Rare Fruits of the Santa Barbara Region. 195 



upright branches, forming a beautiful head of dark green leaves. This tree 

 was planted by the mission fathers about ninety years ago, as near as can be 

 ascertained. Another tree of the same species is growing in a garden in 

 the lower part of the city of Santa Barbara that came from seed received from 

 Mexico, and planted by one of the Spanish citizens about forty-five years 

 ago. It is found growing both wild and cultivated in the states of Sinaloa 

 and Durango, and elsewhere, in Mexico, and is known there as the Zapote 

 hlmico. It belongs to the Rutacese, and is more nearly allied to the orange 

 than any other American plant. Our Spanish fellow-citizens also know it 

 under the name of zapote. Its leaves are palmate, three to five parted, with 

 glistening upper surface ; flowers small, greenish-yellow, growing in clusters 

 with short peduncles on the old wood. Here the tree is usually in flower 

 during January (often earlier), the fruit maturing in March or April. It 

 varies from half an inch to an inch in diameter, pale yellow in color, and is 

 not agreeable to the taste until in a soft state. It has a rich, sub-acid flavor, 

 our native Californians being exceedingly fond of the fruit. The older tree 

 is about twenty-five feet high, and has about the same spread of branches, 

 while the younger is nearly as large, both forming fine heads of dense ever- 

 green foliage, making it desirable as an ornamental tree for street or other 

 planting, and would no doubt bear the climatic conditions of many other 

 localities. 



A tree of the tropical species alligator pear or avocado (Laurus persea) 

 is flourishing in the grounds of Mrs. F. Sawyer, of Montecito. It was planted 

 by Mr. Silas Bond sixteen years ago, and has borne fruit for the past three 

 years, which has appeared at our horticultural exhibitions. This tree is now 

 about twenty feet in height, and appears in a thriving condition. The bark 

 is smooth ; leaves oblong, with prominent veins ; flowers yellowish-green ; 

 fruit purple in color, with the dimensions of a medium-sized pear, but more 

 oval in shape. It contains a kernel inclosed in a soft rind and yellow pulp. 

 The latter has the delicate rich flavor of the peach, yet to most tastes much 

 more grateful. In the West Indies the inhabitants, on account of its richness, 

 apply some spice or acid, such as lime juice mixed with sugar. Of the three 

 varieties there grown, red, purple and green, the latter seems to be the 

 favorite. In its native habitat it is eaten with avidity, not alone by man, but 

 by birds and quadrupeds. The seeds of the fruit raised here are sufficiently 

 perfected to possess the germinating property, and other trees are being 

 propagated. A small tree that has not yet borne fruit is flourishing in the 

 garden of Judge Ord, in the city of Santa Barbara. 



The date palm {Phcenix dactylifera) has perfected its fruit on the estate 

 of the late Col. W. W. Hollister for the past three years, fine bunches of dates 

 from this plantation having been exhibited at New Orleans at the late expo- 

 sition, at the state fair at Sacramento, at Los Angeles, and at the local exhi- 

 bitions of the Santa Barbara Horticultural Society. These palms are now 

 about sixteen years old. They are carefully cultivated, and irrigated several 

 times during the drier portions of the year. The suckers that spring from 



