16 



THE AVOCADO IN FLORIDA. 



THE SEED BED. 



Seed may be obtained in large <]uaiititie« during the ripening .-ieason 

 from southern Florida, Cuba, and other places in the Antillean region. 



At the present time good seeds cost 

 from 1^ to 2 cents each. These prices 

 seem somewhat high, but every seed 

 is nearly certain to make a seedling. 



The seed bed should 1)e made in 

 some moist locality, in soil free from 

 rocks and containing an abundance 

 of vegetable matter. The rows may 

 be made such distances apart as will 

 suit convenience — from 1 to 4: feet. 

 Place the seeds from -t to (5 inches 

 apart in a drill 3 or 4 inches deep; 

 firm the soil about the seed and cover 

 2 or 3 inches deep. Supply a heavj^ 

 cover of mulch. 



As soon as the seedlings (see fig. 1) 

 appear above ground, fertilizer may 

 be applied. The mulch should ])e 

 turned back, the fertilizer raked in or 

 cultivated in, and the mulch replaced. 

 If the seedlings are to be removed 

 to the nursery soon, fertilizing and 

 cultivating ma}^ be omitted. Removal 

 to the nursery may be deferred until 

 seasonable weather. 



THE NUKSEKY. 



For starting a nurserA' the best 



land should be selected, especiallj^ 



such as is fairh^ dry though never 



suffering from drought. Land that 



„ , ^ ^,. , • r> K f i'^ subiect to flooding should by all 



Fig. 1. — Seedling avocado m DocembtT from •> ^ " ^ _ "^ 



seed planted in September (somewhat slow UieauS be aVoidcd. AVllilc the treCS 



in starting, but otherwise apparently nor- .^^.^ .^,^j^ ^^ j-^^ -^^ standing Watcr for 

 mal): (a) First shoot to start; (6) second ^ 



shoot starting from the axil of the incipient two or three weeks, they become sub- 



leaf;(c)third shoot to start-in case of. se- j^^.^. ^^ attack by VariouS formS of 



disease. When practicable, a gen- 

 erous application of fertilizer should 

 be made two or three weeks before 

 the trees are set out. It should be 

 scattered down the row and raked in, in the usual way. The land should 

 be thoroughh' grubbed and put into a first-class state of cultivation. 



veredronghi or otheradverse conditions, all 

 of these shoots may fail and some other bud 

 grow into a new shoot; (d) scale-like leaf: (c) 

 one of the cotyledons, the other having been 

 removed, scar opposite c; (/) primary root. 

 (Reduced to one-third natural diameter.) 



