1919.] 



COMPOSITION OF TRINIDAD AVOCADOS. 



135 



Food Units. 

 For comparisoa with tlie food units, the figure for pickled ripe olives 

 may be taken as 81, indicating that olives have thi-ee tim3s the food 

 value of the best variety of avocado analysed, viz.. River Estate. 



The comparison is not strictly fair, since olive oil is essentially 

 different from avocado oil, which resembles coconut oil in type. The 

 comparison is probably mifavourable to the olives. 



Data Comparkd with American Data. 



Twenty-eight varieties of avocado, analysed at Berkeley, California 

 (University of California Publications, Bulletin 254) ranged from 61 to 

 79 per cent, of water, and 10 to 29 per cent, of fat. 



As one of these varieties was the Trapp, a direct comparison may be 

 made between data for Trapp grown in California and iu Trinidad, as 

 exhibited in the following table : — 



COMPAKTSON OF TBAPP, CALIFORNIA WITH 

 TUAPP, TRIXIDAD. 



Vaiietv, 



o S 

 to ^^ 



it 



> 



Percentage of 



m 



m 





Percentage Composi- 

 tion of Pulp. 



Percentage Composition 

 of Dry Pulp. 



CS 



^ 



o lo 



o 



0-1 



.£3 



-+3 



o 



Cm 



J3 



CD 



Califort.ia. 



Tiini(l:iil 



89 -5 ! 2-5 



1 



89 -4 1 2-5 



4-2 



1-1 



2-8 



The California fruit is nuich heavier, with Tghter skin and seed and 

 heavier puli). Not only is there a considerably larg;3r percentage of 

 ))ulp, but the pulp itself is not so watery as that of the Trinidad 

 samples, and contains much more oil. 



Conmaring the dry pulps, the Californian sample contains twice as 

 much oil and a nmch heavier ash, with smaller percentages carbohydrates 

 and proteins. 



Comparing the five varieties gr->wn in Trinidad with the twenty-eight 

 grown in California, the lowest percentage of water in the Trinidad 

 samples (82-4) is higher than the highest figure for the Californian 

 samples (79): similarly the highest oil figure (Trinidad)— (7-6) is lower 

 than the lowest Californian figure (10). 



