TTTR MONTHLY BULLETIN. 241 



The name ^n-apefruit, therefore, it would seem from this account, has 

 been used i'oi- many years. The writ(>r can see no real ol)jeetinn to its 

 use. Jt seems a nuitter of relatively little importance as to which name 

 is used, except that a uniform one is preferable in order to avoid mis- 

 understanding. Grapefruit, beino' more commonly used than pomelo 

 and better established in the pul)lie mind, is now, in the opinion of the 

 writer, a more logical one than pomelo. 



VARIETIES. 



Of the Florida varieties of grapefruit planted in California, the ones 

 most frequently tried have been the Triumpli, Duncan and Marsh 

 Seedless. The writer has been shown individual trees of other varieties 

 in several southern California orchards, ))ut knows of no commercial 

 plantings in bearing of other varieties than those named above. Trees 

 of so-called seedling origin or of unconmion and probably comparatively 

 recent introductions have also been found in fruit in a few places. As 

 a matter of fact, the writer knows of no careful and adequate compara- 

 tive trial of grapefruit varieties in California. The extensive propaga- 

 tion and planting of a carefully selected and extensive collection of 

 types and varieties undertaken by the Citrus Experiment Station, at 

 Riverside, will undoubtedly give us much needed and reliable informa- 

 tion as to the comparative merit of the established varieties from Florida 

 and other grapefruit districts in this country and abroad for California 

 conditiotis. 



The Triumph grapefruit trees in southern California observed by the 

 writer produce large yields of rather small fruit, containing many seeds, 

 usually from 25 to 50 in each fruit. This character bars this variety 

 from serious consideration for commercial planting in California. 



The Duncan grapefruit trees observed in southern CaliTornia tend to 

 produce rather large, round fruit, usuallj^ containing more than the 

 number of seeds desired for market purposes. The fruit observed has 

 had a thick rind as a rule, the quality of the juice was somewhat in- 

 ferior, and the rag was coarse in texture and very bitter. The last 

 characteristic may have been due to local conditions, as no comparison 

 was made with other varieties of grapefruit grown under the same 

 conditions. 



The Imperial, Colton Terrace Seedling, Aurantium, Commercial and 

 Blood varieties and types of grapefruit and the Sampson tangeio have 

 also been propagated and planted to some extent in California. The 

 results of these plantings have not as yet demon.st rated them to be a 

 commercial success in Califoi-nia. Similar isolated plantings of related 

 and other varieties of grapefruit are still in the experimental stage so 

 far as California is concerned, and need not be considered further in 

 this discussion. 



The iMarsh Seedless, or INTarsh, variety of grapefruit h;is been found 

 to be the best of all the varieties grown in California and in districts 

 having similar conditions. If all of the plantings in California of 

 varieties other than IMarsh Seedless from which fruit is marketed Avere 

 re])l;ieed by Marsh Seedless, either by replautins' or rebuilding 1 he 

 established trees, the writer is strongly of the opinion that the result 

 would be very beneficial to the indtistry as a whole. 



According to Hume,'* the j\Iarsh Seedless variety was introduced in 

 Florida by C. ]\I. jMarsh, of Lakeland, Florida. The original tree was 



-'Citrus Fruits and Their Culture, p. 120. 

 2—24526 



