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THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



June 10, 1911. 



FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES. 



NEW MANGOES FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



During last year, efforts were resumed on the part of 

 this Department for tlie purpose of obtaining the best 

 varieties of mangoes from India for pro])agation in the West 

 Indies. With this object, the Inspector (Jeneral of Agricul- 

 ture in India was approached, and this officer subsequently 

 communicated with Mr. A. Howard, M.A., F.C.S., F.L.S,, 

 then Imperial Economic r)Otanist at Pusa, who was in charge 

 of the fruit experiments at that place, with the request 

 that he would select good varieties. Mr. Howard was not, 

 however, in posse.ssion of the required number of mango 

 plants, so that it was suggested by the former officer that 

 communication should be made with the Su])erintendent of 

 the Eoyal Botanic Garden, Calcutta, with a view to the pro- 

 vision of the mangoes from this source. (Subsequently, 

 arrangements have been made at this Garden for the ship- 

 ment of twelve grafted mango plants for propagation in 

 Dominica, the following kinds being included; Alphon.se, 

 Langra, Kheershapottee and lihadoorea. 



In the meantime. Dr. H. A. A. Nicholls, C.M.G., of 

 Dominica, has obtained several grafted mango plants from 

 Bombay, through Sir Evan James, K.C.I.E. Most of these 

 were dead when they reached Dominica; the others were 

 placed in the care of Mr. J. Jones, Curator of the Botanic 

 Station, Dominica, through whose efforts they were saved and 

 brought into a state of vigorous growth. The plants include 

 two of the xVlphonse, one of the Damaria and one of the I'airi 

 variety. The two first-mentioned were retained, to be grown 

 at St. Aroment, by Dr. Nicholls. The others have, however, 

 been very kindly presented by him to the Botanic (Jardens, 

 v?ith the condition that he should be su|)plicd with plants 

 from the first grafts taken from them. Thus, through the 

 public-spirited action of Dr. Nicholls, Dominica is now in 

 possession of propagating material of three of the finest 

 Indian mangoes. 



In connexion with this pre.sentation, it is of interest to 

 mention that an article on the last of the three varieties just 

 enumerated, namely the I'airi, appeared in the A</rirultural 

 Neivs on April 1.5 of this year (Vol. \, p. 116). In this 

 article, which was taken from the A;/ric}i/lural .Itmrnal of 

 India, Vol. VI, p. "27, the I'airi fruit is indicated to have 

 a more regular shape than that of the Alphonse, and to 

 possess a well marked beak. The colour of the fully ripe 

 Pairi fruit varies from red on the shoulder to yellow at 

 the beak. 



THE AVOCADO PEAR. 



Under the title of The Avocado in Southern California, 

 an inteiesting article appears in the Pomona Journal of 

 Economic liotany, Vol. I, No. 1. This deals more particu- 

 larly with the plant in relation to its propagation and culture 

 in Southern California, and commences by pointing out 

 that the results obtained with seedlings planted fifteen to 

 twenty-five years ago, and in recent trials with budded plants, 

 indicate that the jirospects for the establishment of an 

 avocado industry in this part of North America are good. 



The article draws attention to the fact that the avocado 

 has always been grown in Mexico and other tropical countries 

 from seed alone, and this has caused the existence of a large 

 number of varieties. The types grown in California, so far, 

 may be divided into two classes: the Mexican, or smooth and 

 thin-skinned varieties, and the Guatemalan, with a very thick 

 skin and a rough exterior. This classification merely relates, 

 of course, to the well established plants that exist in 

 California. It is of interest that the fruits of most of the 

 Mexican varieties are of small size, with a dark purple colour, 

 but of good (luality; they are considered by some to exhibit 

 a richer and better flavour than the lai-ger varieties; they are 

 also .somewhat hardier than these, but possess a serious com- 

 mercial drawback in that they are thin-skinned, and do not 

 stand shipment. The avocados of Guatemala are very different 

 from all other kinds, mainly in the possession of an unusually 

 thick and tough skin —a feature that is likely to make them 

 particularly valuable from a commercial standpoint. The 

 finest variet}' in this group, yet grown in California is known 

 as the Lyon; this produces fruit of good size and excellent 

 qualities. The characteristic diti'erences between Mexican 

 and Guatemalan avocados extend to the plant itself, for the 

 trees of the latter type possess a more spreading habit, par- 

 ticularly when young, and their leaves are more narrowly 

 lance-shaped. Information is given to show that .seedlings 

 of West Indian and ILiwaiian varieties have been grown in 

 California, but the plants are not sufficiently old to afford 

 definite indications as to their value. 



Up to the present, avocados in California have been 

 most usually propagated by .seed. For this purpose, the 

 seeds should be planted as soon as possible after they have 

 been removed from the fruit. A useful means of hastening 

 germination is to bury the seeds in moistened .sand or saw- 

 dust for two to four weeks, before planting them in pots. An 

 added advantage of this method is that no labour is wasted 



