98 SEEDS A:NrD PLANTS IMPOETED. 



43932 to 43935— Continued. 



" The variety may be formally described as follows : Form obovoid, 

 obovoid-pyriform, slightly oblique; size above medium, weight 15 

 ounces, length 4f inches, greatest breadth 3| inches ; base rounded, 

 the stem inserted obliquely without depression ; apex rounded ; surface 

 slightly rough, deep green in color with a few' small yellowish dots ; 

 skin moderately thick, one-eighth of an inch or slightly more, coarsely 

 granular; woody and brittle; flesh deep yellow in color, changing 

 to pale green near the skin, of fine, smooth texture and free from dis- 

 coloration of any sort, the flavor rich and pleasant ; quality excellent ; 

 seed rather small in comparison to the size of the fruit, roundish 

 oblate in form, about If ounces in weight, with both seed coats adher- 

 ing closely and fitting tightly in the seed cavity." (Popeiwe.) 



43933, "No. 75. From San Cristobal Vera Paz, December 14. 1916. 

 Chilan. Avocado No. 9, from the dooryard of an Indian in the south- 

 west quarter of the village of San Cristobal. A very attractive small 

 fruit, selected first for its earliness in ripening and secondly for its 

 productiveness and good quality. 



" It is more or less pear shai^ed, weighs about half a pound, is 

 nearly smooth externally and of a bright green color, vphile the seed is 

 unusually small and the flesh is of a good quality for an early-ripen- 

 ing variety. It is noteworthy that nearly all the early varieties I 

 have found in Guatemala are inferior in richness of flavor to those 

 which ripen later, and it also seems that a great many of them have 

 large seeds. This was especially notable in the fruits examined around 

 Antigua. Form elliptic pyriform, not distinctly necked ; size below 

 medium, weight 8 to 9 ounces, length 3f inches, breadth 2| inches; 

 base narrowly pointed, the stem inserted almost squarely without de- 

 pression ; apex obliquely flattened though not conspicuously so ; sur- 

 face nearly smooth, bright green in color, with numerous minute 

 yellowish dots ; skin one-sixteenth to nearly one-eighth of an inch 

 thick, coarsely granular and woody, brittle; flesh cream color, tinged 

 with pale green near the skin, free from fiber, and of smooth, firm 

 texture ; flavor nutty, i>leasant, not so oily as in some of the later 

 varieties ; quality good ; seed small in comparison with the size of the 

 fruit, broadly elliptic to spherical in form, weight 1 ounce, both the 

 seed coats rather thin and adhering closely to the smooth cotyledons. 

 The parent tree is about 45 feet high, with a spread about equal in 

 height. The trunk is 2 feet thick at the base. Apparently the fruits 

 must commence to ripen in October or November, since a great many 

 have already fallen, as indicated by the quantity of fresh seeds be- 

 neath the tree. A large proportion of the fruits left on the trees seem 

 still to be immature, so that this variety can probably be considered 

 to have a very long season. The tree is carrying an enormous crop, as 

 may be expected of one whose fruits are of this size. It is probably 

 safe to say that it will produce more than 2,000 fruits this season. 

 This has every appearance of being a very desirable variety." 

 (Popenoe.) 



43934. "(Nos. 76, 96, 156, 188. Avocado No. 10.) Eashlan. In quality 

 this is one of the finest avocados in the set. It has the additional ad- 

 vantage of good size, convenient shape for handling, and a seed which 

 is unusually small in size. Taken all round, this is an exceptionally 



