle, pure white, and 3 to 4 inches in diameter." 



49328. "(No. 239. Cohan, Alta Vera Paz. December 27, 1919.) 

 Double lilac variety. Cuttings from a plant growing in a dooryard 

 at Tactic. Alta Vera Paz. Tliis variety re.sembles the type in color, 

 though it is sometimes of a deeper shade of lilac with less pink, 

 and. like the double white variety, it produces flowers 3 to 4 inches 

 in diameter. It may be noted, however, that the double-flowering 

 varieties jn-oduce fewer flowers than Uie type which is single. The 

 double lilac form is i-ather common in cultivation throughout Alta 

 Vera i'az. but I have never seen it wild." 



49329 and 49330. Peksea schiedeana Nees. Lauracese. Coyo. 



49329. "(No. 240. Coban, Alta Vera Paz. December 27, 1919.) 

 ]'cin Paz. Cuttings of a superior variety of the coyo from the 



property of Padre Ttivera in Tactic. An illustration of the fruit 

 may be seen in Department Bulletin No. 743, ' The Avocado in 

 Guatemala,' plate 13 ; in this plate an ordinary coyo is shown on the 

 right, and the Vera Paz variety (as I suggest it be called) appears 

 on the left. It is the finest coyo I have seen, and I recommend it 

 strongly for trial in southern Florida and southern California, since 

 I have come more and more to feel that the coy6, in its finer varieties, 

 is a fruit of even better flavor than the avocado. Unfortunately, 

 this species has never been given horticultural attention, and 

 doubtless much remains to be done before it can take a place in 

 our orchards alongside the avocado. The first step, certainly, is 

 to secure the best available varieties, and I feel sure that the 

 Vera Paz is one of them, for I have searched through the territory 

 In which this fruit is abundant and I have found none better- Its 

 pear-shaped fruits weigh about a pound and have a thick, leathery 

 skin, ivoi"y-white flesh containing much oil and with a rich, 

 coconutlike flavor, and a seed about the same size as that of our 

 best avocados. 



" The coyo probably does not come into bearing as young as the 

 avocado, and as a rule it is not so productive in old age ; but 

 varieties which will be satisfactory in this latter respect can 

 probably be obtained. I am inclined to believe also that the fruit 

 from young trees may be much inferior in rpiality to that from old 

 ones. These points and several others must be determined by a 

 trial in the United States and eLsewhere. Since the tret? occurs 

 in Guatemala at altitude.s ranging from 300 to 6,000 feet, it seems 

 probable that the species will succeed in cool regions, like southern 

 California and southern Florida, as well as in warm ones, like 

 Cuba and Porto Rico." 



49330. "(No. 241. Coban, Alta Vera Paz. December 27, lOin.) 

 Hempstead. This variety has been called to my attention by 

 Robert W. Hempstead, after whom I suggest it be named. The 

 parent tree is growing in a small finca along the road from Coban 

 to San Cristobal Vera Paz, and the fruit, which I have not seen. 



